Documentary screening: Black Gold March 25, 2008
Posted by Andreas in "The Economy", Cape Town, Film screening, Politics, Society, South Africa, activism.1 comment so far
While You Were Sleeping is doing another doucmentary screening in Cape Town. This one’s about coffee:
Black Gold, a beautifully shot documentary that explores the story behind the billion dollar industry which get’s the world going every morning will be shown at the Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Sunday 30 March at 6.15pm, on Monday 31 March at 8:30pm and on Tuesday 1 April at 8:30pm.
Few of us ever consider what it takes to get that precious cup of coffee onto our breakfast tables every morning. You may be interested enough to know that the beans came from Jamaica, Colombia or Indonesia, but did you know that coffee is the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil and that multinational companies dominate the global coffee industry which is worth over $80 billion.
While we continue to enjoy our daily lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers is so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields and are facing bankruptcy. Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Black Gold dramatically juxtaposes the abject poverty of Ethiopian coffee growers with the luxurious coffee-house culture of the affluent First World.
It tells the story of Tadesse Meskela who travels the globe in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price for the 74 000 struggling Ethiopian coffee farmers he represents. Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.
Watch the trailer:
If you are a coffee drinker, you owe it to yourself and to the millions of poor coffee farmers around the world to find out more about your favourite brew. Do you buy Fair Trade coffee? Did the people who grew the beans for your last cuppa get a good enough price to make a decent living for themselves and their families? Watch Black Gold and hear their story.
For more information consult the official Black Gold website: www.blackgoldmovie.com.
The screenings will be followed by a facilitated audience discussion. Tickets are R20 and can be reserved by calling The Labia at (021) 424 5927. Reserving tickets is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
This event is presented by The Labia and While You Were Sleeping, a Cape Town-based non-profit film collective committed to bringing progressive, non-mainstream documentaries with important social and environmental messages to South African audiences.
A small selection of progressive books will be on sale at the venue.
Contacts:
The Labia:
(021) 424 5927
While You Were Sleeping:
Andreas Späth
084 772 1056
Andreas_Spath@yahoo.com
www.whileyouweresleeping.wordpress.com
How much do you spend of coffee each day? And what proportion of that goes to the coffee farmer? Find out with the Black Gold Coffee Calculator
Buy Fair Trade coffee and make a difference!
Uranium Road November 29, 2007
Posted by Andreas in Cape Town, Environment, Film screening, Global warming, Nuclear Power, Politics, Press Release, South Africa, Sustainable Living, activism, renewable energy.add a comment
While You Were Sleeping are organising another documentary screening. This one is SA-made, about nuclear power and should engender some vigorous debate, so why don’t you join us!
Controversial documentary about nuclear power to be screened in Cape Town
You are invited to attend a screening of Uranium Road, a controversial and hard-hitting documentary about South Africa’s nuclear past and future will be shown at the Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Sunday 9 December at 6.15pm, on Monday 10 December at 8:30pm and on Tuesday 11 December at 8:30pm.
Uranium Road explores one of the most important and emotive questions facing South Africa: is nuclear power the answer to our uncertain energy future? When it was shown on MNet’s Carte Blanche recently Uranium Road caused an outcry from supporters of atomic energy and a flurry of letters to newspapers and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
Based on the book by Dr David Fig, this brand-new, locally produced documentary looks behind the veil of secrecy surrounding South Africa’s nuclear programme. Strongly opposed to nuclear energy, Uranium Road investigates the country’s billion rand atomic industry, claiming that it relies on technology the safety and economy of which have yet to be proven, is controlled by powerful cliques and fundamentally undermines the principles of our young democracy.
Providing rare insights into the history of the country’s secretive nuclear industry, this documentary chronicles how Apartheid-era South Africa developed a nuclear program and built several atomic weapons. South Africa’s current plans to revitalize its nuclear industry are judged against the background of an international nuclear industry that has not been able to solve basic problems of excessive cost, the threat to human health and safety, and long-term environmental contamination.
Whether you are against nuclear power or believe that atomic energy is the solution to our energy problems, you can’t afford to miss this eye-opening and thought-provoking documentary.
