| Those who think that movies are merely for entertainment may not believe that cinema has the power to change the world, but thankfully the organizers of Movies That Matter aren’t so narrow-minded.
A joint initiative between the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) and the University of Calgary’s Tri-Media Alliance (made up of CJSW, NUTV and The Gauntlet), Movies That Matter is a series of monthly documentary film screenings that not only inform viewers about a variety of social and political issues, but also foster discussion of those issues in an open forum. In fact, I would argue that in this city the forum matters as much or more than the movies themselves – regardless of how provocative or controversial they may be – because it encourages community, understanding and, most importantly, social action.
"I think the quality of films that we’re showing is quite high," says Movies That Matter programmer Andrew Eyck, who is also CIFF’s program director. "And while people may be critical of some of the opinions expressed or points of view taken, it’s rather difficult to criticize the quality of the films or the way the information is being presented."
Movies That Matter kicked off in January 2003 – during the height of the pre-Iraq war crisis – with a sold-out screening of Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in our Times, which documents the famous linguist and political philosopher’s responses to the U.S. government’s rhetoric concerning 9/11. But perhaps even more valuable to the crowd of 700-plus people on hand for the film was the heated discussion about Chomsky’s ideas that erupted afterwards among panelists from across the political spectrum. In the year since the series began, Movies That Matter has presented films about terrorism in the Middle East, the AIDS crisis in Africa and the sex trade in India, among other topics, but the one thing that remains the same is the organizers’ commitment to provide a context for debate about the issues raised.
They do this partly by creating an inclusive atmosphere where activists and other concerned parties are welcome to discuss their work in a public setting. For example, at last October’s screening of The Day My God Died, a film about child sex slavery in Bombay, activist Shuvaloy Majumdar was present to inform people about the efforts of The Future Group to combat this problem throughout Southeast Asia.
"Part of the battle is first of all showing people the problem, and the second part is providing the solution and finding a way to allow people to express their solutions to it as well," says Majumdar, who adds that the events both energize those who already are activists and help recruit new ones into a variety of causes. "We got a lot of e-mails and we were able to get in touch with a lot of prospective volunteers."
Others share Majumdar’s perspective on the community-building aspects of Movies That Matter. Katherine Morton, the director of communications and development for AIDS Calgary, was a speaker at last May’s screening of State of Denial, a film about the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Morton says that her organization is happy to have any chance to make connections with the public and raise awareness of the issues surrounding the illness.
"Having opportunities like that… helps people to create links," says Morton. "It helps people to ask questions, to get answers. It increases the awareness and the education in our community. If it just saves one life, then it’s worth it."
Speaking of people saving lives, Dr. Bob Dickson is one of the partners of the Calgary branch of Results Canada, an organization that has the highly ambitious goal of eliminating starvation, hunger and absolute poverty by providing nutrition, primary health care, basic education and clean water to the poorest people in the world. Dickson was among the speakers the night that Power and Terror was screened, and he notes that Movies That Matter is a very important venue for the social justice community in Calgary.
"Social justice in Calgary takes a back seat in a lot of different ways," says Dickson. "The mainstream press here – mainly The Herald and The Sun – certainly are far from having a social justice bent. And in the last handful of years they’ve gone even farther to what I would term the right wing….
"So to have venues like this is just a way that the social justice community has… to get like-minded people together from different groups and different areas and get them talking in the same place."
Dickson also points out that Calgary hasn’t had a regular venue devoted to documentary cinema since the Arusha Centre was forced to fold its One World Film Festival back in 1995 due to lack of funding. Interestingly, Eyck was also the programmer of that festival, and certainly his hard work building CIFF’s excellent documentary programs has helped to remedy the situation in the past few years. But Movies That Matter has had a greater impact in that it carries its momentum throughout the entire year and, in addition to raising awareness through cinema, also allows people to share information and exchange ideas.
"Going to a film at Movies That Matter can only provide the beginnings of a search for knowledge," admits Eyck. "And the (audience) can choose whether to leave it at the end of the film and just take that away with them or whether to pursue it somewhat more in depth and become involved, say, with a local group, an international group, donate to a charity or go to the library and pick out some books to research the issue further."
Movies That Matter celebrates their one year anniversary January 28 to 30 with film screenings, guest speakers and live music. For more information, check the website at www.moviesthatmatter.org.
CELEB TOP FIVE
Top Five reasons to go to the Sundance Film Festival according to Andy Eyck:
1. The festival buzz. Hollywood stars, first time filmmakers, power players, film lovers, film critics, festival programmers – it’s an overload of celluloid for all who crave their fix of it.
2. The documentary films. "It’s a golden age of documentary filmmaking in the United States."
— Peter Baxter, Slamdance’s founding director
3. The alterna-dance fests. Sundance is not the only show in town. There’s Slamdance, TromaDance, Exotic Dance, RoaDance, X-Dance, SchmoozeDance, and the Freedom Cinema Festival to satiate any film lover’s appetite.
4. The festival swag. Sundance has more film promotion materials available than you can fit into a suitcase.
5. The Music Café. The possibility to see and hear Joe Jackson, Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell, John Hiatt, Sam Phillips and many more artists in a room the size of a large living room is a gift from Sundance. |
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