Reclaim the Commons Benefit Film Festival

"RECLAIM THE COMMONS" WEEK BENEFIT FILM FESTIVAL

SUNDAY JUNE 6TH 2-8 PM
NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA CULTURAL CENTER
766 VALENCIA STREET , SAN FRANCISCO

SPONSORED BY NEW COLLEGE ACTIVISM + SOCIAL CHANGE; CULTURE, ECOLOGY + SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY; and MEDIA STUDIES


Schedule:

2:00pm - Velorution

3:00pm - We Are Traffic

4:00pm - Greening of Cuba

5:00pm - Global Banquet

6:00PM - Shorts

7:00pm - Fed Up



Film Info:



Velorution: One City's Solution to the Automobile

1996

28 minutes

Produced & Directed by Bruce Petschek & Charles Phred Churchill



Velorution is a dynamic half-hour portrait of Havana, Cuba, in the period just following the collapse of the Soviet Union when, for lack of oil, the city adopted the bicycle as one of the dominant forms of transportation.



While the battle against pollution, traffic mortality, and urban gridlock falters in most cities, Havana has proved that the bicycle can move a large number of commuters. Taking the lead from some industrialized, bicycle-friendly cities in Europe, Cuba ordered 1.2 million bicycles from China, and thus began their trek toward a human-powered 'Velorution.'



Drawing in part from an earlier production, this tape was originally intended for urban planners and bicycle enthusiasts. Now, however, the filmmakers have found that others who've never seen nor heard from Cubans outside of the dominant political debates are interested in this off-the-beaten-path view of Cuba's cityscape.





(We aren't blocking traffic,) We Are Traffic!

A Movie about Critical Mass

1999

50 minutes

Directed by Ted White



We Are Traffic! chronicles the history and development of the "Critical Mass" bicycle movement, one of the most spirited and dynamic social/political movements of the apathetic 90's. In over 100 cities in 14 different countries, Critical Mass has now become a monthly ritual of reclaiming the streets by bicycle activists riding en masse.



With traffic congestion, pollution, and road rage on the rise, growing numbers around the world are advocating for transportation alternatives, and Critical Mass is at the cutting edge of this mindset.



We Are Traffic! tracks this leaderless, grassroots movement from its beginnings in San Francisco in 1992 to its spread across the globe. With a radical direct-action approach the participants of Critical Mass are celebrating the bicycle and in turn taking on perhaps the century's most sacred cow: the automobile.





The Greening Of Cuba

1996

38 minutes

Institute for Food and Development Policy, Subterranean Distribution



This video profiles Cuban farmers and scientists working to reinvent a sustainable agriculture, based on ecological principles and local knowledge rather than imported agricultural inputs. In their quest for self-sufficiency, Cubans combine time-tested traditional methods with cutting edge bio-technology.



When trade relations with the socialist bloc collapsed in 1990, Cuba lost 80% of its pesticide and fertilizer imports and half its petroleum - the mainstays of its highly industrialized agriculture. Challenged with growing food for 11 million in the face of the continuing U.S. embargo, Cuba embarked on the largest conversion to organic farming every attempted.



Told in the voices of the women and men - the campesinos, researchers, and organic gardeners - who are leading the organic agriculture movement, the video reminds us that developed and developing nations alike can choose a healthier environment and still feed their people. (In Spanish with English sub-titles.)





The Global Banquet: The Politics of Food

Producer/Director(s): Anne Macksoud, John Ankele

57 Minutes



The Global Banquet reveals the profound negative impact of globalization on our food system. Taking examples from all over the world this video makes “difficult” issues understandable to the non-specialist, by exposing the underlying myths that hunger is the result of scarcity, that small countries simply can’t feed themselves, and that only market driven, chemically based, industrial agriculture can feed the world, how Agri-business is squeezing out small farmers and how trade liberalization, by allowing mass produced, low-cost food exports to developing countries is destroying peoples’ ability to feed themselves





Fed Up!

Wholesome Goodness Productions

2002

57:40



Using hilarious and disturbing archival footage (from archive.org) and featuring interviews with farmers, scientists, government officials and activists, FED UP! presents an entertaining, informative and compelling overview of our current food production system from the Green Revolution to the Biotech Revolution and what we can do about it. FED UP! explores the unintentional effects of pesticides, the resistance of biotechnology companies to food labeling and the links between government officials and major biotechnology and chemical companies. FED UP! answers many questions regarding genetic engineering, the Green Revolution, genetic pollution and modern pesticides through interviews with Marc Lappé and Britt Bailey from the Center for Ethics and Toxics, Peter Rosset and Anuradha Mittal from Food First, Vandana Shiva from the Research Center for Science, Technology and Ecology, Ignacio Chapela from UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, Martina McGloughlin, Director of UC Davis' Biotechnology Program and many others.