The screenings on December 9, 10 and 11 will be followed by a facilitated audience discussion. Tickets are R20 and can be reserved by calling The Labia at (021) 424 5927. Reserving tickets is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
This event is presented by The Labia and While You Were Sleeping, a Cape Town-based non-profit film collective committed to bringing progressive, non-mainstream documentaries with important social and environmental messages to South African audiences.
Contacts:
The Labia:
(021) 424 5927
While You Were Sleeping:
Andreas Späth
084 772 1056
Andreas_Spath@yahoo.com
www.whileyouweresleeping.wordpress.com
Darfur 101 August 8, 2007
Posted by Andreas in Film screening, Politics, Society, activism.1 comment so far
Until embarrassingly recently I was one of those people who had heard about stuff happening in Darfur - bad stuff, no, very bad stuff - but who wouldn’t really have been able to tell you exactly what this bad stuff was and who was doing it to whom and why.
Living in Africa, I decided that I couldn’t just not know about what sounded like a massive catastrophe. So I did some research and ended up writing this very basic primer on the crisis in Darfur for Women24.com:
So, tell me about… Darfur
Not sure what’s happening in Darfur? This’ll help.
Darfur (the ‘homeland of the Fur’), is the arid and remote western region of Sudan that has been the site of an ongoing and very bloody civil war since the early 2000’s
Background:
Approximately 7.4 million people inhabit Darfur, which is divided into three federal states.The vast majority of Darfurians are black African Muslims, but several Arab ethnic groups also inhabit the region. Since independence from Britain in 1956, the Sudanese state, including the government, military, judiciary and administrative bureaucracy, has been dominated by a small Arab elite drawn mostly from three tribes living alongside the Nile north of the capital Khartoum. Until the end of the millennium, the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual population of Darfur coexisted in relatively peaceful harmony.The Conflict:
Accusing the Sudanese government of marginalising Darfur through racist policies of neglect, predominantly black African rebels belonging to either the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) or the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) started attacking police stations, military convoys and army outposts in Darfur in 2003. The Sudanese army responded with massive and ruthless air and land offensives on rebel strongholds, frequently resulting in civilian casualties.The ethnically Arab Janjaweed militias, supported and armed by the Sudanese government, also started to fight the rebels. These brutal militias (Janjaweed means ‘devil on horseback’) have been accused of numerous atrocities against civilians, including mass killings, torture, burning of whole villages, public mass rapes, abduction of women and children, sex slavery, theft and destruction. Negotiations between the government and rebel groups have resulted in several ceasefire agreements, none of which have brought an end to the fighting.
The Consequences:
The situation in Darfur has been described as ‘the world’s worst humanitarian crisis’, ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’. The underlying reasons for the conflict are complex (spot the Chinese oil pipe, for one thing) and although atrocities have been committed by both sides, the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed have been the main perpetrators of war crimes.Accurate figures on the human toll are difficult to establish, but as many as 2.5 million people have been driven into overcrowded and unsanitary refugee camps, including several in neighbouring Chad. Between 700 and 2000 villages have been totally or partially destroyed. The United Nations estimates that up to 450 000 people have been killed in Darfur in recent years as a result of violence and disease. The Sudanese government contests these figures, saying that only 9000 have died
The International Response:
The African Union maintains an ill-equipped, poorly funded and hence mostly ineffectual peacekeeping force of 7000 soldiers in the region. The UN Resolution 1706 of 2006, calls for a 17 300 strong UN peacekeeping force, but implementation has been suspended indefinitely because of opposition from the Sudanese government. A number of UN, non-governmental and humanitarian aid organisations are active in Darfur and Chad, but their work is severely hampered by the remoteness of the region and the obstructionist tactics of the Sudanese government.The USA maintains a set of limited sanctions against Sudan dating back to the country’s support of Osama bin Laden and together with the UK has threatened to impose new sanctions.In May, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued warrants of arrest for a Janjaweed leader and a Sudanese government minister. Denying the authority of the ICC on the matter, the Sudanese government has refused to hand over the two men.
Shocked? Want to know what can YOU do?
