I'm Doing This For You - Uno Festival 2017

Haley McGee, Never Mind the Noise

in Vancouver at the rEvolver Festival May 31st through June 3rd.

Do you ever wonder ... why do women spend so much time beautifying?  The hair, the makeup, the spine altering heels ... why?  Do we do it for ourselves?  Let's be honest.  We do it for ... them.  Men.  And when all that doesn't impress them, what do we do then?

Haley McGee's character (the blond woman with nice legs who has no name), she seems willing to do anything to get this guy to notice her, to appreciate her, to love her.  If only he'd love her!  He doesn't seem to be much of a catch, though, she tells us he has body image issues, he's trying to be a comedian but she'd prefer he get a "real job."  He makes fun of her in his comedy routine.  But ... he doesn't get mad at her when she's sad.  He makes her laugh.  They had great sex.  And that's enough for her.

On the surface Haley's show is hilarious.  Outrageous.  Silly.  But peel back a few layers, throw off the wig, wipe off the make-up, and take a good look.  Who are you trying to impress?  And why?

If only we had been a better audience.  She tried so hard, she gave us vodka, and cupcakes.  But, like her, and us, the props weren't perfect either.  They weren't vegan.  They weren't gluten free.  Some of us were left out.  Nothing's ever good enough.  It's our fault.  It's the lighting person's fault.  If only he'd show up, he'd make it all right.

Will the unnamed woman find what she's looking for in Vancouver?  She said she's gonna try again at the rEvolver Festival May 31st through June 3rd.  Reserve your ticket now.

Burn Job - Uno Festival 2017

TJ Dawe, Placeholder Productions

May 26 7 pm, Saturday May 27th 8:00 pm

  

For seasoned Festivalers, TJ Dawe needs no introduction.  He's an award winning writer/performer/director who found his niche literally on the Fringe, outside the dominant conventional theatrical scene.  (Although, a script of his was picked up for a relatively major motion picture called The F Word so who knows what's next).

In his latest small, local production, TJ spins a coming of age tale based (presumably) on his own life adventures growing up in Burnaby, and reflected through a lens of psychedelic intoxication.  In the first half we revisit boyhood antics (which seem soooo different to what most girls get up to) as seen through an acid trip.  In the second half, a more philosophic inquisition into life and love and coping mechanisms revealed while under the spell of holotrophic breathwork at a Buddhist Monastery.  

Despite all his successes, TJ remains a friendly, approachable, down to earth local guy.  He appears to be living the dream - he's found his life's work, he's into self exploration and development, he's sorting himself out and growing and writing and teaching and performing to audiences who clearly adore him.

The only thing I don't understand is why there were empty seats at his preview performance.  Fill those seats tonight, people, this guy is still young and with plenty of bright future ahead.  Don't miss your chance to learn how he got to this here and now.  "There's a place for you now, if you choose to take it."  

Last Train In - Uno Festival 2017

Adam Grant Warren, rice and beans theatre

May 24th, May 25th 7 pm

Hurray for Uno Festival's choice to include a show by and about a guy in a wheelchair!!  There's so much we take for granted in our healthy bodies, in this technology infused world.  Knowing someone who's differently abled, even for a brief time at a theatre performance, reminds us about that. 

Adam tells a tragic story, a story that shines light on the inadequacies and sometimes cruelty of our structured world, but he tells it with humour and even compassion for our able-bodied disabilities.

Adam reveals, for example, the somersaults our brains perform when we see someone in a wheelchair who looks like they need some help.  Some of us do the "I want to help, but I don't want to offend" dance.  Others, Adam shares, aren't so confusedly kind.

I work with people of various "abilities." One guy, in a wheelchair, loves to travel on buses and trains and ferries.  He jokes about going to Vancouver to visit with his dad ... gotta take the city bus though, don't take Wilson's, because it's not accessible.  And then he giggles.  But it's not funny, really.  My friend has a developmental (brain) challenge in addition to his physical one, but he totally gets that the world works better for fully "abled" people.  He often suggests we should launch a picket until we get the services we need.  I'm with him on that!!

Adam is not challenged cerebrally, he's a teacher.  His wheelchair is manual whereas my friend's is fully automatic.  But some of the challenges they share are common.  Even elderly people have some difficulty getting around our youth-oriented society!  Spend an hour of your day wondering how you'd get where you're going, or do what you're doing, with any kind of a physical or mental challenge.

