Screening Schedule

The first three films were made by a women’s film collective in Palestine in the early 2010s. All are gentle but heart-rending. If They Take it! and The Fig and the Olive feature courageous matriarchs who do everything to stay in their homes despite relentless pressure from settlers and the state of Israel. Dwelling mostly features a young white man trying to build a simple hut as part of the Stop Cop City movement. It’s like watching two sides of a coin.

The Palestinian women’s film collective, Shashat, still exists in Ramallah, Palestine. They recently posted on Instagram about the deaths of some of their colleagues and their colleagues’ families in Gaza. We do not know where the people in the films are today. I did not want to reach out to ask at such a horrific time.

Cut! (2012, Gaza) dir Athar Al-Jadili, 6 min

Depicts the sporadic circulation of limited electricity in Al-Zahra, which the state of Israel besieged with airstrikes on October 19, 2023. In the film, a mother lights a room with her cell phone, a local electrician is harassed for cutting power in one neighborhood to pass it on to another, and no one seems to know when and where the power will return next.  

If They Take It! (2012, West Bank) dir Liali Kilani, 15 min

Despite relentless and unspeakable violence and harassment by Israeli settlers attempting to uproot them from their home near the illegal Yitzhar settlement, a family remains, and a mother raises her children and grandchildren on the importance of standing their ground.

The Fig and the Olive (2011, Jerusalem) dir Georgina Asfour, 19 min

The story of a Palestinian family living in Jerusalem, as told through a cat and the everyday objects of the house they’ve kept in the family for over 73 years despite pressures to move.

Dwelling: A Measure of Life in the Atlanta Forest (2023, Atlanta) dir Sasha Tycko, 39 minutes

For over a year, “Stop Cop City” movement activists lived in an Atlanta forest to prevent the construction of the largest police training center in the country. One forest defender slowly learns to build a hut by hand, envisioning a future lived off-the-grid. Immersing herself in the daily life of the forest, filmmaker and anthropologist Sasha Tycko patiently follows the building process. As the struggle against a militarized police force and unhindered growth unfolds in the background, this observational film contemplates time, slowing down, craft, and a non-industrial way of life. This is, of course, very reminiscent of what happened at Fairy Creek, but, because of the time-based focus on building the hut and the lack of “action” and words (much of the film has no speaking), the film has a different focus from most FC docs that have come out, as well as the gazillion social media posts swirling around at the time. The space of calm is both soothing and heartbreaking.

May 8th – 7:30pm @Camas Books ~Admission by donation (no one turned away; funds support the Bookfair)

Indigenous Resistance to Resource Extraction

Elsipogtog: No Fracking Way! (2013, New Brunswick) dir Clifton Ariwakehte Nicholas (Mohawk filmmaker), 24 min

In October 2013 the RCMP descended on a peaceful anti-fracking protest led by the Mi’kmaq of Elsipogtog and their allies. Some of the people involved in the anti-fracking movement talk about what happened, why they took a stand against hydraulic fracturing, and how the heavy handed police response has affected their people.

Killer Water: The toxic legacy of Canada’s oil sands industry for Indigenous communities with Cree/Iroquois/French journalist Brandi Morin (2023, Northern Alberta)  Ricochet Media, 49 min  

Mining the Sacred: Indigenous nations fight lithium gold rush at Thacker Pass with journalist Brandi Morin (2023, Nevada) Ricochet Media, 25 min

Vancouver-based mining company doing destructive mining in Nevada.

May 10th – 7:30pm @Camas Books ~Admission by donation (no one turned away; funds support the Bookfair)

Local Artist-Activist Night

Rock Bay Creek: The Memory of Water (2020, Victoria), dir Corina Fischer (local artist/activist), 13:30 minutes

A site responsive processional performance in remembrance and recognition of a buried creek on the unsurrendered territories of the Lekwungen people in the area also known as Victoria, British Columbia.

Handcuffed (2018, Victoria) dir Tasha Diamant (local artist/activist), 16 minutes

This time-based piece was recorded by performance artist/activist Tasha Diamant as she was being arrested on the lawn of the BC Legislature May 2018. Once again, police use state apparatus to quell legal free expression. The audio is rough, as recorded (transcript provided). There are no edits except for the removal of the Legislative Assembly Protective Services officer stating his number.

My Own Little Desperate Pride Parade (2017, Victoria) dir Tasha Diamant (local artist/activist), 3:12 minutes

In which a lot of cops show up to an art expression/protest/street performance because nudity. I use my body to express and create space for vulnerability. It’s a medium and a way to stand in some solidarity with those who are most vulnerable.

Whose police? RCMP unit acts as a private security force, critics say (2023, Canada) CBC 5th Estate documentary, 42:30 minutes

A controversial RCMP unit in B.C. acts as a de facto private security force for resource companies, and not for public safety, according to critics and many Indigenous communities. The Fifth Estate’s Steven D’Souza uncovers leaked documents that show how industry leaders influenced RCMP bosses who are part of the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG).

This film shines a light into the murky world of police incitement and agent provocateurs, Manufacturing the Threat shows how Canada’s policing agencies, granted additional powers after 9/11, routinely break laws with almost no accountability or oversight. Manufacturing the Threat  examines a deeply disturbing episode in recent history when an impoverished and naive couple, Ana Korody and Omar Nuttall, were intimidated and coerced by undercover agents into carrying out a bombing at the BC legislature. Viewers learn that this case is far from unique. The focus on Korody and Nuttall make this film extremely compelling. They come across as people with integrity who got caught up in some very nasty cop shit and it’s truly terrifying and tragic. There will be time for discussion afterward.

Thanks for reading. We hope to see you at the screenings!