(Previously) Sunday 9 November 2014

WAR MATTERS
Chester Yang, UK 2013 [U], 50 mins

Chronicling 10 years of an individual's anti-war protest in the City of Westminster, this is the story of the late Brian Haw, veteran peace campaigner who camped in Parliament Square during those years.  The film examines the British arms trade and the repercussions of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in London, as our democratic rights are curtailed and the threat of 'terrorism' overshadows our streets.

THE LAB
Yotam Feldman, Israel/Belgium/France 2013 [U], Hebrew with EST, 60 mins

A young Israeli filmmaker interviews ex-soldiers and ex-army officers about their activities.  Some of them have become small-scale arms dealers with a world-wide market.  New technology develops new methods in the destruction of human life.  Now they can offer guns that see round corners.  Many countries purchase arms from Israeli manufacturers, reassured that they have been tested... on Palestinians.  The weapons are used in the clearance of Brazilian shanty towns.  Suspected drug traffickers are found guilty and executed without trial.  The way Israeli army personnel respond to the interviewer shocks:  '...these people are born to die.'  We are privileged to screen the film's UK première.


Discussion led by filmmaker Chester Yang, historian Neil Faulkner, research fellow at Bristol University, and Kat Hobbs, Local Outreach Co-ordinator, Campaign Against Arms Trade


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.

(Previously) Sunday 12 October 2014

FIRE IN THE BLOOD
Dylan Mohan Gray, India 2013 [PG], 84 mins

The first non-fiction feature from India to be theatrically released in either the US or UK,
this intricate tale of 'medicine, monopoly and malice' tells us how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south - causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths.  Shot on four continents and including contributions from Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz, this is the true story of the remarkable coalition which came together to stop 'the Crime of the Century'.  Dramatic past victories having given way to serious setbacks, - engineered far from public view - the real fight for access to life-saving medicine is almost certainly just beginning.
Winner of the first ever Political Film Prize at Filmfest Hamburg

CRICKLEWOOD CRAIC

Andrew Berekdar, UK 2012 [U]

Cricklewood Craic is a portrait of Irish construction workers who lived and sought work in north west London between the 1950s and the end of the 20th Century.  Four retired construction workers who migrated to London recount their experiences and reveal a once thriving Irish community.


Discussion led by Jeremy Corbyn, Member of Parliament for Islington North, Dr Ang Swee Chai, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, and filmmaker Andrew Berekdar


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. 

(Previously) Sunday 14 September 2014

MORE THAN HONEY
Markus Imhoof, Switzerland/Germany/USA 2012 [E], 91 mins

Some beautiful filming brings sharply into focus the loss throughout the world of numerous colonies of bees.  Estimates vary from 50% to 90% of bee populations having disappeared over the past 15 years.  With one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat and 80% of plant species dependent on pollination, the honey bee is among insects indispensable in the production of fruits, vegetables and field crops.  Does destruction of the environment bring about the decline of bees?  Or are parasites, new viruses or travelling stress to blame? Seeking answers, the film embarks on a world journey to discover the answers.
Best Documentary:  winner of many awards

FLASHMOB VENEZUELA
Omar Zambrano, Venezuela 2013 [U], 8 mins

On a sunny day in Maracaibo, Venezuela, seven cameras, 20 actors and more than 200 children invade the centre of the city.  In a 'flashmob' style, musicians from the El Sistema programme of youth orchestras in Zulia perform the emblematic song Venezuela to passers-by.


Discussion led by Nick Mole, Pesticides Action Network UK, Alvaro Sanchez, Chargé d'Affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy and Friends of the Earth


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.