London Socialist Film Co-op

Sunday 13 September 2015 Screening, 10.20 for 11am

SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE: THE CUBAN HEALTH SYSTEM
Dir Tom Fawthrop, UK/Cuba, 2007, (E) Spanish/English, (EST) 47mins

How is it possible that Cuba can achieve health indicators on a par with the world’s richer nations?
In the field of medical research – new vaccines, therapies, and groundbreaking anti-cancer agents – Cuba is challenging the pharmaceutical empires of the West.

At a time when public health systems are in crisis with a tide of privatisation gripping the globe, how is it possible that Cuba has achieved so much with so few resources? This documentary looks in-depth at one health system that is swimming against the currents of corporate globalisation.

Credits for stills: Tom Fawthrop, film director; a speaker from War on Want

THE GUARANTEE
Ian Power, Ireland, 2014, [advised 15A], 76 mins

The Guarantee is a fact-based drama that takes us behind the scenes on the most pivotal night in recent Irish history, as the beleaguered government fights to keep the country’s banking system afloat. Their decision will ultimately shape the future of the nation for generations to come. Directed by Ian Power The Runway and adapted by Colin Murphy from his stage play Guaranteed! the film is a vital document that explores a momentous period in contemporary politics with tension, humour, and intelligence.

Irish Film and Television Awards 2015, Nominated IFTA Award

Discussion led by Tom Fawthrop, Film Director, and John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want.

Credits for still: John Kerlleher Media

Screenings are at Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20 am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

Sunday 11 October 2015 Screening, 10.20 for 11am

TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI

Lisa Merton and Alan Dater, US, 2008, [PG] 81 mins English/Swahili/Gikuyu (EST)

Through TV footage and chilling first person accounts, TAKING ROOT documents the dramatic confrontations of the 1980s and '90s as the women of the Green Belt Movement confront human rights abuses and environmental degradation.
The film captures a worldview in which nothing is perceived as impossible and presents an awe-inspiring profile of Maathai's unstoppable and courageous thirty-year journey.

[Credits for still available separately)

COMMITTING THE TRUTH

Cathal Burke/Miamh Heery, Ireland, 2012, [E], 17 mins

Committing the Truth is a documentary about Irish Red Cross whistle blower, Noel Wardick. The film is as much one man’s story as it is a testament to an individual’s courage to make a stand for what he believes in and say ‘enough is enough.’ Losing his job and having to justify his action of publishing corrupt practices in the press was the length he went to see to it that injustice was aired.

Discussion led by speaker from the Greenbelt Movement, Catherine Furey -International Criminal Lawyer

Sunday 8 November 2015 Screening, 10.20 for 11am

FAIR TRADE MATTERS

A Fairtrade film, UK 2015 [E], 13 mins

We see a 45 year old farmer and father of seven (Edson), in Malawi, picking tea with his wife, spending time with his children and meeting other farmers to discuss farming techniques in his role as chairman of Sukambizi Association Trust. The members invested in a motorbike for the chairman to reach more farmers to train them in better agricultural practices. There’s also an ambulance the farmers decided to buy with the Premium, which Edson reveals saves his children’s’ lives when they get Malaria. The Premium will fund a new school, which will be closer to home.

SHADOWS OF LIBERTY

Jean-Philippe Tremblay, USA, 2012, [advised PG], 93 mins

Shadows of Liberty reveals the extraordinary truth behind the news media: censorship, cover ups and corporate control. Filmmaker Jean-Philippe Tremblay journeys through the darker corridors of the US media, where global conglomerates call the shots. For decades, their influence has distorted news journalism and compromised its values. In highly revealing stories, renowned journalists, activists and academics give insider accounts of a broken media system. Controversial news reports are suppressed, people are censored for speaking out, and lives are shattered as the arena for public expression is turned into a private profit zone. Tracing the story of media manipulation through the years, the film poses a crucial question: why have we let a handful of powerful corporations write the news?

Discussion led by: Ann Field, Campaign for Press & Broadcasting Freedom

Gavin MacFadyen, Director, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Media and Communications, Goldsmith University of London, and David Harrold, of the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign.

Sunday 13 December 2015 Screening, 10.20 for 11am

WADJDA

Haifaa al-Mansour, Germany/Saudi Arabia/US/UAE 2012 [PG], 97 mins, Arabic EST

A film made by a female Saudi filmmaker is the story of a spirited young girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, Wadjda is determined to buy a bike so she can race against her friend Abdullah. But in conservative Riyadh we are told, girls do not ride bikes; as they, are dangerous to a girl’s virtue. But she does and with cursory regard for mum’s fretting or the disapproval of her staunchly traditionalist teacher. Wadjda is funny and romantic but includes a political edge that never soft-pedals its push for reform

[Credits for still:

Discussion led by Sarah Colborne, Director Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Mina Boromand, photographer and artist, and Aylaa Ebbiary, PhD Candidate and Nohoudh Scholar from the Dept of Anthropology & Sociology at SOAS.

