Tag: cinema politica

Parents and their children against riot squads; a collapsing nation fighting for their land; a government denying and trampling fundamental rights to its people. One would assume that we are talking here of a repressive regime. Sadly, it is a description of what goes on in our collective Canadian backyard.

Honour Your Word, a documentary made by Canadian filmmaker Martha Stiegman, tackles the particular situation of the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake. In 1991, a trilateral conservation deal was made between the Algonquins, and the Quebec and Canadian governments, to oversee the land. The agreement remains unhonoured by the governments, resulting in the struggle of the land’s inhabitants to keep their culture alive.

By following two prominent leaders of this small community fighting for what they believe is just, Stiegman makes us share in the everyday life of a family committed to the survival of their traditions.

Pictures of joyful children playing and proud parents fishing or hunting clash drastically with the vision of them facing, without blinking, police forces brought straight from our worst Maple Spring collective memories.

Using cinematography composed of serene images of nature and intimate familial scenes, we come to understand why the Algonquins have been fighting all their life as children, adults and elders for their ancestral lands and customs.

In this film, the director’s approach gives us what we could define more as a collection of profound and heartfelt testimonies rather than a strongly narrated and condemning documentary — such as we have gotten used to those thanks to the Michael Moores of this world.

When compared to today’s high-octane documentaries, Honour Your Word can seem a little monotonous at times. However, its sober style and slow pace fits perfectly the veiled emotions and calm attitudes of its protagonists.

You cannot help but feel empathy for these proud people, but it would have been profitable for both the viewers and the movie itself to balance the documentary with interviews of people on the other side of the barricade. This would have avoided the simple black-and-white dichotomy, in which too many engaged documentaries find themselves entrenched in, for a more nuanced point of view of this sensitive subject.

Nonetheless, the composed and peaceful state of mind emanating from the Algonquin people, even when constantly facing adversity, successfully differentiates this movie from others that usually carry crude depictions of a violent and hysterical First Nation community. Ultimately, Honour your Word is a poetic yet sad story of a powerless but ever-fighting David at war with a merciless Goliath.

Honour Your Word will have its Canadian premiere as part of Cinema Politica. Director Martha Stiegman will be in attendance. The screening will take place on Feb. 10, 7pm in the D. B. Clarke Theatre — 1455 de Maisonneuve W.

The subject of the documentary, Rafea: Solar Mama, is a Bedouin woman’s quest to reinvent herself as a contemporary woman. Directed by Mona Eldaief and Jehane Noujaim,(The Control Room), this film takes a look at how traditional values often undermine human rights, especially in impoverished villages.

The film is part of the global documentary project ‘Why Poverty?’ which uses film to get people talking about the global issue of poverty.

Audiences get a glimpse into the life of Rafea Anad—a Bedouin woman who lives in one of Jordan’s poorest desert communities.

Anad’s daily life is a struggle. She lives in a tent with her four daughters and without modern conveniences.

Her husband is an unemployed polygamist who spends most of his time with his first wife. Anad is 32 years old and has only five years of primary school training.

“A girl is not allowed to continue school past the age of ten. It is considered shameful,” she says.

Anad has a desire to learn and become an innovator, but she has seen this desire extinguished over and over again by the traditions of her culture.

However, things change when Anad is offered the chance to transform her village into being sustainable and self-sufficient when she is asked to attend the Barefoot College in India. Barefoot College’s program trains middle-aged women from poverty stricken areas to become solar engineers, in the hope that they will become agents of change for their communities. Anad thus embarks on a journey that could revolutionize the role of women in her village but her husband’s oppressive nature poses a constant obstacle.

The filmmakers found the perfect hero in Anad. Her beguiling personality is what helps shape the documentary into the telling story that it is. Despite the unfair circumstances she has had to endure her entire life, Anad refuses to have her spirit shattered.

“I know you think I’m a joke and full of hot air but I will prove you wrong,” she says to her mother.

Audiences witness a transformation in Anad’s character. At the beginning of the documentary, she is a victim of her chauvinistic husband’s threats but the experience in India sparks a change within her. She returns to Jordan with a newfound sense of confidence that she can better the situation in her village. Her admirable perseverance is what makes her the undisputed star of the documentary.

