More Film Festival recommendations:
The Act of Killing directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
This is perhaps the most affecting documentary I have ever seen.
“Anwar Congo and his friends have been dancing their way through musical numbers, twisting arms in film noir gangster scenes, and galloping across prairies as yodelling cowboys. Their foray into filmmaking is being celebrated in the media and debated on television, even though Anwar Congo and his friends are mass murderers.
When the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military in 1965, Anwar and his friends were promoted from small-time gangsters who sold movie theatre tickets on the black market to death squad leaders. They helped the army kill more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and intellectuals in less than a year. As the executioner for the most notorious death squad in his city, Anwar himself killed hundreds of people with his own hands.
Today, Anwar is revered as a founding father of a right-wing paramilitary organization that grew out of the death squads. The organization is so powerful that its leaders include government ministers, and they are happy to boast about everything from corruption and election rigging to acts of genocide.
The Act of Killing is about killers who have won, and the sort of society they have built. Unlike ageing Nazis or Rwandan génocidaires, Anwar and his friends have not been forced by history to admit they participated in crimes against humanity. Instead, they have written their own triumphant history, becoming role models for millions of young paramilitaries. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. And The Act of Killing is a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number.”
The director, Joshua Oppenheimer has called the result “a documentary of the imagination… the film is essentially not about what happened in 1965, but rather about a regime in which genocide has, paradoxically, been effaced [yet] celebrated – in order to keep the survivors terrified, the public brainwashed, and the perpetrators able to live with themselves…. It never pretends to be an exhaustive account of the events of 1965. It seeks to understand the impact of the killing and terror today, on individuals and institutions.”
As the great Werner Herzog puts it, “powerful, surreal and frightening… unprecedented in the history of cinema.”
Written interviews with the director, Joshua Oppenheimer:
‘How Murderers Tell Stories’ – The Verge
An Interview – Inside Indonesia
Other:
A video interview with the producers, Werner Herzog & Errol Morris
… AND IN TOTAL CONTRAST TO THAT (!):
Antarctica: A Year on Ice directed by Anthony Powell
This is a beautifully shot documentary about what it is like to spend a full year living and working in Antarctica. Made by Anthony Powell, a time-lapse photographer and Satellite Communications Tech, the film was 10 years in the making and presents a real insider’s view from someone who has spent 8 full winters of total darkness in the most isolated place on the planet.
www.frozensouth.com
The NZ International Film Festival has begun!
My favourite of today was ‘Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer’ – a documentary about the Russian feminist punk group, of which two members are currently serving a sentence of 2-years in prison for doing a minute-long, anti-Putin performance in a church.
Movie Trailer:
Original performance video:
Clearly the punishment does not fit the so-called ‘crime’. It really is hard to comprehend the madness of the situation, but the women seem to remain admirably strong amongst it all, knowing full well that their miserable situation has in effect given their message a more powerful voice.
I only recently realised the severity of Russia’s societal issues after listening to this interesting interview on Radio New Zealand with Masha Gessen, a Russian author who has written on Vladimir Putin’s mafia-style rule and spoke of the anti-gay laws that were recently passed that make it illegal for gay people to claim equality, or stage gay-pride marches in Moscow for 100 years!
This is a documentary about Genetically Modified food – another example of corporate profit coming before human and environmental health. We are lucky in New Zealand to have little to no genetically modified food, although this could easily change if we let the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) go through!! If you don’t know about this, please check it out. It is a so-called ‘free-trade agreement’, the terms of which are currently being negotiated in secret. See here for more info on the TPPA and GM – www.itsourfuture.org.nz
Seeds of Death: Unveiling the Lies of GMO’s (2012)
“Over the past ten years or so, there has been a huge surge in the awareness of the potential dangers and effects GM foods may have on our health. However, proponents of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) in the food industry, who all happen to have a vested interest in it’s use, argue that using bio-engineered food is necessary to keep up with the world’s population demand for food. This claim isn’t backed by much evidence and many are skeptical.
The controversy is, do these GMOs really bring value to us as a society or is it doing more damage than anything else. This full-length feature film documentary, Seeds of Death, answers this question with a resounding “no,” featuring the world’s leading Scientists, Physicians, Attorneys, Politicians and Environmental Activists who expose the corruption and dangers surrounding the widespread use of Genetically Modified Organisms.”
Documentaries galore on all subjects at > documentarystorm.com
This is a surprisingly good piece of investigative journalism by John Campbell about the GCSB and Related Legislation Amendment Bill in New Zealand, making the connection between Hollywood, the US Department of Justice, John Key and his highschool friend and now head of the GCSB, Ian Fletcher, an intellectual-property rights expert with no military or intelligence background at all. Worth a watch.
CLICK TO VIEW > Campbell Live on GCSB, July 10
This morning the Human Rights Commission submitted a report to PM John Key opposing the new GCSB ammendments.
“The Commission is concerned that the proposed Bills are wide-reaching without sufficient safeguards against abuse of power. There is inadequate oversight and inadequate provision for ensuring transparency and accountability… The right to privacy is fundamental in a democracy and reinforces other fundamental rights, such as rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. The proposed restrictions on the right to privacy are too general to be proportionate to the Bills’ objectives”, chief commissioner David Rutherford said.
– NZ Herald
Other video of interest on the matter thanks to TV3, on their website:
John Key v Kim Dotcom – submission to the GCSB > Video here
Katie Dewes & Robert Green, anti-nuclear campaigners of Christchurch who have been under invasive surveillance for 30 years > Video here
Seth Frightening had a radicoooooool time in Auckland! Huge thanks to Deerpark and Wilberforces who ruled, and to the many fine people who came along and made us feel very welcome! I will post some pics from that soon, but first these ones from Sunday 30th June – an acoustic show up in the old war bunkers of Brooklyn, Wellington.
Athuzela Brown
Seth Frightening
Helen & Maggie
SKY!
Toucan Stubbs
The Bent Folk
Good times ahead! We love playing in Auckland. This time we’re bringing our new drummer, Caleb MacKenzie, along! It’s been awhile since we’ve played the beloved Wine Cellar, and with such excellent buddies as Deerpark and Wilberforces joining, it’s sure to be a swell one indeed.
FRIDAY! $10 (or less if you’re poor, we understand : )
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