OUR ISLAND, OUR WORLD FILM FESTIVAL VOWS TO "MAKE MEDIA MATTER"
CINEMA CENTRAL JOINS OUR ISLAND, 
OUR WORLD FILM FESTIVAL FOR FEATURE PRESENTIONS
February 18, 2005 - Our
Island, Our World Film Festival is
excited to welcome Cinema Central as a venue in its upcoming 6th
annual event. Cinema Central's participation means that a larger part of the
festival can be devoted to feature length presentations. The new partnership
will add three evening showings of the most compelling social documentaries of
the past year.
"We're hoping the addition of this venue will broaden our
audience," says Dick Grier, an organizer of the film festival. "We were able to keep the usual number
of feature films at GISS, as well as add more at Central including some family
fare to expand things a bit."
Velcrow Ripper's Scared
Sacred opens the festival at
Cinema Central on Friday March 4 with the filmmaker attending to introduce the
film and answer questions following. Winner of the Toronto Film Festival's Special
Jury Prize, Scared Scared documents the filmmaker's five-year journey to
search for hope and humanity in the most desperate places in the world.
An exciting lineup of
features follows, including The Yes Men, a true story that follows prankster activists as they roam the world
impersonating the WTO; and Oscar nominee for Best Documentary The Story of the Weeping Camel, a heartful tale set in Mongolia, suitable for the
whole family. On Sunday evening,
Mort Ransen, a local filmmaker, will introduce Weeping Camel, followed by the
animated short, Ryan, also
Oscar nominated.
Features at GISS include The
Take by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein,
a political thriller set against Argentina's 2001 presidential election; and War
Photographer, Christopher Frei's
intimate portrait of one this century's most important humanitarians.
In addition to the feature
presentations, short films will be screened throughout the weekend at Gulf
Islands Secondary School with corresponding workshops taking place on Saturday
March 5. The Nanaimo Film School offers two sessions: Film School 4 Youth, and
How to Make a Film for Less than the Price of a Used Car. GISS students Ben
Sanchez and Lucas Parker tell you how to Make Your Point With Film. Afternoon
seminars include a How to Run your Vehicle on Vegetable Oil with the SSI
Biodiesel Group, and a presentation/discussion on island sustainability options
and renewable energy with the SSI Alternative Energy Collective.
Regular ticket prices
apply to films screened at Cinema Central. Films and workshops at GISS are by
donation. Complete programs will be available after February 23 at Salt Spring
Books, Island Star Video, Cinema Central, Watermark Books, Volume II, the
Library, and Island Savings, or check http://www.savesaltspring.com/filmfest.html.
Media Contact: Deirdre
Rowland (250) 653-9479 or email ideas@saltspring.com.
February 11,
2005 - Our Island, Our World Film Festival takes up a special theme for its 6th annual
event, encouraging participants to "make media matter". The festival
committee and new organizers, Carol and Dick Grier, have assembled a strong
list of titles which focus on issues of social justice. Workshops on related
topics will allow festival goers to address these issues themselves.
"We saw an
awe-inspiring amount of humanitarianism at last year's festival," says
Carol Grier. "I was particularly impressed with the AIDS and
Africa-focused films and workshops. This year there will be plenty more
involvement opportunities - when people go to films and get inspired or
depressed, they can immediately speak to someone from our island who is working
on these issues locally or even globally."
The festival drew
approximately 700 people last year, and the organizers are hoping to draw even
more with increased venues and an exciting lineup of films that meet a full
spectrum of interests. They are extremely pleased to announce as opening film
Velcrow Ripper's Scared Sacred,
winner of many awards internationally including Special Jury Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Other films of special interest include The
Take by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein,
and the Oscar-nominated War Photographer by Christian Frei. Popular films will be re-run at the end of each
day.
Workshops to look for
include sessions with Salt Spring Island Biodiesel Group and Salt Spring Island
Alternative Energy Group. The Nanaimo Film School will host a special Film
School for Youth for students aged 15 and under.
Our Island, Our World takes p lace March 4, 5 and 6 with showings at
Cinema Central and Gulf Islands Secondary School. No advance tickets. Programs
will be available by February 23. Film listings and info can also be found at http://www.savesaltspring.com/filmfest.html.
The Festival is
co-sponsored by The World Community Development Education Society and PARC.
Media Contact: Deirdre
Rowland (250) 653-9479 or email ideas@saltspring.com
Our Island, Our World Film Festival Dates Announced
Our Island, Our World Film Festival will once again be providing inspirational documentaries and feature length films from around the world March 4, 5, and 6, 2005 for its Gulf Islands audience.
"I'm excited about this year's lineup," says Carol Grier, one of the festival's organizers. "Our main criterion for film selection is social justice and how we can then relate the films to our own community. I found last year's films about AIDS particularly inspiring . Some people think these films are depressing, but when you see how local people, SOLID, for example, are stepping up to make a differenc e, how can you not be motivated to do something? The Bio-diesel film last year was another example of how local people were moved to learn about the energy crisis and then created a workshop to provide an alternative to using petroleum based fuels."
Some
of this year's films include Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis's The Take, an uplifting
story of the takeover of a shuttered ceramic tile factory by workers in the
aftermath of Argentina's economic collapse in 2001; El Contrato, a
"stunning expose" of Canadian exploitation of vulnerable migrant
workers; and Orwell Rolls in his Grave, a "wake-up call that we have already
entered an Orwellian world when history, context, and language are redefined
daily by the government, as the media broadcasts the new version of the truth
without question." Local films and filmmakers will also be featured and
community groups will be on hand to offer involvement opportunities to island
residents ready to take the next step.
The
film festival is an opportunity to see firsthand some of the challenges that
exist in our world today and to join others in our community to make a
difference. Film listings and other information about the festival will be
updated regularly at http://www.savesaltspring.com/filmfest.html
"We have an energetic team of film enthusiasts putting together this year's festival, and we're having a great time," stated Grier. If you wish to get involved with the film festival, or for more information, call Carol or Dick Grier at 537-4406.