Eldaief and Noujaim do a great job of exemplifying the rift in equality between men and women of traditional, remote communities.

Rafea: Solar Mama puts forth shocking words spoken by the Bedouin women that might seem out-dated to our ears.

“It’s a better life for a woman to stay at home with her kids,” says Anad’s mother.

Every scene captured is powerful. One of the most inspirational moments bears witness to the solidarity between the women from different corners of the world, attending Barefoot College. This scene empowers Anad’s mission. It proves that there are many women who share in the same plight, ready to break barriers and defy all odds for a better future.

Rafea: Solar Mama is an inspiring documentary that provides an interesting look into a world so alien from our own Western milieu.

Rafea: Solar Mama will have its Quebec premiere screening as part of Cinema Politica on Friday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. at J.A. de Sève Cinema — 1400 de Maisonneuve W.

Other works by director Jehane Noujaim include The Square.  Read the review here (please link to The Square article).

OR: You can hyperlink The Square article to Jehane Noujaim’s name in the article (highlighted in dark green).

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, creating a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland in the northern part of the country in Tohoku. Recorded as a 9.0 on the Richter scale, it was the most powerful quake ever to hit the country (in comparison, Montreal’s earthquake last fall registered at 4.5 on the Richter scale). These natural disasters subsequently led to a nuclear emergency, as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station suffering partial meltdowns and releasing radioactive material directly into the atmosphere. Today, the official count of the dead and missing is above 24,000.

The cleverly-titled Radioactivists, directed by German filmmakers Julia Leser and Clarissa Seidel, follows the anti-nuclear demonstrations held in Koenji, Tokyo immediately following the tragedy. Organized mainly by a group of activists known as Shiroto No Ran (Amateur’s Revolt) and a group of political musicians from the Human Recovery Project, the protests featured people from all walks of life, gathering more than 15,000 people by the third demonstration. Combining music and visual arts, the atmosphere was festive rather than tense. These scenes were surprising to many Japanese citizens given the country’s lack of a protest culture. In fact, these were the first major demonstrations the nation had seen since the 1970s.

The anti-nuclear movement in Japan has taken great leaps since the first protests highlighted in Radioactivists. In fact, since 2011, the number of protests in Tokyo against the use of nuclear power have dramatically increased, culminating in 2012 with the country’s largest anti-nuclear event yet (gathering more than 75,000 people).

Japan’s history with nuclear power is a fascinating one. Despite the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the country’s reliance on the use of nuclear power reactors has grown steadily since the 1960s. Prior to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan generated 30 per cent of its electrical power from nuclear reactors. Thus, when Leser and Seidel turn their cameras towards the endless bright lights in the bustling streets of downtown Tokyo, they implicitly ask: how much longer is Japan capable of maintaining its electric consumption?

Featuring interviews with sociologists, writers, and activists, Radioactivists is thoroughly engaging and intellectually stimulating during its first half. However, the film strays from its narrative focus when the cameras simply follow the protests for long stretches of time. The film’s strengths are showcased most during its aforementioned interviews.

For example, political scientist Chigaya Kinoshita speaks of the initial shock felt by all after the earthquake and tsunami occurred. While the world hailed the Japanese for their so-called stoicism in the face of great adversity, Kinoshita argues that his countrymen simply didn’t know how to react to the situation. It’s safe to say they’re reacting now.

Radioactivists screens Monday Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in room H-110 – 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Director Karol Orzechowski will be in the audience. The film will be followed by Women of Fukushima. For more information, visit cinemapolitica.org/concordia

“It’s sad that I’m only 23 but animal death doesn’t do anything for me,” says one former research scientist early on in Karol Orzechowski’s Maximum Tolerated Dose. The title itself refers to lab experiments in which animals (or “research models”) are dosed with pharmaceutical products and certain chemicals in order to find a physical threshold. However, while many of these scientists have already proven the efficacy of the product, they repeatedly test high concentrations of certain medicines on lab animals until a fatality or a near fatality occurs.

