London Socialist Film Co-op: 2015

(Previous) Sunday, 10 January 2016 Screening 10:20 for 11:00

WHERE SHOULD THE BIRDS FLY?

Fida Qishta, and Mona Samouni, Palestine, 2013 [PG] English 58 mins

The injustices of everyday life - farmers, fishermen, children and families – are documented in this unique and illuminating film (shot and narrated by Fida Qishta who filmed her own family home being demolished by Israeli bulldozers). The film also covers the 2008/09 Israeli offensive against Gaza. Fida Qishta films the terror and destruction, often at great personal risk, and talks to ten year old Mona whose entire family were killed by Israeli fire. Highly recommended.

Nabi Samwil 1099-2099

Eran Torbiner, Israel/Palestine, [U] 2014, 29 mins

The story of an ancient village in Palestine now occupied and surrounded by a fence..

Alroweed, Pioneers for Life, [U]12 mins

Alrowwad and the French Association Les Jeux combined to make this film about their programme, The Beautiful Resistance, which helps traumatised children and young people using theatre, music, cookery and play.

Discussion led by Sarah Colborne, Director Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Bob Jones, Medical Aid for Palestine, Ghada Karmi, Doctor, author and academic

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 13 December 2015 Screening CANCELLED (exceptionally)

We are very sad to announce the loss of our dear friend, comrade and founding member of the LSFC, Nicola Seyd. She gave us inspiration and wished us to continue with the film shows; she will be missed, but her perseverance, steadfastness, and kindness will inspire us on our paths.

Her funeral will take place on the 18th of December, 3pm at Golders Green Crematorium, West Chapel. Nicola's wish was no flowers, but donations to the Morning Star.

Please note:

The London Socialist Film Co-op apologizes for having to cancel this film show due to circumstances beyond our control. We will however show WADJDA on the 12th of June 2016, and will continue with our film shows at the Bolivar Hall on the 10th of January, 2016, every second Sunday of the month, from January to June, at 11 am.

Membership details.

(Previously) 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.

(Previously) Sunday 11 October 2015

TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI

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

Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy. 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

(Previously) Sunday 13 September 2015

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