Documentary festival merges theory and activism
3/10/10
A row of apple trees Photo by JeremyOK (flickr)
Documentary films can feature inspiring stories of people making a difference, but pull no punches on the impacts of challenging issues, but they are a one way communication. But from March 12th to 14th, the Traveling World Community Film Festival will give viewers the chance to engage with the material and discuss it with the authors. The festival, in its eighth year, will feature over 30 films at UBC0Okanagan and Okanagan University College.
The Film Festival’s lineup includes many heartwarming and inspiring stories of people who are positively influencing the world, as well as films that deal with serious issues like the impacts of oil and mineral exploration. Topics include the environment, music, arts and culture, food security, water issues, and social justice. Many of the documentaries have won prestigious awards at film festivals all over the world.
Documentary film is a medium that can challenge current North American indoctrination and paradigms and motivate individuals, groups, and communities into action. We are cerebral creatures and we learn through witnessing, interpreting, and engaging with new ideas. We also learn through direct action. The two systems of learning go hand in hand and together create a state of praxis. Praxis is the concept that theory and action work together in a cyclical form and that that cooperation is needed in the world in order to transform it. There is some controversy that documentary film is becoming the passive activist’s outlet; that people watch the films and feel like they have done their piece for the community and the world. Essentially, the passive activist forfeits the concept of praxis.
Documentary film is not just about engaging the audience in an emotional whirlwind that resolves in self-congratulation. Good documentaries offer inspiration and solutions to the issues presented. Good documentaries also provide some answers; they provide ways to get involved in activism and in the issues that people feel passionate about. The goal of bringing The Travelling World Film Festival to Kelowna is to help engage the community in local and global issues, build local connections and inspire the community with a sense of empowerment that leads to action. Documentaries such as Mirage of El Dorado provide an example of how Canadian corporations are operating in other parts of the world. We very rarely read or see anything on the topic in the mainstream media and documentaries provide the means through which to educate ourselves on issues we might not otherwise be exposed to. Mirage of El Dorado leads the viewer into the breathtaking mountains of northern Chile, where the devastating operations of Canadian mining companies, Barrick Gold and Noranda, threaten a fragile ecosystem of glacier-fed rivers in one of the driest parts of the globe. This film hits home because the injustice comes from our home. It is no longer only the big corporations of other countries that are involved. We are involved.
Strange Fruit: The Changing Landscape in the Central Okanagan is a documentary created by a local filmmaker and Okanagan College professor Marc Arellano. This film uses local orchards to explore issues of food security, the environment, migrant workers, and the community. At the screening, Arellano will be available to discuss these important topics, as well as his experience of the documentary film-making process. This offers the public an opportunity to get first hand feedback from the creative artist directly. It is more likely that passive activism will be transformed into action by viewing and discussing this documentary.
In another example of praxis, the festival this is year is joined by the Kelowna Community Seed Swap, on Saturday from 10:00 to 3:00 in the Okanagan College Student Centre. The seed swap is a chance to swap and buy seeds and meet people who are enthused about local food production. Healthy food, refreshments and natural goods from local vendors will also be available for purchase. This is a rich opportunity for action regarding the issue of local food production and sustainability.
Documentaries also give us answers and a framework for addressing the local and global issues we face. The documentary In Transition offers solutions through a look at how communities around the world are responding to peak oil and climate change. The Transition Town Movement is an excellent template that is unique to each community, and that addresses change with creativity, imagination and humor.
Admission to all films is FREE, but donations are accepted for the Kelowna’s Women’s Resource Center and the Ki-Low-na Friendship Centre. Program guides for the festival are available at Leo’s Videos on Pandosy, the Women’s Resource Centre, and the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society (both downtown). Film descriptions and the schedule are also online at: www.worldfilmfestkelowna.net Updates can be followed on the Travelling World Community Film Festival Facebook group. For more information call: 250-868-0900 or email worldfilmfest@telus.net
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