There are in fact, several facilities specifically designed and created to breed animals such as rodents, macaque monkeys, and even beagles, all in order to supply experimental research. Thus, many of these animals, including monkeys and dogs, are brought into the world for the sole purpose of being used for scientific experiments.

The film does a convincing job in recreating the horrors of such aforementioned animal breeding facilities. For example, the Isoquiem-Interfauna Breeding Facility in Spain specifically breeds beagles, who remain packed in cages all throughout the day, as their cries for help can be overheard echoing in the background, cries which seem to be desperate and helpless.

In one particular experiment, beagles were used to research radioactive tracers, which were injected into them. Afterwards, the dogs were all put down, placed on the operating table, as their hearts were removed and dissected in order to inspect the effects of the tracers.

Dr. John Pippin, a former research cardiologist admits that, “if you subscribe to the notion that this kind of research is essential to advance human medicine, and your career and your life revolves around advancing human medicine, then you come to see it as a necessary evil.”

The sad irony in Dr. Pippin’s story is his own love of dogs. He admits that he would consider killing anyone who would dare hurt his dogs at home, and yet, he consistently went to work every day as a scientific researcher where killing beagles was part of his job.

Orzechowski, known more for his photography, manages to locate and interview a handful of former lab workers and authors on the subject of animal cruelty. The film is told in five separate chapters, as the director focuses on individual lab animals and individual former workers for each segment.

The pulsating, ominous music heard throughout the film has an almost frightening effect. If there is such a thing as a ‘non-fiction documentary horror,’ that which is unimaginable and revolting, then Maximum Tolerated Dosage is it. In addition, the heavy sense of guilt felt by nearly everyone interviewed in the film is accentuated by years of moral justifications on the part of these workers.

An anonymous worker simply puts it, “To the animals, I feel horrible. I could only say that I’m sorry and I will advocate to change this industry.”

It’s never too late to say you’re sorry.

Maximum Tolerated Dosage screens Monday Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in room H-110 – 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Director Karol Orzechowski will be in the audience. For more information, visit cinemapolitica.org/concordia

“We are not a disease, we are not lepers,” Eufrosina Mendoza proclaims, as the camera focuses on her interacting with people on the streets. Mendoza knows how her people live.

Directed by Luciana Kaplan, Eufrosina’s Revolution is a compelling documentary tracing the socio-political journey of Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, a young indigenous Mexican woman bent on proving herself in the realm of politics.

The 90-minute rundown features Mendoza as a down-to-earth, humane person. Mendoza is there to stick with her people, to her customs, to her traditions. The entire affair started when Mendoza was denied participation in the municipal elections of her hometown in Santa Maria Quiegolani, because she is a woman.

“In the middle of the assembly, some citizens came over to me and said in Zapotec that my ballots had been annulled,” says Mendoza, sitting in her garden.

So Mendoza pulled up her sleeves and began the arduous task of convincing the government that a woman could take over.

“I want to see the women voting,” says Mendoza as the camera locks in on indigenous Mexican women fanning their children or making tortillas over a small fire.

The documentary is special in its subtle tonalities and lack of overt commentaries. Without explicit narration, the camera showcases poverty and injustice. For example, we see a woman looking quizzically at a poster titled “el voto es libre y secreto” (votes are free and confidential), or a small boy looking far into the distance, over the misty emerald green hills.

At other times, moments are fiery. People get annoyed, frustrated, and often you see people questioning Eufrosina’s position. At a municipal meeting, a woman dressed in red exclaims: “I do my part and I am working myself to death!”

Mendoza is a politician, however — and a good one. Her catchphrase “this is not for Eufrosina, this is for the indigenous communities,” strikes a visible chord among her fellow citizens. One elderly fan describes Mendoza as a force of character.

“She is not spreading hatred. She just says let it be, let it be,” says the woman, clutching her hands in a darkened kitchen.

The most endearing part of Mendoza is her honesty and transparency. When the Mexican government promised to build a bridge for her municipality but failed to do so, Mendoza gathered a group of builders and began the job herself. “The bastards!” she cries triumphantly as work begins. Or, sitting at her office, a run-down little room, she says candidly: “The reality that governments don’t help really pisses me off.”