(Previously) Sunday 10 May 2015 Screening, 10.20 for 11am

EL CARACAZO
Roman Chalbaud, Venezuela 2005 [Advised PG], Spanish with EST, 110 mins

The film begins at a meeting in August 2002 where a social activist, Simon Petrov, reads the sentence dictated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering the Venezuelan state to compensate the relatives of the victims of the 27 February 1989 riots. People at the meeting begin recalling the sequence of events and remembering some tragic moments.

Discussion led by a representative of the Venezuelan Embassy and Dr Francisco Dominguez, head of the Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies at Middlesex University

Image: quecomunismo - Flickr

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street and Euston Square. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

(Previously) Sunday 12 April 2015.

CAPITAL (LE CAPITAL)
Costa-Gavras, France 2012 [15] EST, 114 mins

From legendary Academy-Award-winning writer/director Costa-Gavras comes a fast-paced, darkly-comic, suspenseful drama set in the high stakes world of global finance. When the CEO of France's Phoenix Bank collapses on a golf course, Machiavellian young executive Marc Tourneuil (Gad Elmaleh) is crowned as his replacement. A whirlwind of ruthless ambition, power struggles, greed and deception ensues as Tourneuil's brutal ascent is jeopardized by a hostile takeover attempt from a large American hedge fund led by Dittmar Rigule (Gabriel Byrne), erotic distractions from international supermodel Nassim (Liya Kebede), and adversaries with an agenda for destruction. Capital is a pointed commentary on how the world of contemporary capitalism plays itself out across the global finance stage.

Nominations and a win at Munich Film Festival 2013 and San Sebastian International Film Festival 2012

Discussion led by Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary of Unite the union and John Green, journalist and former documentary filmmaker.
Image cohen media

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street and Euston Square. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

(Previously) Sunday 8 March 2015 Screening

Celebrating International Women's Day with two women who deserve wider recognition.

MARÍA QUERIDA (DEAREST MARIA)
Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez, Spain 2004 [U], Spanish with EST, 91 mins

In 1984, having returned to Spain after 45 years of exile, María Zambrano Alarcon (Pilar Bardem), philosopher and essayist was awarded the Cervantes Prize. A young journalist and daughter of a teacher, Lola (María Bottol), attends the press conference and becomes fascinated when she learns that Zambrano too was a teacher but had never practised professionally. Like Zambrano, many Republican intellectuals were forced into exile after the civil war. They suffered separation from their loved ones and their country and longed to return. Journalist and filmmaker Lola has questions to which she searches for answers, while María Zambardo's wisdom helps Lola make decisions in her personal life.

Nominations for: Best Actress Award (Pilar Bardem) and Best Supporting Actress Award (María Botto)

HIDDEN HERSTORIES: CLAUDIA JONES
Octavia Foundation Young People, UK 2010 [U], 15 mins

Claudia Jones - Wikimedia

Hidden Herstories: Women of Change exposes the plight and determination of heroines forgotten by society. One of these, Claudia Jones (1945-1964), was a founder of the West Indian Workers and Students Association, started the West Indian Gazette, protested against the racist murder of Kelso Cochrane and launched the first Caribbean carnival in the UK in 1959. Stephanie Vaz, one of 20 young filmmakers involved in the learning project, said: 'We have had the chance to be involved in every aspect of film.'

Hidden Herstories: Women of Change
Claudia Jones - Wikipedia

Discussion led by Carl-Henrik Bjerstrom, Research Associate, and Mary Davis, visiting Professor, both of Royal Holloway University of London, and Sara Callaway of Women of Colour Global Women's Strike

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street and Euston Square. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

(Previously) Sunday 8 February 2015

THE GREAT BOOK ROBBERY
Benny Brunner, Netherlands 2012 [12], Hebrew/Arabic with EST, 57 mins

70,000 Palestinian books were systematically 'collected' by the newborn state of Israel during the 1948 war. The story of the books is at the heart of this film. Was the appropriation of Palestinian books and manuscripts in 1948 a case of cultural theft or preservation? On May 15 Palestinians mark the anniversary of the 'Nakba', the systematic expulsion of the Palestinian people by Zionist militias that began in late 1947 and lasted through 1948 and beyond. As well as land and properties, a lesser known aspect of that expulsion is that Israel looted Palestinian homes of their cultural treasures, among them books, manuscripts, personal papers, photographs and works of art.

Website thegreatbookrobbery.org
Twitter @bookrobbery
Facebook The Great Book Robbery

Image courtesy of The Palestine Poster Project (PPPA)/2911-foundation.

