Film buffs with a natural distaste and distrust of authority invite you to the first ever Anarchist Film Festival in London, Ontario! This three day festival will bring some of the best new indepenedent films that deal with current anarchist struggles and offer Londoners the opportunity to see films they've been screened from, the ones that would never otherwise be shown on the "silver screen".
Also in an attempt to break the ...highly authoritarian social relationship of spectacle and spectator all films will be followed by discussions facilitated by the film-makers themselves or dedicated organizers working on the issues the films touch on. Enough with passive consumption, its time to be active and engaged!
The schedule:
Monday May 16th:
6:30PM : Ground Noise and Static
This documentary, by subMedia TV and PepperSpray Productions, is a 30 minute video report on the demonstrations that were held outside the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. The filmmakers went there not to report on either party's convention, but to cover the creative actions that were taking place outside which the corporate media would all but ignore. The film contains from-the-streets footage capturing protests from both conventions, and arrests made at the RNC. "Don't be diverted by the ground noise and static..." is the phrase John McCain used to dismiss the protesters who shouted out during his acceptance speech.
7:30PM : The Latest Seditions of "It's The End Of The World As We Know It And I Feel Fine"
Arguably the best regular reporting on the motherf***ing resistance out there. ITEOFWAWKIAIFF combines footage of revolutionary activity, interviews with activists, and revolutionary music, with a splash of humour. Hosted by The Stimulator himself!!!
8PM
FEATURED PRESENTATION!
London Premiere of:
END.CIV
END:CIV examines our culture’s addiction to systematic violence and environmental exploitation, and probes the resulting epidemic of poisoned landscapes and shell-shocked nations. Based in part on Endgame, the best-selling book by Derrick Jensen, END:CIV asks: “If your homeland was invaded by aliens who cut down the forests, poisoned the water and air, and contaminated the food supply, would you resist?”
www.endciv.com
Film will be followed with a Q&A with End.Civ producer and director Frank Lopez!
Tuesday May 17th
6PM
RETRO FEATURE:
Anarchism In America
Anarchism in America is a 1983 documentary, directed by Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher. A colorful and provocative survey of anarchism in America, the film attempts to dispel popular misconceptions and trace the historical development of the movement. The film explores the movement both as an American philosophy stemming from 19th century American traditions of individualism, and as a foreign ideology brought to America by immigrants. The film features rare archival footage and interviews with significant personalities in anarchist history including Murray Boochkin, Paul Avrich, and Karl Hess, and also live performance footage of the Dead Kennedys.
Followed by a short discussion on Anarchism in Canada facilitated by local anarchists.
8PM
FEATURED INTERNATIONAL FILM
The Chicago Conspiracy
The Chicago Conspiracy is a documentary filmed in Chile, and the story extends into the Mapuche indigenous lands of Wallmapu. This documentary addresses the legacy of the military dictatorship in Chile by sharing the story of combatant youth who were killed by the Pinochet regime as a backdrop to the history of the military dictatorship and current social conflict in the area. The larger story is wrapped around three shorter pieces, which explore the student movement, the history of neighborhoods that became centers of armed resistance against the dictatorship, and the indigenous Mapuche conflict. The filmmakers, militant film collective Subversive Action Films, question their relationship to the documentary, taking a position as combatants.
Followed by a Q&A with Chilean Revolutionaries
Wednesday May 18th
6PM
FEATURED 'ALTERNATIVES' FILM
Garbage Warrior
Garbage Warrior is the epic story of radical Earthship eco-architect Michael Reynolds, and his fight to build off-the-grid self-sufficient communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business.
Followed by a discussion about this alternative facilitated by local environmental activists engaged in building 'Earthships'
8PM
FEATURED DRAMA
Bold Native
Bold Native is a fiction feature film. Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted by the United States government for domestic terrorism, emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does. The film simultaneously follows a young woman who works for an animal welfare organization fighting within the system to establish more humane treatment of farmed animals. From abolitionists to welfarists, Bold Native takes on the issue of modern animal use and exploitation from several angles within the context of a road movie adventure story.
Followed by a Q&A and discussion around issues of animal liberation facilitated by members of CALM (Canadian Animal Liberation Movement).