Indeed, Mendoza is quite cynical towards the government.

“You go to a government office, and they stare at you because you don’t wear a suit and shoes,” she says.

As viewers, we are confused: who are the ‘bad’ guys here? Should we consider the Mexican government some sort of ‘evil’? Is the documentary giving us a balanced, nuanced point of view, or is the filmmaker paying too much tribute to Mendoza?

Whatever the conclusion, the fact remains that the documentary is brilliant in its still shots, including beautiful portraits of saddened women, boys playing in the dirt and men crossing a square.

There is a happy ending to this story. In November 2010, Mendoza became the first indigenous woman politician in Oaxacan politics, taking on the position of deputy of the PAN (National Action Party). In December of the same year, Mendoza was appointed coordinator of indigenous affairs of the National Executive Committee of the PAN. Let’s not forget that Mendoza is also behind the Quiego Foundation, which promotes gender equality in the region of Oaxaca.

Shrewd politician or wonderful activist, here’s to you, Eufrosina.

Eufrosina’s Revolution premieres in Quebec as part of Cinema Politica on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at the D.B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Director Luciana Kaplan will be in attendance. Presented in collaboration with Ambulante.

What are the back-door politics behind the food that we consume every day? Where and how are they really produced and what kind of chemicals are used? What are its harmful effects? These are a few of the issues tackled by the film All of Us Guinea Pigs Now? by French director, Jean-Paul Jaud.

According to the documentary, most of the world’s governments have authorized the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) after having studied their effects on animals. The film also asserts that these studies usually last for only three months, often too short of a time span to determine the various chronic effects associated with the use of GMOs. However, a secret research study was recently undertaken in France, testing the adverse health effects of a certain type of genetically modified seed and the results were frightening. The rats used in the study were prone to developing cancerous tumors and eventually succumbed to premature death.

The film travels from France to Senegal and Japan, showcasing various groups of outspoken farmers and protesters. In Japan, for example, the major environmental issue is the use of nuclear power, a contentious subject since the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima. In Senegal, we find a group of organic farmers very much against the use of GMOs, a belief which they pass on to the younger generation of food producers.

In the case of Japan, the documentary arbitrarily asks: how can a nation that suffered from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII (and the subsequent decades of harmful radioactive effects) allow the explosion of the nuclear plant at Fukushima to occur?

Outside of a few scenes in Senegal and Japan, the film fails to truly remain engaging, especially during the long stretches filmed in France. The director presents ideas that are at best subversive and at worst based on unfounded conspiracies.

For example, according to the film, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank are “mercenary organizations working for the U.S. and are the oligarchies and financial muscles of the food-processing industry.” We, as an audience, are expected to simply swallow this as unquestionable truth.

This film feels as if activists have made it solely for other activists, instead of the average filmgoer.

All of Us Guinea Pigs Now? fails to create an immediate sense of connection and compassion, asking questions that have little to do with the topic at hand. While the issue of what goes into our food supply is an important one, it seems that the makers of this film are so obviously vexed, so righteously indignant towards the ‘big bad enemy,’ that they fail to present their argument fully.

All of Us Guinea Pigs Now? screens Monday October 7 at 7 p.m. in room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve W. The event is co-presented in collaboration with the Festival du Nouveau Cinema. For more information, visit www.cinemapolitica.org/concordia.

 

A gentle voice surveying the vast golden skies and the blue seas opens the film Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, a documentary on the Mayan resistance in Mexico and Guatemala against the destruction of their ancient homes, cultures, and traditions.

The Mayan calendar once foretold that the end would bring about a natural change in colour, that the Gods would destroy the people, and the world would begin anew. Yet, this change of colour can already be found in Guatemala, in the form of luscious green rainforests cut down to make room for dull gray gold mines, thanks to the vengeful multinational corporate “gods.” In addition, the suffering masses are the indigenous Maya who reside in Mexico and Guatemala fighting a losing battle against these industries.

