NY Gives Peace a Chance With Film Fest

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 09 March 2011 05:00

Written by L E Shannon

The 4th Annual New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) is being held March 12 - 13, 2011 at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. All of the films have the theme of applying peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts and asking how to move toward a  peaceful world.

Five of the 12 films being screened deal with issues surrounding nuclear weapons, either their past use or their current threat.  

Twice Bombed: The Legacy of Tsutomu Yamaguchi
Dir. Hidetaka Inazuka
This world premiere film chronicles the later years of a survivor of both atomic bombings.  Approximately 190 people who survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945 boarded a train to Nagasaki, arriving on August 8. It is not known how many of them survived the Nagasaki bombing the following day. Mr. Yamaguchi remained quiet about his double bombing status because of continuing discrimination against survivors. It was later in life, after his son’s death from cancer believed related to the bombings, that Mr. Yamaguchi became an outspoken proponent of nuclear disarmament.  A Q & A follows the screening.

Beating the Bomb
Dir. Wolfgang Matt and Meera Patel
This film documents the start and growth of the British anti-nuclear movement and its struggles and successes. From mass marches to the on-going vigils at nuclear facilities, the movement has had much more success than in any other country in the world. The world-wide symbol for peace was developed for the British anti-nuclear movement.  A Q & A follows the screening.

Flash of Hope: Hibakusha Traveling the World
Dir. Erika Bagnarello; produced by Peace Boat in association with Costa Rica Films
The Peace boat made a world tour with survivors of the atomic bombings and this film documents that trip. In numerous ports and encounters, the survivors not only tell their personal stories of survival, but also press for a nuclear-free world.  

Free World
Dir. Ashley Michael Karitas
An 18 member delegation of Americans traveled to Japan to speak with survivors of the atomic bombings and participate in ceremonies commemorating the bombings. A Q & A follows the screening.

Each season the NYPFF screens a classic peace film. This year’s selection:

A Thousand Cranes
Dir. Sojiro Kimura (1958)
Sadako was the young victim of the Hiroshima bombing who’s ardent folding of origami paper cranes made it a universal symbol of a nuclear-free world.  

The other selections are:

Another Courage
Dir. Erik Sween
"The images are Iraq, the experiences are Vietnam."  The trauma of battle and the need for help re-integrating into civilian life transcends any specific conflict. A Q & A follows the screening.

Death & Taxes
Produced by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
This film documents the full spectrum of people refusing to pay war taxes, from token underpayments to refusing to pay any tax at all; the risks, the tactics, the successes.  

Billboard from Bethlehem
Produced by iwagepeace.org
What happens when Palestinian & Israeli children gather in Bethlehem to paint a mural depicting reconciliation?

The Children of Adam
Dir. Nina Aghaheikzadeh
Reflections on a visit to Iran and the American portrayal of Iran. A Q & A follows the screening.

Silent Screams
Produced and narrated by Karla Hansen
A trip to Iran & a wedding in the Kurdish village of Qarchighah highlight the common threads that unite all people. A Q & A follows the screening.

A Little Bit of So Much Truth / Un Pokito De Tanta Verdad
Dir. Jill Freidberg
A 6-month non-violent uprising in the Mexican State of Oaxaca is violently repressed, but a people find dignity and solidarity.  

Standing Army
Dir. Thomas Fazi and Enrico Parenti
Why does the United States have 716 military bases and 250,000 troops on foreign soil (not including our bases and soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan)?  How do the populations surrounding the bases view them?

Also presented is an event for children age 3 up, Japanese Storytelling "Kamishibai" - Paper Theater. This is a traditional form of storytelling whereby the storyteller told several stories using a small stage and a set of illustrated boards which were inserted into and out of the stage as the story changed. Some of the stories are "The Mouse's Wedding," "Aogiri's Dream" and "A Story of Katsuji Yoshida".

For more information, go to www.nypeacefilmfest.com.

The Peace & Justice Task Force of All Souls Unitarian Church is co-sponsoring this year’s festival with the American Friends Service Committee, NY Metro Region; Granny Peace Brigade; Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW); New York War Resisters League; Pax Christi, New York; Peace Action New York State (PANYS); and Resistance Cinema.

New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF)
March 12 - 13, 2011

All Souls Unitarian Church
1157 Lexington Avenue
New York City

South by Southwest 2011 - A Short Intro

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 08 March 2011 14:59

Written by Eric Lurio

The South By Southwest Festival and Conference is the Texan version of the Sundance Film Festival. Taking place in the state capitol of Austin -- also known as the “Live Music Capitol of the World" --  SxSW is a combination of a street fair, technical conference, film festival, and rock concert and general strangeness, that is intended to show the World that there’s more to the Lone Star State than a bunch of right-wing yahoos, oil fields, and desert.

Packed within a 42 square block area bounded by Cesar Chavez St, Congress Ave, 11^th St. and Interstate 35, there’s dozens and dozens of bars and restaurants, and a few movie theaters, which makes for ten solid days of intense partying.

The focus of the event is the Convention Center, where musicians and techno-geeks gather for what the place was built for: Conventions. It’s all about video games and networking , while outside on Sixth Street, there’s a non-stop party going on. That’s not to say that it isn’t that way the rest of the year, (Sixth Street is notorious for that), it’s just not half as intense as during SxSW.

The film festival has three main venues: the Alamo Drafthouse (which is on Sixth Street and serves food and drink), and the Paramount, a lovely old movie palace on Congress Avenue, which has been remarkably preserved. There are also half a dozen other venues, some of which are in walking distance of the convention center and some of which aren’t.

It’s all going to be very intense.

Women + Film VOICES Film Festival

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 08 March 2011 04:19

Written by L E Shannon

The Women + Film VOICES Film Festival is running March 8 - 13, 2011 at at the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado. This brand new festival is being launched, fittingly, on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.

The Women + Film VOICES Film Festival showcases thought-provoking, inspirational stories of women from around the world. Each film will have a VOICES host -- a woman personally involved with the film or a Denver community leader -- to introduce the film and lead a post-film Q&A discussion.

Read more: Women + Film VOICES Film Festival