After watching Adam manoeuver with tremendous skill during his hour and a half performance, I waited at a bus stop alongside a man in a similar chair.  My brain did the dance ... "should I talk to him about the play, or would that be presumptuous?"  

Now, my brain is challenged with the degree of honesty I want to share about this play.  Oh, what the heck, I think Adam would appreciate knowing how I feel.  I absolutely loved seeing him on stage, watching the reactions of others watching him on stage.  His story evoked emotions, and offered a lot to think about.  But I felt there was some redundancy in his story telling, and it dragged on a bit.  I'm also wondering why the climatic event, his finding success in that train station after midnight, wasn't portrayed closer to the end of the play. 

Thank you Adam, and also to rice and beans theatre company.  I hope we see a lot more performances by and about differently abled people!

p.s. I believe it was David Turner, while city Mayor, who helped implement the accessible buses so folks like Adam can get around.  And it was Christy Clark's government who, in the fall of 2016, took away their affordable annual bus passes.  

Small Town Hoser Spic - Uno Festival 2017

Pedro Chamale, rice and beans theatre

Tuesday May 23rd, Wednesday May 24th 6:30 pm

Pedro (or Pedro's character?) was born to Guatemalan parents in Chetwynd BC, population 3100.  The only time he experienced racism, he says, was when he was walking with his young Portugese friend and some other kids called them "Pakis" and told them to go back where they came from.  (aside: I remember there was a bullying attitude towards a couple of brown kids in my small town rural community too.  Maybe they weren't from Pakistan either?  After I left that community I learned the word is "racism."  But I still don't get why we were supposed to hate Pakis?)

Aside from this one experience Pedro paints a picture of an idyllic small town existence where everyone knows everyone, in a place that's "a throwback to a simpler time."  He doesn't remember any blatant hatred between the settlers and the First Nations kids, though he does mention that they lived in their own communities. There are parties (lots of parties) and the greatest challenge for Pedro and friends is finding someone to bootleg their booze.

Pedro's tough life lessons begin when he moves to Vancouver. He had previously seen himself as just another white guy, but in the big city he learns that he's not so white after all.  He also learns that he's a bit racist himself, until he learns about Canada's shameful history of Residential Schools, the Chinese Head Tax, and the internment of Japanese citizens.  Then his understanding of "Canada" begins to change.  People want to know where he's from, and aren't satisfied when he says "Chetwynd." He begins to ask the big questions ... "Why is my lineage the thing that defines me?"

How can a person embrace the culture of their blood relatives when they've had no experience, aside from plentiful guacamole, to learn that culture?  Pedro can understand why his parents chose to leave Guatemala after the United Fruit Company (with help from the CIA) took over the country, they wanted to build a better life for themselves and their children.  But with no need speak his parents' language, no extended family to teach him the history of the land and its people, no connection to the land at all, Pedro struggles to understand why people see a Hispanic when they look at him.

The first night of Small Town Hoser Spic's Uno Festival performance was sold out so if you want to witness a man tell this humorous and somewhat disturbing story while chugging beer and vodka (no kidding!), go early.  Or, you might look for it on YouTube or Vimeo because someone was recording it on preview night.

4 1/2 (ig)noble truths - 2017 Uno Festival

Thomas McKechnie and Why Not Theatre

Thursday May 18th 9:00 pm, Saturday May 20th 6:30 pm, Sunday May 21st 6:00 pm

Thomas tells us we will witness a performance lecture on clinical depression.  He identifies the scientific nomenclature that characterizes this all too common state and, informing us how theatre can give form to this formless thing, launches into a poetic and meteoric rant of discovery and insight.

If you've ever clued into the absolute absurdities of so much that is identified as "mainstream" culture on this planet, you'll appreciate Thomas' perspective.  Search "quotes about insanity" and you'll find many, throughout history, who have expressed this thought including Jiddu Krishnamurti who is attributed with "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

Embracing what are (presumably) his own cerebral challenges, Thomas uses eggs to tell his story.  Each egg represents an individual being.  Lots of metaphor there, for sure.  When there's only one egg remaining the story turns to very personal introspection, and prop after prop after prop pile onto that single egg which, amazingly, withstands unbelievable pressure.