NOWHERE LEFT TO GO: THE JAHALIN BEDOUIN

Harvey Stein, Palestine 2012 [U], Arabic with EST, 27.55 mins

The Israeli armed forces are on the verge of dispossessing the Jahalin Bedouin of their homeland. The Israeli state neither has legitimacy nor humanity. Only military might allows them to pull down the shacks and school of the defenceless Jahalin Bedouin people, who are forcefully removed, as was done in South Africa during the Apartheid regime. People lament the loss of their land and homes and resist, but to no avail.

Website jahalin.org
Twitter @jahalin
Facebook Jahalin Association
Images Jahalin.org

ME AND MY HOMELAND: AN ENDLESS SAD STORY
Suleiman al-Hourani and Hamza Najim, Palestine 2012 [U], Arabic with EST, 11.7 mins

Stories are told of urban refugees who were forcibly removed from their homes and made homeless from 1948 onwards. Every story asserts the right to a good life in their land and the rights to school, sport and a culture that is their own.

Discussion led by Benny Brunner, filmmaker, Ben Jamal, National Executive member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, Advocacy Officer for The Jahalin Association

Nakba 1948 Palestine - Jaramana Refugee Camp, Damascus, Syria - wikimedia.org

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tubes: Warren Street and Euston Square. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

(Previously) Sunday 11 January 2015

CURSED BE THE PHOSPHATE
Sami Tlili, Tunisia 2012 [Advised PG], 78 mins

January 2008: a sit-in lasting six months in front of Redeyef Town Hall, in South West Tunisia marks the beginning of civil dissent. General Ben Ali confronts his first popular uprising. Their names are Moudhaffer, Bechir, Adnene, Leila, Adel, Haroun. They are teachers and unemployed young people in despair showing their rage on the streets or standing to give support for young people whose claims they believe to be legitimate. Their 'revolt for dignity' gave birth three years later to the Tunisian revolution. In the phosphate mining basin, the equation is simple and absurd: the region experiences all the consequences (ecological and otherwise) without any of its advantages. What remains of this human adventure? Broken souls, open wounds but also pride and dignity.

Best Arab documentary Black Pearl Award: Abu Dhabi Film Festival

Cursed be the Phosphate, يلعن بو الفسفاط - trailer 3 mins from Sami Tlili

OCCUPATION: MILLWORKER
Anand Patwardhan, INDIA 1996 [PG], Hindi with EST, 22 mins

Textile mills were once the backbone of Bombay's economy and provided the city with its working class culture. Today, foreign investment and rising real-estate prices have made selling mill lands more profitable than running mills. Mill 'sickness' is now an epidemic. Anand Patwardhan records the inspirational action of workers who, after a four-year lockout, forcibly occupied the New Great Eastern Mill. Management opts to sell the surrounding land, but the unemployed workforce are determined to clear the debris and run the mill themselves.
Image courtesy of patwardhan.com

Discussion led by John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street and Euston Square. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.
Membership details.

(Previously) Sunday 14 December 2014

PETE SEEGER: THE POWER OF SONG
Jim Brown, US 2007 [PG], 93 mins

Singer/songwriter Pete Seeger was an architect of the folk revival. His songs include If I had a Hammer and Where Have All the Flowers Gone. Attacked by the US government for his views on peace, unionism, civil rights and ecology, Seeger was targeted by the anti-communist witch hunt of the 1950s. In spite of his enormous popularity, he was banned from US television for more than 17 years. With a combination of never-before-seen archival footage and personal movies made by Seeger and his wife, the film chronicles the life of this legendary artist and political activist. It serves as a testament to Seeger's belief in the power of song and his conviction that people can make a difference. Our screening is thought to be its UK première.
Producers Guild of America Award - Outstanding
Image courtesy of musicfilmweb.com

BLACKLISTING - GIANT STEPS

Reel News, UK 2014 [Advised E], c10 mins

In 2009, the Information Commissioner's Office raided a shadowy organisation called the Consulting Association. They found a blacklist of over 3,000 workers who'd been denied employment in the construction industry, usually just for raising concerns over health and safety. The list also included around 400 environmental activists. Since then, a campaign has raised the possibility of bringing this illegal practice to an end. We present the latest developments.
Image courtesy of Reel News

Discussion led by Bob Davenport, 'You are one of the very best English singers I've ever heard or known' - letter from Pete Seeger, Derek Wall, International Co-ordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales, and filmmaker Shaun Dey of Reel News

Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
Nearest tube: Warren Street. Overground: Euston.
Buses: 10, 14, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 73, 88, 134, 205, 390.
Booking information: tickets are available from 10.20am on the day and may not be booked in advance.
Admission £10, concessions £8. Annual members £6/£4. Sorry no credit cards.