Find out more:
Watch The Devil came on Horseback, a documentary on the crisis in Darfur which is being “buzz screened” by While You Were Sleeping and the Labia on Orange in Cape Town on 10, 11 and 12 August 2007. Click here for more details. It premieres at the Tri-Continental Festival in September 2007.
Get involved:
Join with like-minded South Africans, and find out about divestment (like “clever sanctions”) by clicking here.
Visit:
Savedarfur.org Human Rights Watch Amnesty International Darfur-Awareness Check out the Facebook group While You Were Sleeping.
One connection I didn’t really make nearly forcefully enough in this short article is the role of resources in the Darfur crisis and particularly the role of (you guessed it) oil. Here’s a link to a really good story about exactly that.
Darfur documentary in Cape Town August 6, 2007
Posted by Andreas in Cape Town, Film screening, History, Politics, activism.2 comments
The Devil Came on Horseback, a haunting documentary about Darfur, to be shown in Cape Town
The Devil Came on Horseback, a must-see documentary about the tragedy taking place in Darfur, will be shown at the Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Sunday 12 August at 6.15pm, on Monday 13 August at 8:30pm and on Tuesday 14 August at 8:30pm. These buzz screenings are brought to you by While You Were Sleeping in collaboration with the Tri Continental Film Festival.
The Devil Came on Horseback exposes the genocide in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of an American witness, former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, who served as an unarmed military observer with the African Union from 2004 through 2005.
Shaped by Brian’s personal journey - using on-the-ground video and more than 1,000 of his exclusive photographs of the emerging crisis in Darfur - the film reveals the horrors of a government waging a dark war on its citizens, creating a gripping and uncompromising expose of this ongoing genocide.
Just 27 years old, Brian was unprepared for what he would experience – daily he witnessed the brutal slaughtering of men, women and children yet was unable to intervene – and for what he would learn about Sudan and its government. Armed with a pen, paper and a camera, Brian’s only defense was to document the evidence and capture proof of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens.
Pic by Brian Steidle
Ultimately frustrated by the African Union’s inability to take action, Brian resigned and smuggled more than 1000 photographs back to the United States. Haunted by what he witnessed, Brian became driven to expose the images and stories behind this ongoing genocide, with the hope of compelling international intervention.
The killing in Darfur continues today. In fact, 2007 is estimated to be the deadliest year yet in Darfur, as the violence spreads and humanitarian groups begin to leave the area.
We are very proud to have received permission from the film’s directors to show The Devil Came on Horseback in Cape Town and share their hope that it will inspire and empower people to get involved and become active in bringing peace to Darfur, and to motivate international leadership to create foreign policy to respond effectively to this crisis before it becomes even worse. Come and find out what’s going on in Darfur and what you can do about it.
The screenings on August 12, 13 and 14 will be followed by a facilitated audience discussion. Tickets are R20 and can be reserved by calling The Labia at 021 424 5927. Reserving tickets is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
This event is presented by:
● The Labia,
● While You Were Sleeping, a Cape Town-based non-profit film collective committed to bringing progressive, non-mainstream documentaries with important social and environmental messages to South African audiences,
● Shikaya, a non-profit organisation that works with teachers to create a South Africa in which every learner is inspired to become responsible citizens in our democracy, valuing diversity, human rights and peace,
● Tri Continental Film Festival, and
● Stand Up, a UCT social awareness and action group.
The Devil Came on Horseback will premier at the Tri Continental Film Festival in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria from 14 September to 11 October 2007.
A small selection of progressive books will be on sale at the venue.