That's all I'm going to say about that.  You'll need to go see Thomas' performance if you want to know any more.  But if you'll forgive me my own personal rant, I'd like to identify the source of my own, and I believe much of the population's, clinical (or non-clinical) depression.

Thomas (unknowingly?) touches upon it when he talks about the banality of food.  "I'm chewing because that's what people do," he says.  Every day humans stuff something called "food" into their bodies.  Often it's just a big hassle, having to plan it, prepare it, clean up after it.  The smell, the mess, the blood.  How and why did the very basic sustenance of life become so annoying?  Is it because somewhere in our very powerful subconscious we know ... this stuff called "food" has a source?  Do you ever think about where your "food" comes from?  Do you know it involves unthinkable horrific torture and the absolutely unnecessary murder of millions, billions, of innocent creatures, ongoingly?  If you do, and you continue to participate in it, is it any wonder you get depressed?!

I understand depression.  Been there, done that.  My cure?  I stopped stuffing torture and death into my own face.  Gave it up completely, nearly 17 years ago (after a full decade trying to convince myself that being a vegetarian meant I wasn't part of the torture and murder cycle).  Now I know, and I've never felt better, spiritually, physically, emotionally.  The world's still a crazy place, that hasn't changed, it still makes me sad to witness mass extinction and climate change etc.  But I can fend off the big depression by reminding myself that I'm a long ways away from all that daily violence.  That's powerful!

During his performance Thomas selects one person from the audience to help illustrate the common human need for compassion and understanding.  On Saturday he chose the person sitting next to me, my friend Nancy.  He whispered a secret in her ear.  I won't tell you what that secret is.

Thomas is performing once more in this year's Uno Festival, tonight at 6:00 pm at the Intrepid Theatre Club.  Go ... maybe he'll tell you the secret.

Do What You Love - 2017 Uno Festival

Nathaniel Justiniano, Naked Empire Bouffon Company

Friday May 19th 8:30 pm and Saturday May 20th 8:30 pm

I recently saw a photo of earth taken from somewhere inside the rings of Saturn.  We are so very teeny tiny, it's nearly impossible to imagine how so many miraculous and diverse beings have evolved from, and still inhabit (notwithstanding the current mass extinction of species due to global climate catastrophe), this little blue-green planet.  

Who better to explain the creation and entire history of the universe than a large bearded hunchback donning a pink bike helmet, converse high tops, mountain climbing equipment, and a hot water bottle?

It gets better.  Three separate and distinct characters inhabit this one being, each desperate to tell their own version of things.  The Narrator generally wins out, directing and re-directing the other two, and even (spoiler alert) rearranging parts of the audience as a way to demonstrate how we can each Do What we Love.

Because that's the point of living this little life on this little planet, isn't it, to Do What we Love?  

On the surface it appears that there's nothing, absolutely nothing, that is not completely bizarre about this production.  When's the last time, for example, you felt empathy for a personified hot water bottle?  But afterwards you might begin to think ... why do I always want more?  And why is it never enough?  Am I happy?  Am I doing what I love?  

Or maybe you won't think any of those things.  I'm pretty sure you'll get a laugh, either way, so don't miss tonight's performance 8:30 at the Intrepid Theatre Club.

Audio with Heather Lindsay, Executive Director at Intrepid Theatre

Click here for a 20 minute chat with Heather Lindsay, Curator of the Uno Festival.

After the Beep - 2017 UNO Festival

World Premiere May 18, 8:30 pm
Also Friday May 19, 8:30 pm, at Intrepid Theatre Club

Remember when Mary Poppins says she's "practically perfect in every way" and the children aren't quite sure what to respond?  That's kind of how I feel After the Beep. 

The world premiere performance of "After the Beep" was, for me, part "oh my god she had such an awesome dad who trusted her and let her have so much independence" and part "I wish I'd kept more evidence from my youth."  Between television's "The Goldbergs" (where an 80s kid's VCR tapes form the basis for a weekly sitcom) and this theatrical sharing of telephone message tapes, it's clear that no matter what kind of youth and childhood you survived, it's funnier now.  Especially when you can offer up real live teenage artifacts like VCR or cassette tapes.  
  
