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Social Change (9)
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Afghan ChroniclesDominic Morissette 2007 52 minThis feature documentary looks at democracy, freedom of speech and nation rebuilding in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. With a radio station and 2 magazines - one of them aimed at women - the press agency Killid Media is a real media phenomenon. As it follows the distribution of these popular magazines across Kabul, this film shows the struggles within this changing society and paints a touching picture of a land that is a work in progress, dreaming of a better future. -
The Boxing Girls of KabulAriel Nasr 2011 52 minIn this feature documentary, a remarkable group of young Afghan women dream of representing their country as boxers at the 2012 Olympics, embarking on a journey of both personal and political transformation.
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Holding Our GroundAnne Henderson 1988 50 minFilmed in a squatter community of Labangon in Cebu, Philippines, Holding Our Ground is the inspiring story of a group of women who have organized collectively to pressure their government for land reform, to establish their own money-lending system and to create shelters for street kids. A story of grassroots organizing that can be a model in both hemispheres.
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A Score for Women's VoicesSophie Bissonnette 2002 1 h 26 minBetween March and October 2000, millions of people around the world took to the streets to denounce poverty and violence against women. The historic World March of Women was a bold initiative of the Québec Federation of Women and represented a turning point in global solidarity.
Director Sophie Bissonnette invited five filmmakers from around the world to cover the march. She also asked each one to film an innovative project. In Senegal a community battles female genital mutilation through education. In Australia a women's circus teaches survivors of sexual assault to become skilled performers. In India a group of low-caste women mediate domestic disputes in informal women's courts. Native women in Ecuador offer leadership training programs to create women leaders. In the United States, Linda Carney describes why she founded Survival Inc. for poor women in Boston: this wealthy city refused her and her son welfare benefits unless she quit her minimum-wage job.
Set against the backdrop of a song, A Score for Women's Voices ends at the UN, where women deliver 5 million cards signed during the marches. Their goal? To change the world!
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United States of AfricaYanick Létourneau 2011 47 minAfrican hip hop pioneer Didier Awadi is on a quest to craft an album that pays tribute to the great black revolutionary leaders and their struggle to realize a dream: a united, independent Africa. In this epic musical and political journey, Awadi visits some 40 countries to collaborate with hip hop activist artists, including Smockey (Burkina Faso), M-1 of Dead Prez (United States) and ZuluBoy (South Africa).
Featuring a score by Ghislain Poirier, as well as Awadi’s own songs, United States of Africa draws the viewer into one artist’s profound meditation on the power of music and the impact of political engagement—both individual and collective. A hopeful and compelling portrait of a continent whose politically aware youth is refusing to accept the role of victim, the film is a call for Africans to rise up, take a stand and take control of their continent and their destiny. -
United States of AfricaYanick Létourneau 2011 1 h 15 minAfrican hip hop pioneer Didier Awadi is on a quest to craft an album that pays tribute to the great black revolutionary leaders and their struggle to realize a dream: a united, independent Africa. In this epic musical and political journey, Awadi visits some 40 countries to collaborate with hip hop activist artists, including Smockey (Burkina Faso), M-1 of Dead Prez (United States) and ZuluBoy (South Africa).
Featuring a score by Ghislain Poirier, as well as Awadi’s own songs, United States of Africa draws the viewer into one artist’s profound meditation on the power of music and the impact of political engagement—both individual and collective. A hopeful and compelling portrait of a continent whose politically aware youth is refusing to accept the role of victim, the film is a call for Africans to rise up, take a stand and take control of their continent and their destiny. -
Up the YangtzeYung Chang 2007 1 h 33 minThis award-winning documentary follows the Shiu family as their home is destroyed by the rising waters of China’s Yangtze River - a consequence of the Three Gorges Project, the largest hydroelectric dam in history.
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Wet Earth and Warm PeopleMichael Rubbo 1971 58 minThis documentary by Michael Rubbooffers candid glimpses of Indonesia and its people. Filming in and around the capital of Jakarta, the cameras follow where chance leads, capturing the flavour of life in this fertile crescent of tropical islands. Throughout the film, the focus is on a society caught between the past and the conflicting options for the future - to change or not to change from long-established patterns of life to ones more influenced by western technology.
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Zero Degrees of SeparationElle Flanders 2005 1 h 29 minThis feature documentary breaks with the sensationalistic media coverage of the Middle East by documenting the everyday lives of same-sex Palestinian-Israeli couples. Faced with the modern injustices of work visas, checkpoints, harassment and prejudices, these brave individuals resist oppression and take small steps each day to build a sense of peace, mutual respect and hope. Filmmaker Elle Flanders draws on her own story of growing up with Zionist grandparents who were intimately involved in the founding of the state of Israel. Their haunting archival home movies evoke an idealized Israel of the 1950s and summon larger questions about humanity, conflict and nationalist aspiration.
