Uncle Bernard: A Counter-Lesson in Economics
Economist Bernard Maris, a.k.a. “Uncle Bernard”, was killed during the Charlie Hebdo shooting, on January 7, 2015. This fascinating interview with him was filmed in March 2000 as part of the documentary ENCIRCLEMENT – NEO-LIBERALISM ENSNARES DEMOCRACY. Frank and unvarnished, this is a true “counter lesson in economics” in which the director gives centre stage to […]
Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians
The film presents the emblematic case of the defense of Wirikuta, sacred territory to the Huichol people, against the threat of mining exploitation. This native people to this land, launches a spiritual crusade to protect life, evidencing the internal contradictions in our materialistic world. The Ramirez family takes us into their ritual pilgrimage that takes […]
The Magnus Isaacson Collection
From labour to natural resources, from Indigenous communities grappling with hydro dams to art activists provoking with “socially acceptable acts of terrorism,” from the Raging Grannies to a choir formed by homeless men – Cinema Politica’s Magnus Isacsson Collection will engage and rouse audiences with tales of struggle, resistance, justice, art and activism. This collection […]
Honour Your Word
Marylynn Poucachiche and Norman Matchewan faced tear gas and police batons when they joined their parents on the barricades to defend the Barriere Lake Algonquins’ traditional territory in the 1980s. Little did Marylynn and Norman realize they would still be on the barricades over 20 years later, this time with their own young children at their […]
Radical Reels Presents: Someone Lives Here
Netizens, followed by discussion with Our Bodies Our Voice
5 Broken Cameras – Israel-Palestine Conflict
Dolores
History tells us Cesar Chavez transformed the U.S. labor movement by leading the first farm workers’ union. But missing from this story is his equally influential co-founder, Dolores Huerta, who tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Chavez, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century. Like so many […]
Freelancer on the Front Lines
What makes Jesse Rosenfeld tick? A freelance reporter based in the Middle East, Jesse has made the region the focus of his work. FREELANCER ON THE FRONT LINES accompanies him in his daily life as he criss-crosses Egypt, Israel and Palestine, Turkey and Iraq. Examining thorny geopolitical realities shaped by the events transforming the Middle […]
Territories
A giant in the world of documentary photography, Larry Towell has garnered several top-level honors, including the 2005 Priz Nadar and the first Henri Cartier-Bresson Award. This program follows Towell as he uses his camera to confront foreboding landscapes and shed light on struggling communities—drawing parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the militarization of the […]
The Art of Resistance
Argentina’s troubled history, culminating in the major crisis of 2001, has seen the rise of a wave of original artistic and cultural expression. The documentary The Art of Resistance introduces us to several creators and artist collectives who use artistic expression as a means to deliver powerful social statements, explore unbridled creativity, and participate actively […]
Uyghurs, Prisoners of the Absurd
This feature documentary recounts the incredible odyssey of 22 men from China’s persecuted Uyghur minority who were detained in Guantánamo as terrorists. These Turkic-speaking Muslims, persecuted by the authorities in Beijing, escaped to the Middle East where they were captured and sold as terrorists to the American forces. From northern China to Guantánamo, Cuba, this […]
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Set in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, LOVE IN THE TIME OF FENTANYL is an intimate, observational look beyond the stigma of injection drug users, revealing the courage of those facing terrible tragedy in a neighbourhood often referred to as ground zero of the overdose crisis. As the number of overdose deaths in Vancouver reaches an all […]
Illusions of Control (Shannon Walsh, 2019)
Where Olive Trees Weep
Solidarity with Black Lives Matter
We stand in defiance of oppressive and violent systems and institutions founded on centuries-long histories of slavery and genocide and the vile legacy of white supremacy and colonialism …