Regardless of your current age, if you survived your teen years you'll likely relate strongly to the memories Pamela's answering machine tapes reveal - the goofy nicknames, made-up language sounds, creatively spliced messages and sounds of friends having fun with technology.  And if, after teenhood, you chose the path of parenthood (or even if you didn't) you'll be inspired by Pamela's reflections on the mysterious continuum of incessant uncertainty that follows the flow of life as we move from one stage to another.

My only criticism, and I mean it to be constructive, is that I wanted something to look at.  Pamela is very pretty, with lively facial expressions, but the only thing to look at aside from her were graphs detailing the variety of calls she collected.  Those were fun.  But I would suggest she also project photos of the people she's introducing us to.  Or if that's too personal, photos of people who look like the people she's talking about.  Photos of her house, the neighbourhood, the Hollywood Cinema where she worked, that sort of thing.  And, or, a written transcript of each call.  The caller's words were sometimes unintelligible, often because the audience was laughing.  I feel like I missed hearing a lot of what was being said, after the beep.

Perfect Pamela is an evocative story-teller whose autobiographical tale weaves in and out and among and through the answering machine taped evidence of her youth, documenting all kinds of memories - happy and sad, silly and scary.  She'll be performing "After the Beep" again on May 19th at 6:30 pm at Intrepid's Theatre Club.  Check her out at pamelabethel.ca, and get there early ... her premiere performance was sold out.  

WTF ... What's Theatre For?

2017 Uno Festival Keynote Address from Daniel MacIvor

There are a lot of things I don't know.  It's humbling to admit that.  Before today I didn't know, for example, anything about Daniel MacIvor.  

But I'm reviewing the UNO festival as a CFUV correspondent (I love theatre even if I've never studied it) and so I did a little research. After a cursory search on my little hand-held encyclopaedia I deduced that Daniel is a man consumed with the mystery of death.  He had recently become fascinated with Spalding Grey's death leap from the Staten Island Ferry (another respected artist I'd never heard of), and there was a pivotal moment in his life when he realized the spark of life (or spirit, or soul, or whatever you want to call it) is not the same thing as the body it inhabits.   

That's what I held as knowledge about Daniel MacIvor.  Oh, and that he's an award winning Canadian theatre icon whose works have been translated into many languages.  I went to WTF anticipating a philosophic, perhaps existentialist, exploration of the history of theatre.  "The Greeks went to the theatre to learn valuable life lessons, whereas in Shakespearean times ..."

Daniel's presentation, as any theatre student would likely have told me, would be nothing like that. 

I learned that Daniel stumbled into his life's work after his libido took him to Dalhousie where he found himself auditioning for "Our Town" rather than pursuing journalism, the only "talent" anyone had ever identified in him.  I learned that Daniel doesn't really separate his work from his life.  His friends are his colleagues, they share life and art together.  I learned more about the stories of death that influenced him, and that he describes the spark of life (or spirit, or soul) as "the thing in the body."

The person known as Daniel MacIvor, it turns out, is an entertaining and delightful "thing in the body," able to reflect on his life with the kind of humour that only the distance of age can provide. 

Daniel talked a bit about theatre offering the possibility for communion between the people on stage and the people in the audience, and the possibility for transformation that this relationship allows.  He described theatre (writing, directing, acting) as a job, he also talked about it as something spiritual.  He explained theatre as a process through which we can touch God as we discover our own ability to control Time and Space.  He said it's something intentional, he also said it's completely spontaneous.  At one point he described theatre as "pretending with a bunch of people and then going out and drinking beer."  

During the Q and A an audience member suggested that theatre is about compassion.  We learn to walk in the shoes of another, to see and experience the world from their perspective, and that awakens compassion in us.  (If you hear Daniel incorporate that idea into a future WTF presentation, know that he already told its author that he'd be stealing it from her.)

I got the feeling that Daniel MacIvor isn't really certain What Theatre's For, and that his presentation was as much about trying to figure that out as it was about trying to explain it.  Maybe the purpose of Theatre is, ultimately, indefinable.

No doubt we'd all be a lot worse off without Theatre, so whatever you think it's for, get out there and see an UNO show or two.  All the preview nights are Pay What You Can.  Check out the schedule at intrepidtheatre.com.  Uno Fest runs May 17-27, 2017.

Merci Patron! / Thanks Boss!

There were so many outstanding films at the 2017 Victoria Film Festival.  I don't like to pick favourites, but if I had to, it'd be Merci Patron! / Thanks Boss! 

