FILM FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE...
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FILM & PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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Saturday Dec 13
"War, War & More War"
Musical Opening:
Laurie Anderson
10:30am
Video of social justice musical performance "Only an Expert" by renowned artist, musician, and social critic Laurie Anderson.
War of 33: Letters from Beirut 10:45am
(2007) 35 minutes
Director Mai Masri
Intimate and powerful story of the 2006 war in Lebanon. A series of letters written by Hanady Salman – a mother living in Beirut – carve a narrative arc through the intense images of conflict as she and those around her live through Israel’s 33 day bombing and failed invasion of Lebanon.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDqjMdQ42Fs
Iron Wall
11:20am
(2006) 59 minutes
Director Mohammed Alatar
Follows the timeline, size, and population of Israel’s further settlements and expansion onto Palestinian land, and their impact on the lives of Palestinians fighting for survival and self-determination. Includes eye-opening interviews with Israeli settlers and soldiers, and Palestinian farmers.
Intermission:
12:25pm - 12:35pm
Forgotten Warriors
12:35pm
(2007) 51 minutes
Director Loretta Todd
With Introduction by Director!
One of a kind of documentary exploring the lives of the thousands of indigenous men and women who fought and died in the Canadian army during World War 2. Those who returned faced unfulfilled promises, stolen land, and continued exclusion. Indigenous veterans poignantly share their unforgettable war memories and current healing process.
Iran (is Not the Problem)
1:30pm
(2008) 79 minutes
Director Aaron Newman
CANADIAN PREMIERE
A response to the failure of the North American mass media to provide the public with accurate information about the standoff between the US and Iran, as happened before with the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. This documentary explores events leading up to the escalating situation in Iran while exposing the real motivations behind the current US agenda.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwvfz1-RXbo
Intermission:
2:55pm - 3:05pm
A Republic Gone Mad
3:05 pm
(1996) 60 minutes
Directors Luc de Heusch and Kathleen de Béthune
A comprehensive film about colonial conquest and intervention in Rwanda. Exposes the Belgian “divide and rule” strategy which culminated in the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis by their Hutu brothers in Rwanda. “A Republic Gone Mad” goes further than any film available in providing the background necessary for an understanding of the true roots of these horrifying massacres.
I Am My Sister's and Brother’s Keeper: Cuba and Southern African Liberation
4:10pm
(2004) 56 minutes
Directors Isaac Saney and Marc Rushton
A different example of foreign intervention in Africa. This film documents Cuba’s decisive role in the 16 year war in Angola, which led to the fall of apartheid in South Africa and the independence of Namibia. Featuring footage of Nelson Mandela’s 1991 visit to Cuba to thank Cubans for their special contribution to the African people.
NATO Targets
5:10pm
(1999) 29 minutes
Director Gloria LaRiva
Brings home the horror of the 1999 NATO bombings of Yugoslavia which killed thousands of people and destroyed homes, factories, and infrastructure. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark meets students, workers, government officials, and exposes the political motivations behind the bombings.
Motherland Afghanistan
5:45 pm
(2007) 73 minutes
Diector Sedika Mojadidi
In-depth and damning expose of the lives of Afghan women living under foreign occupation. “Motherland Afghanistan” follows Afghan-American doctor, Qudrat Mojadidi as he returns to Afghanistan in 2003 to work with the woman of Afghanistan, and his disillusionment with the unkept promises of the occupation forces.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUCEiHoQliU
Intermission:
7:00pm - 7:15pm
Meeting Resistance
7:15pm
(2007) 84 minutes
Directors Molly Bingham and Steve Connors
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Eye-opening film which centers around interviews with people active in the resistance against the US/UK occupation of Iraq. The film focuses the spotlight on the "other side", clarifying why the violence in Iraq continues to this day and providing a deeper understanding of both the toll of occupation and the stories behind the resistance.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJnomhaScz4
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Sunday Dec 14
"US War on Human Rights"
The case of the Cuban 5, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Leonard Peltier
Musical Opening:
Marvin Gaye
10:30am
Incredible footage of Motown legend Marvin Gaye’s live performance of “What's Going On/What's Happening Brother” about life, crisis and war.
Taxi to the Dark Side
10:45am
(2007) 108 minutes
Director Alex Gibney
An in-depth look at the systemic use of torture by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002. Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX0MPcN08Zc
Intermission:
12:35pm - 12:45pm
Unfair Dealing
12:45am
(2008) 50 minutes
Director David Weingarten
WESTERN CANADA PREMIERE
Deconstructs Canada's largest post-9/11 "anti-terror" event, the ongoing case of 18 mostly Muslim Canadians, arrested during the summer of 2006 and accused of plotting to detonate fertilizer-bombs. Find out why the "Toronto 18" case isn't all it's cracked up to be...
My Brother, My Saviour
&
In the Name of the Lord
1:40pm
12 minutes
Producer Shawn Musell
With introduction by Producer!
Heartfelt and powerful short films made by local filmmaker Shawn Musell. Both films focus on the experiences of residential school survivors and the truth of their lives before, during, and after the suffering of the Canadian residential school system.
West 54th: The Case of Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier
1:55 pm
(1991) 17 minutes
Exposing the unjust life-imprisonment of American Indian Movement (AIM) activist Leonard Peltier. Featuring interviews with Peltier, other AIM activists, and the prosecutors who convicted him in the deaths of two FBI agents after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975.
Intermission:
2:15pm - 2:25pm
Posada Carriles: Terrorism Made in USA
2:25pm
(2007) 90 minutes
Director Angel Palacios
Unearths Washington’s terrorism against Latin-America and Cuba specifically through the life of one of its most brutal and prolific agents, Luis Posada Carriles. If you ever doubted U.S. terrorism or wondered why the Cuban 5 went to Miami in the first place, watch this.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8PX7xfefcs&eurl=http://www.freethefive.org/posadafilm.htm
Mission Against Terror
4:00pm
(2005) 90 minutes
Directors Bernie Dwyer and Roberto Ruiz Rebo
Critically acclaimed film which follows the case of the “Cuban 5”. 5 Cuban men currently serving long sentences in U.S. jails for trying to prevent terrorist attacks on Cuba. The film raises the important question: Why are people who fight terrorism imprisoned in the U.S. while known terrorists are allowed to walk the streets of Miami freely?
Special Presentation on Warsaw Rebellion
4:55pm
20 minutes
A story which must be told! In 1943, Nazi-occupied Poland saw a courageous rebellion by Jews who had been herded into the Warsaw Ghetto. Outnumbered, under armed, and surrounded – they shocked the Nazis and set a heroic precedent for other organized Jewish resistance to the Nazi regime.
Canada: Imperialist at Home, Imperialist Abroad
5:15pm
(2008) 75 minutes
Produced by
Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO)
For the past four years, the most comprehensive look at Canada’s wars at home and abroad, in both the past and present tense. This updated version expands on the Canada/NATO occupation of Afghanistan, and Canada’s participation in the occupation of Iraq.
Intermission:
6:35pm - 6:45pm
In Prison My Whole Life
6:45pm
(2007) 90 minutes
Director Marc Evans
CANADIAN PREMIERE!
New and internationally renowned documentary film on well known U.S. political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal. “In Prison My Whole Life” chronicles the over 25 year fight against his conviction and death sentence, and features interviews with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, and hip-hop artists Mos Def and Snoop Dogg.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7K3pdnsWmM
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