Solidarity with Palestinian women June 13, 2007
Posted by Andreas in Cape Town, Film screening, Israel and Palestine, Politics, activism.add a comment
A few months ago, While You Were Sleeping organised a screening of The Iron Wall, a documentary about Palestine and Israel and the wall that divides them. ILRIG is showing it again as part of their efforts to build local women’s activism. Here are the details:
ILRIG (International Labour Research and Information Group) presents:
Building Women’s Activism 2007
Solidarity with Palestinian women
Women only
Thursday 21st June, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Elijah Loza Hall (next to cafeteria), Community House, Salt River
Draft agenda:
· Welcome & Introduction
· Films and discussion: The Iron Wall and Balata Refugee Camp films
· Input from women activists involved in Solidarity with Palestine
· Building Women’s Leadership Course Reportback
· Issues arising/planning for next forum
Snacks and transport home will be provided. Please contact us at least 2 days beforehand if you have transport or childcare concerns. We look forward to your participation at the public forum!RSVP –Anna Davies-van Es
Tel: 021 4476375, Fax: 021 4482282, Cell: 0827828785 Email: anna@ilrig.org.za
Documentary about Cuba to be screened in Cape Town May 28, 2007
Posted by Andreas in "The Economy", Cape Town, Environment, Film screening, History, Politics, Press Release, Society, Sustainable Living, activism, renewable energy.add a comment
While You Were Sleeping the non-profit collective I’m a member of is organising another documentary screening (see press release below for details). If you’re interested in Cuba, organic and urban agriculture, sustainable societies and Peak Oil and if you’re in Cape Town, then why not come and check it out.
The film is just under an hour long and the screenings will be followed by a facilitated audience discussion. Would be really lekker to see you there!
How Cuba survived Peak Oil – documentary screening in Cape Town
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil will be shown at the Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Sunday 3 June at 6.15pm, on Monday 4 June at 8:30pm and on Tuesday 5 June at 8:30pm.
The film documents Cuba’s emergency transition to local organic agriculture, renewable energy, and large-scale mass transit. The transition occurred following the Soviet collapse in 1990, when their massive subsidies of imported oil and food to Cuba were halted.
In The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, ordinary Cubans talk about the immediate hardships they faced. Their GDP dropped by more than one third, transportation nearly stopped and food became scarce - the average Cuban lost 20 pounds during the first years of this economic crisis.
The documentary visits urban gardens and organic farms, explains the relationship between food and fossil fuels, and shows how a society can change from an industrialized, global focus to a local, community-based one. It provides us with a rare view into this island’s culture, using firsthand reporting that focuses on what Cubans have learned about adapting to living with less.
Cuba’s experience represents a living model for how the rest of the world can respond to the coming peak in global oil production that some experts say will occur this decade. “Everyone who is concerned about Peak Oil needs to see this film,” said Richard Heinberg, author of The Party’s Over and Powerdown. “It is a story not just of individual achievement, but of the collective mobilization of an entire society to meet an enormous challenge.”
The Community Solution, executive producer of the film, is a non-profit organization in Yellow Springs, Ohio dedicated to seeking viable, low-energy options to the coming Peak Oil crisis. It hosts the annual “U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions,” and offers other programs to increase public awareness about peak oil.
The screenings on June 3, 4 and 5 will be followed by a facilitated audience discussion. Tickets are R20 and can be reserved by calling The Labia at (021) 424 5927. Reserving tickets is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
This event is presented by The Labia and While You Were Sleeping, a Cape Town-based non-profit film collective committed to bringing progressive, non-mainstream documentaries with important social and environmental messages to South African audiences.
Contacts:
The Labia: (021) 424 5927
While You Were Sleeping:
Andreas Späth
084 772 1056
Andreas_Spath@yahoo.com
A documentary about biotechnology April 11, 2007
Posted by Andreas in Cape Town, Environment, Film screening, genetic engineering.2 comments
Permacore, a Cape Town group of permaculturists, are screening a documentary called Seeds of Change this Thursday (12 April) at 7pm at The Door in the Floor, Trill Road, Observatory. I’ve stolen all of the info from urban sprout…
I know this is extremely short-notice, but I thought this looks very, very interesting and worth promoting here. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to the screening myself.
If you get there early food will be available to order in the courtyard. Texting 084 951 5535 if you plan to eat will assist with the catering. Or email info@permacore.org.za for more info.
Seeds of Change is a 70 minute fast-paced and moving documentary about the views of western Canadian farmers on both the benefits and risks associated with using genetically modified crops.
“Our film addresses the biotechnology industry and how it has changed the face of agriculture. As such it has great relevance for stakeholders around the world - activists, industry people, policymakers, and farmers not least among them,” states video researcher Stéphane McLachlan.