It's Michael Moore meets The Yes Men as François Ruffin, founder of the Fakir Journal, takes on corporate CEO Bernard Arnault.  Ruffin's diabolical plan to bring justice to two displaced workers reveals just how capitalism creates poverty and employment, in the process draining the state welfare coffers.  All the statistics in the world can't tell the story as effectively as the personal account of Serge and Jocelyne Klur, the unsuspecting heroes of a brilliant coup that establishes payback and justice and even the legal right to tell this story.

Bravo François Ruffin, and on behalf of everyone working for some justice in this world of corporate slavery, thank you for giving us some hope!  We might not win the war, but we can sure enjoy celebrating battle wins like these along the way.

Ma Vie de Courgette / My Life as a Zucchini

It's no surprise that Ma Vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini) is Oscar nominated.  The story has all the elements of real life: sadness, confusion, loneliness, friendship, quarrels, laughter and joy.  It's colourful, and the stop-motion animation is amazing ... how did they manage to catch the nuances of emotional eyeplay (being able to read changes in emotions by looking in the eyes, is there a word for that)?

Also, despite all the ups and downs, Zucchini has a happy ending.  It's a delightful and educational and entertaining story for children and their adult who are given the gift of a pathway into some difficult discussions.  Take your kid to see Zucchini and you'll be able to more easily tackle difficult topics like drug addiction, abuse, violence, sexuality, and divorce.

It's such a great film that, if it was Hollywood, there'd be action figures and clothing lines on sale at the local cheap crappy "food" establishments.  But it's not (though there's news of an English dub version with voices from Ellen Page, Nick Offerman and others), it's Swiss, and prior to the VFF 2017 screening Switzerland's Consulate General, who had travelled over from Vancouver, told us the film was 10 years in the making.  It took 10 months to make, at 4 seconds a day, and each second contains 12 different images.  There are over 56 puppets, and you can check out the "how they made it" video here. 

He also mentioned it's screening in Vancouver later in February.  Take a youngster, and be prepared to laugh.  And maybe cry, too.  The story's wonderful, if a bit unrealistic (if only life had such happy endings) but, your kids (and the kid in you) will love it.

Oh, and be sure to sit through the credits.

The Islands and the Whales

The Islands and the Whales inspired me to think of a new word:

Tradicction: the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation by being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

And to write this traditionally divergent review.

The Faroe Perspective  

This is what we've always done, it's tradition.  We were taught by our parents how to kill whales and seabirds, and we teach our children how to do it too.  We take our children to witness the bay filling with blood as the pilot whales' bodies are dragged onto the shore.  We're honest with them, we talk openly about shooting birds, or climbing over cliffs to take birds from their nests, then plucking their feathers before we eat them. They're just animals.

Some doctors say the whale meat is not healthy, our mercury levels are high.  I don't believe it.  Look at me, I feel fine.  They say it causes cognitive and developmental problems.  Maybe I should cut back on it. Why should I change?  It's part of my culture, I shouldn't be forced to give up my cultural traditions.

The Huldafolk, the little nature creatures who used to speak to us, they've left us now because we're living out of balance with nature.  Our population has grown, maybe we're taking too much.  But the increased mercury, it's caused by the industrialized world, they're the ones responsible, it's their fault.  We're not the barbarians they say we are, it's our culture, our tradition.

The Omnivorous (I'll eat anything) Perspective  

This is what we've always done, it's tradition.  Our parents lived on small farms and were kind to their animals.  We take our children to the grocery store to buy packaged bits of what we call "meat."  We call it pork rather than pig, beef rather than cow.  We'd rather not know about the animals' living conditions or how they're slaughtered.  They're just animals.

Some doctors say it's not healthy, meat and dairy contributes to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  Maybe they're wrong, I'll just exercise more.  I've been told fish contains high levels of mercury.  Maybe I should cut back on it.  But I like the taste. Why should I change? It's part of my culture, I shouldn't be forced to give up my cultural traditions.

My conscience sometimes tells me I should do something differently.  I've heard that the rainforests are destroyed to graze cattle for cheap hamburgers.  But I'm just one little person, I'm not responsible for all that destruction.  I'm not a barbarian.

