Militant Movies !
» Dirty Paradise »
SYNOPSIS
Today an incredible sanitary and ecological disaster is taking place in the heart of the Amazonia in an overseas department of France, on the border between Suriman and French Guyana. ´Dirty Paradiseª shares the story of a thousand Indians who are trying to survive the devastation caused by 10, 000 illegal gold-seekers who hide in the forests.
For the first time, the Indian Wayana speak in a film and denounce the consequences of the uncontrolled exploitation of ´dirtyª gold. This documentary accompanies Parana, Akama, Mélanie and their children in their daily and derisory fight to save their land from destruction.
The primary rain forest is plundered, rivers and creeks are polluted by tons of mercury and mud. The authorities, the army and the French police are powerless facing the massive immigration of illegal gold-seekers who work and hide in the forests. The gold fever has swept across the region and mercury contamination has created health problems. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. ´Dirty Paradiseª tells the story of an Amerindian tribe which refuses to disappear silently or remain indifferent.
Winner of the GRAND PRIX 2010 Human Right Film Festival in Geneva.
Un film de Daniel Schweizer
« The Cove«
Rewarded at the Sydney and Sundance festivals by the Audience Award, this documentary is THE militant movie to watch these days. Taiji, Japan. A small cove, surrounded by barbed wires and « Keep Out » signs, lies a secret that a team of the Oceanic Preservation Society and the former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, seek to expand to the world. The latter is known for having brought to the world the adventures of Flipper the Dolphin. With its five animals, he gave the start of the multibillion dollar dolphin entertainment industry. And today, he wants to take that back. Realized by Louis Psihoyos, the documentary sets the fight between preservationists and local fishers. Don’t expect a calm and boring movie. The Cove embodies the features of the best spying movies and the most frightening documentaries. To win their fight against the local police and fishers, the japanese mafias and the sharks of the dolphin entertainment industry, they recruited a team of underwater sound and camera experts, special effects artists, marine explorers, adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers to carry out an undercover operation to photograph the off-limits cove.
Supported in France by the well-known director Luc Besson, the movie was released on September 30th. More than the horrific images, the documentary demonstrates the inability of the International Whaling Commission to protect small cetaceans but also the health issues that the commercialization of the dolphin meat brings into the japanese society. As a fact, it contains 5 times more mercury than it is authorized. Therefore, this documentary is not only about dolphins, it is also about humans. If the first reason didn’t made you watch it, maybe the second one will.
« Le syndrôme du Titanic »
Realised by Jean-Albert Fièvre and Nicolas Hulot, this movie is more a call to consciousness and a political manifesto than a true ecological documentary. Following a popular movement of militant movies, it leaves aside the usuals natural landscapes to focus mainly on human achievements and transformation of the land. And it works. The off-screen voice comes with numerous facts and images that get audition’s attention better than any numerical demonstration. In theaters October 7th, we will see if this one will join Home and An Inconvenient Truth in the growing family of movies that wish to make things change. As the musicians onboard the Titanic, will we keep playing while the world is drawning?
« The Age of Stupid »
Straddling between science-fiction and documentary, this movie is an UFO compared to its peers. It allows us to look our time, through the eyes of someone that already lived it. Throughout the movie, the viewer witnesses two parallel worlds: One desastrous world that cannot be changed anymore, and another one, which can still be saved. The movie also serves the Not Stupid campaign, that tries to raise consciousness for the Copenhagen Summit, next December.It came out yesterday. Don’t be stupid, you know which movie to go to on friday night.
However, these two movies are only the tip of the iceberg. And they make us see the actual other part. As the New York Times’ Blog mentions, the Big Apple hosts these days the Climate Week. The event seeks to provide a platform for business, politics and citizens before the major Copenhagen Summit in December. And it seems that the best way to reach the most possible people is the Cinema Industry. Well, in fact, not really the all industry. Many movies come from Independent producers. In example, the funds for « The Age of Stupid » were raised through social networks and by word of mouth. All this helps medias to focus their attention on events that, in other times, would have been be neglected on the international scale. It seems that everybody (film producers, citizens, corporations and the World itself) is able to make it out alright…
« Home »
The movie Home was released in 2009 through an enormous media campaign. It had been networked on television for free, prices in theaters were reduced by half and it is available online for free. The main goal was to allow as many people as possible to see the movie. Produced by Yann-Arthus Bertrand, a famous photographer that is known for its aerial pictures of our planete, the movie sets breathtaking landscapes and images. The message is pretty simple: What can be do to make things change? Well, we have to find the answer.
« The Devil’s miner »
The movie script is based on the lives of two bolivian children, Basilio, 14, and his little brother Bernardino, 12, as they struggle to work in the silver mines of Cerro Rico for a mere of 3$ a day. They are not even teenagers yet, but have to deal with all the problems their dead father would have to deal with if he was still alive. With traditional superstitions on the background, this movie paints quite a picture of the living condition of thousands of children that have to work and struggle when they should only have to pull their fridge’s door. As it will make you discover many aspects of the bolvian culture, it will certainly take your breath away. Poignant!
» An Inconvenient Truth »
This 2006 documentary is about the campaign of former vice-president of the USA, Al Gore, against Global Warming. We follow him through its travels around the world, trying to educate citizens and grow awareness about the environmental, social and physical issues that Global Warming is setting. Through a slide show, Al Gore wants to show us that we are all, and we can all be, concerned about this phenomenon and wants to set basic practices that everyone could integrate in it lifestyle.
The film was a critical and box-office success. It won Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song. It also earned $49 million at the box-office worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing documentary in the USA since 1982. The documentary was a tipping point as it brought on the public scene considerations that scientists already had for many years. It has been credited for raising public awareness of climate change and reenergizing the environmental movement. This is a fact. Without this movies, I doubt many of the movies above would have had such success and would have had the funds to be broadcasted. Yesterday, October 6th, the temperature in Switzerland had never been this high for thirty years. This is another fact.
