Sustainability Film Series - Term 2 2009
Want to learn more about sustainability, society and the environment? Come along to the Sustainability Film Series, have fun, and learn some more about the global issues linked to sustainability.
There will be a screening every week for the first four weeks of term two, Wednesdays at 7pm in the Shelley Common Room, UCSA Building, with biscuits, fruit, juice and Fair Trade coffee and tea provided, to have a chat over after the films.
The series will explore a wide range of topics, particularly positive responses to social and environmental issues, and is intended to encourage discussion about the sustainability of our society, now and into the future.
- In the first week, Amnesty International will show documentaries on two crucial historical figures, highlighting the power of personal action upon collective social change.
- For Fair Trade Fortnight, the Poverty and Fair Trade Club will host a film exploring the effects of Israeli settlements within the West Bank and Gaza, and their long term influence on the future peace process.
- The Low Budget Film Club will host two films on the third night, studying the philosophical elements of rapid social change and highlighting the far-reaching impacts our individual actions can have.
- The final screening this semester will be hosted by Engineers Without Borders, an informative and inspirational documentary studying the Brazilian city of Curitiba, in which forward-thinking, integrated urban planning and social initiatives have created one of the most livable cities in the world.
Come along to increase your knowledge, further develop your views or to meet other like-minded people; just don’t miss out on the fun!
Schedule – Term Two
| Date | Club | Film(s) |
| Wednesday 29 April | Amnesty International | Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace Dr Martin Luther King Jr. - A Historical Perspective |
| Wednesday 6th May | Poverty & Fair Trade | The Iron Wall |
| Wednesday 13th May | Low Budget Film Club | The Man Who Planted Trees Crac! |
| Wednesday 20th May | Engineers Without Borders | A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil |
This year’s film series is being hosted by a variety of sustainability-related clubs: Kakariki, Poverty & Fair Trade, SAFE, Engineers Without Borders, Amnesty International, the Low Budget Film Club, the Campus Greens and the UCSA.
Descriptions of Films
29th April, 7pm in the Shelley Common Room, UCSA Building
Hosted by Amnesty International
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. - A Historical Perspective
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most loved, respected and feared leaders in American history. He was the conscience of the struggle for civil rights - and one of its many heroic martyrs. This authorised biography offers a one-of-a-kind examination of Dr. King's extraordinary life, using rare and largely unseen film footage and photographs. To study Dr. King's compelling and magnificent life is to understand that social change and enlightenment are brought about only by the overwhelming force of the human spirit.
Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace
This biography profiles the small man who took a great nation on his shoulders and changed the world. It traces his rise to power and fearless campaign of truth, non-violence and non-cooperation with injustice that eventually defeated the British Empire. Biographers offer insight into his surprising personal life, while historians explore his remarkable accomplishments. From the formation of his philosophy to changing the face of the world, this is the complete saga of the Pilgrim of Peace Mahatma Gandhi.
6th May, 7pm in the Shelley Common Room, UCSA Building
Hosted by the Poverty & Fair Trade Club
The Iron Wall
After 1967, and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the aim of the Zionist settlement movement, and later the state of Israel, became clear - create facts on the ground and make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible. Thirty nine years later there are now more than 200 settlements and outposts scattered throughout the West Bank, blocking the geographic possibility of a contiguous Palestinian territory.
The Iron Wall documentary exposes this phenomenon and follows the timeline, size and population of the settlements, and their impact on the peace process. This film also touches on the latest project to make the settlements a permanent fact on the ground - the wall that Israel is building in the West Bank and its impact on the Palestinian's peoples.
Settlements and related infrastructures are impacting every aspect of life for all Palestinians; from land confiscation, theft of natural resources, denial of basic human rights and the creation of an apartheid-like system. There are also devastating impacts in regard to the future of the region and prospects of the peace process.
13th May, 7pm in the Shelley Common Room, UCSA Building
Hosted by the Low Budget Film Club
Crac!
Crac! traces the rapid transformation of Quebec society through the story of a rocking chair. In this charming tale tinged with nostalgia, Frédéric Back takes us back to rich traditions swept aside by the relentless forces of progress and urbanization. Crac! is the sound of a falling tree, chopped down to make the chair. It's the sound of the chair as it rocks. It's also the sound of the rift in our lives when change happens too quickly. Crac! is Frédéric Back's tribute to Quebec, his adoptive home, and to the culture of his wife and children. The film took the world by storm, earning for its creator and Radio-Canada their first Oscar®, in 1982.
The Man Who Planted Trees
The Oscar® he won for Crac! allowed Frédéric Back to fulfill his dream of bringing Jean Giono's wonderful story The Man Who Planted Trees to the screen. In more distilled form, its environmental message and philosophy of life reflect the concerns already addressed by Back in his previous films. The seeds planted by the shepherd are a symbol of all our actions, good and bad, which have far-reaching consequences we can scarcely imagine. It is up to us to think and act in accordance with our hopes for the future, and, if possible, to leave behind us a world more beautiful and promising than the one we inherited.
20th May, 7pm in the Shelley Common Room, UCSA Building
Hosted by Engineers Without Borders
A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil
An informative, inspirational documentary aimed at sharing ideas to provoke environment-friendly and cost-effective changes in cities worldwide. The documentary focuses on innovations in transportation, recycling, social benefits including affordable housing, seasonal parks, and the processes that transformed Curitiba into one of the most livable cities in the world.