The Vegetarian Perspective  

I don't eat flesh, but I do buy dairy and leather products and I don't research ingredients or check for animal testing.  I don't think about what happens to the baby cows whose milk I'm eating in the form of cheese or ice cream, I'd rather not know how leather is produced or whether there are ground up hooves (aka gelatin) in my marshmallows.  I wouldn't want to deprive my children any of those things.  They're just animals ... but I don't eat their flesh.

I eat milk and eggs so I can get enough protein, sometimes chicken or fish, but very occasionally.  I like the taste of it.  I've been a vegetarian a long time, that's enough.  Why should I change? 

I know there's a climate crisis, but by being vegetarian I'm contributing much less to the environmental problems.  My conscience is clear, it's those meat-eaters, they're the barbarians!

The Vegan Perspective  

I don't eat, wear, or otherwise consume animals in any form.  I read labels, share information with my friends about vegan versus non-vegan restaurants and products.  They're animals, just like us, and they have a right to live and die naturally, without being turned into commodities for human consumption.

Scientists have proven that a plant based diet can not only prevent, but in some cases will actually reverse, some of the main causes of death including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  Legumes provide the best and healthiest source of protein.  I know a lot about nutrition, because I study it to make sure I'm getting all the right vitamins and minerals.  I know which supplements to take and I've found trustworthy vegan doctors with websites offering up-to-date information on all the latest health science and nutrition.  I'm glad I changed.  I'm part of a new culture, with new traditions.  I've never felt healthier.

Animal agriculture is the #1 contributor to climate change, more than the entire transportation sector combined (that's all the planes, cars, trucks, trains, etc).  Whether those cows are being fed fields full of grain (grown using tons of water and huge areas of land) so they can be turned into meat, or into dairy cows (and their babies sent to the veal factory), animal agriculture is animal agriculture and it's killing the planet.  Torturing and killing animals unnecessarily, human or non-human, is barbaric.  I wish people would change.

The Islands and the Whales trailer from Intrepid Cinema on Vimeo.

The Skyjacker's Tale

I remember being on a small airplane flying between Caribbean islands when I was a tween, back in the early 70s, and the joke was "take me to Cuba."  The adults would laugh about it but I never really understood what it was about.  Thanks to Jamie Kastner and The Skyjacker's Tale, I can finally put those pieces together.

My parents and I lived in the Caribbean for a couple or three years, my dad was working in oil refineries there.  We visited St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands.  I don't recall hearing the story about the murder on the golf course, but I do remember the innuendo.  My parents were good upstanding British citizens who had fought in the war, for the empire.  They weren't overtly racist, but they questioned the native (black) population's ability to "fend for themselves" as ideas of independence spread through the region.  Part of the reason we moved back to Canada was because they were afraid for me, a young blond girl reaching adulthood.

Ishmael Muslim Ali may or may not be guilty of murder.  Many thousands of people (many of them black) currently imprisoned may or may not be guilty of their crimes.  Ismael hijacked an airplane to Cuba, and he spent time in prison there.  Apparently Cuba has some method of rehabilitation, because Ishmael is no longer in prison.  He's a functioning member of Cuban society, with a family and friends. Maybe we could learn something from an examination of Cuba's judicial system.  All kinds of people commit crimes, not all of them ever see the inside of a courtroom.  Many people go to prison without ever going to trial. 

I'm thinking some more about The Prison in Twelve Landscapes .... and I recommend you see The Skyjacker's Tale and make up your own mind.  You can also listen to Chris Cook's interview with Jamie Kastner.

The Skyjacker's Tale

Chris Cook spoke with Filmmaker Jamie Kastner (The Skyjacker's Tale) on CFUV radio.  You can listen to the audio here (it starts around 36:00).

The Apology

Why do victims of sexual abuse feel so much guilt?  Why do we blame ourselves for what happened to us, as if we had any power to stop or prevent it? 

Why do stupid boys and men call old ladies (who were victims of sexual abuse) whores?  Why do soldiers need so badly to fuck women? 

Who are the boys/men who have done this, who do this, and when will they apologize?  How many women, now perhaps mothers or grandmothers, are victims of war like this?

Why are we asked to just generically "support the troops," when we know that some of them are raping girls?  The people who generically "support the troops," do they know that this sort of thing is going on?  What is it, precisely, that they support, that they want us to support? 