Written and directed by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black, this award-winning documentary follows six individuals who all come from different walks of life yet inevitably share the same cultural identity.

It is a culture which embodies the harmonization between man and his natural surroundings, emphasizing the duties towards protecting his environment, the vast forests, and the various animals which reside within it. The preservation of culture is the preservation of one’s way of life. But the preservation of the Mayan way of life in Chiapas, Mexico and in Guatemala, is determined by the preservation of nature.

Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of the Lacandon rainforests have been destroyed in the past 30 years. In Guatemala, trees have been cut down, wells have dried up, houses have been brought down, and people have been severely affected by the chemical use of cyanide all in the name of gold (some by Canadian industries no less). Chiapas, which once held a diverse ecosystem, has now been left as a wasteland. Furthermore in Mexico, indigenous people who rely heavily on cornfields have been struggling against mega-corporations such as Monsanto, who produce cheaper genetically modified corn.

Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth can at times seem like a slow-paced film, especially when it showcases the many complex rituals of the Mayan people. Nonetheless, the filmmakers manage to create a documentary that is both vivid and beautiful, with an expertly-detailed focus on natural landscapes and exotic creatures.

The film also deals with the identity crisis faced by many Maya in Guatemala and Mexico, a struggle between what it means to be Latino as opposed to indigenous; it is a literal, and often dangerous, clash of cultures. It is a struggle based upon the old ways versus the new, what culture once was, and what has become of it today in a modernized world that values profit over preservation. According to Mayan beliefs, everything living that exists on earth must be taken into account along with mankind; humans make only one part of the entire structure. After all, if everything under the sky truly is connected, then nothing should be excluded, forgotten, or destroyed without grave consequences.

Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth screens Monday Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve West. The event is part of Divine Interventions: Documentary, Spirituality, and Social Justice. Directors Frauke Sandig and Eric Black, and special guests speakers will be in attendance. For more information, visit www.cinemapolitica.org/concordia

Are intimacy, connection and touch any less different if one has to pay for it? Are they any less different if one is not able-bodied?

Scarlet Road, directed by Catherine Scott, follows Australian sex worker and activist Rachel Wotton as she visits various friends and clients, educates fellow sex workers and travels to parts of Europe. Wotton has been in this industry for more than 16 years. In fact, she admits she’s always been drawn to it. She resides in New South Wales, Australia, one of the few places in the world that has decriminalized the sex industry. At least in principle, they can operate like “any other business.”

John Blades, who has multiple sclerosis and is wheelchair-bound, is one of Wotton’s many clients. The time they spend together makes him feel normal and at ease with himself, like an “able-bodied person within a disabled shell,” he says. The director does a fine job of filming their scenes in a tasteful fashion.

Wotton also travels to Gothenburg, Sweden for the World Congress for Sexual Health in order to talk about her unique experiences and her work for Touching Base Inc., an organization which helps people with disabilities and sex workers in matters of “access, discrimination, human rights and legal issues.” During the conference, Wotton’s ability to articulate her experiences and concrete facts is noted by her audience, a trait which is far different than those who come from a purely clinical and academic background.

Scott also follows Wotton in her personal life. Although Wotton would like to move to Queensland, Australia in order to be with her longtime boyfriend, there are complications because the sex work industry is illegal in that part of the country.

This is a thoroughly engaging film regarding a subject seldom discussed so openly. Scott allows Wotton to share her story through her own words and actions, rarely interfering and focusing both on sexual education and narrative honesty. As an observational documentary, it aims for immediacy between subject and audience. In fact, it feels as though the camera is working as a therapeutic device for a woman who likely faces frequent discrimination in such a stigmatized industry.

Wotton’s happy-go-lucky attitude is particularly endearing. She admits why she chooses differently-abled people as clients, “I like the fact that my job always entails pleasure, making someone feel better about themselves, that they are the centre of someone’s attention and they deserve to smile.”

Scarlet Road screens Monday April 8 at 7 p.m. in Room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve West. The event is co-presented with STELLA. Rachel Wotton will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. For more information, visit www.cinemapolitica.org/concordia.