How are women able to survive such torture, to keep such secrets?  Can they forgive, after an apology has been offered?  Is it possible to forgive if there is no apology?  How can we forgive if our abusers aren't even sorry?  Can they ever forgive themselves?  Can we forgive ourselves?

How are you going to see this important documentary, since its screenings are all sold out at the Victoria Film Festival?

The Apology, Tiffany Hsiung, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

The Borneo Case

Remember, back in the 90s, learning that the world's rainforests were the "lungs of the earth?"  Remember hearing about their destruction and specifically Sarawak, the Penan and their indigenous uprising there, the mysterious disappearance of Bruno Manser?  If you do, you'll appreciate this documentary. The Borneo Case fills in a lot of the blanks, for those of us who subsequently got busily immersed in our own rainforest and other struggles closer to home.  It's also an important history lesson for younger folk who haven't heard all this, especially if you're wondering who to vote for in BC's Provincial election, just around the corner.

The Borneo Case exposes a story of government/corporate collusion and corruption far away.  We don't yet know specific details about whether and how that's happening here.  But what's frighteningly similar is the basic storyline:  Indigenous people have lived on the land for many thousands of years.  Governments/Corporations come along and claim the land as their own.  Bulldozers clear the land, destroying lives and history and home.  For profit.  Because that's not enough, they start building dams, displacing more indigenous and settler peoples and destroying more landscapes.  And all for export.  Sounds familiar?

The Borneo Case screens February 7th at 6:30 pm and February 9th at 9:15 pm at the Capitol 6.  Don't miss it!

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes

I don't know what to make of this film, honestly.  It is cinematically very appealing, with intriguing music and several thought provoking moments.  There are a lot of black people interviewed, or just appearing as part of the scenery.  It doesn't point fingers, or ask its audience to reach any particular conclusions.  It leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

For example, it's titled the prison rather than a prison.  So, which prison?  The one at the end of the movie, the huge fortress-like place in upstate New York?  Or the prison of economic madness, the prison industrial complex with its "job security," with side industries like the guy in his warehouse full of prison approved clothing, music, and food for sale to families and friends who want to make life more comfortable for their incarcerated friends.  He's a nice guy, the warehouse owner, it's a smart business.  He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who wants the prison system to expand, though it would be good for his bottom line.

Early on a young man implies prisons provide the best kind of work because those are jobs that definitely won't be shipped overseas.  He's hoping the prison will return to his town because the coal industry has pulled out and left them economically devastated. 

What kind of freedom is this nation, this economy, promoting, when young black men are killed on the streets but their murderers go free, while a woman spends 15 days in jail for refusing to pay the $175 fine she received when her garbage can lid wasn't securely enough fastened to the garbage can?  

Is there something I'm supposed to get from this film that I just didn't?  I feel frustrated.

Go see the film February 7th at 9:15 or February 9th at 6:30 pm at the Capitol 6.

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes Trailer from Brett Story on Vimeo.

India in a Day

I watched India in a Day on the same day, coincidentally, that I helped pack up my friend's little apartment.  He travelled to India a year ago intending to evolve his spiritual journey, and he loves it so much he hasn't returned.  After sorting through his prayer beads, incense, and meditation books I joined the flock at the Vic Theatre to see India from a different angle.

October 10th, 2015 is the day Indians of all stripes (well, a few different stripes) documented short video sequences of their lives, and the lives of the people around them.  The filmmakers performed some kind of magic taking countless hours of random video from all around the continent and weaving together a story celebrating the diversity, and the unity, of the nation. 

Viewers were subtly reminded, early on in this film, that access to technology is something so many of us around the world take for granted.  While we are bombarded with wifi and cellphone tower signals, not to mention all the radio waves (wonderful though they are) and etc, in India these are treasured and rare conveniences.

Someone behind me, as we were exiting the theatre, noted that the film was a bit short on presenting the spiritual face of India, although it presented a united and happy cross section of the people.  My travelling friend would agree that India's younger generations aren't as intent on the spiritual path as their elders.  Interestingly it is the many 'western' visitors who pilgrimage there, he says, who are most likely to be seeking the path to spiritual enlightenment.  India's youth apparently quest more for convenience, technology, and comfort than spiritual fulfillment. 

The many diverse Indians with access to the technology we take for granted, who were able to share their India in a Day experiences, offer a tiny but important (and very colourful!) glimpse into this shifting population.