
Events
Explore our upcoming events, take part, and be inspired.
Food for Profit + virtual Q&A
Showing Friday 2 May
Food for Profit not only discloses the horror of intensive farms and the political corruption behind it, but with a pool of international experts, it tackles and analyses the many problems related to factory farming: from water pollution to exploitation of migrants and from biodiversity loss to antibiotic resistance.
With a cinematic approach for an investigative documentary, Giulia and Pablo take us on an enlightening but shocking journey across Europe, where they confront farmers, corporations and politicians. Their team of investigators infiltrated farms in many European countries, exposing the truth behind the perceived excellence of European dairy and meat. In parallel, a fake agrifood lobbyist has infiltrated the high spheres of power at the European Parliament, secretly recording MEPs and gaining shocking information.
The film’s outcry is loud and clear: we must stop this corrupt system now if we want to save the planet. And ourselves, too.
After the screening, we will be joined virtually by the co-director Pablo D'Ambrosi for our Q&A.
Where is heaven?
Showing Saturday 10 May
Maverick soulmates Ged and Dave are on a mission through the winding lanes and hidden tracks of North Devon, to record the lives and experiences of people living without mains electricity.
Filming 'Where is heaven?' over ten years, they captured not only the beauty of this often harsh environment but also the spirit of the wonderful off-grid characters who inhabit it. A diverse collection of people whose stories at first appear meandering tributaries but quickly swell to become an intricate weave of philosophies and vibrant wit, uniting around our common search for happiness. This rich tapestry of personalities, stunning landscapes and the musical accompaniment of Cosmo Sheldrake combine to deliver the documentary's unique and extraordinary soul, electrically charged with a seductive power not supplied by the National Grid.
A perfect antidote to the intensity of life in the modern world.
The Great Green Wall
Showing Thursday 22 May
Malian musician/activist Inna Modja takes us on an epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall — an ambitious vision to grow an 8,000km 'wall’ of trees stretching across the entire width of the continent to restore land and provide a future for millions of people.
Traversing Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia, Modja follows the burgeoning Great Green Wall through Africa’s Sahel region — one of the most vulnerable places on earth (temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average) — laying bare the acute consequences of severe land degradation and accelerating climate change the Wall aims to counteract: increasing desertification, drought, resource scarcity, radicalization, conflict and migration.
With almost half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people under the age of 15 — a population set to more than double by 2050 — and over 80% surviving on some form of agriculture, upwards of 60 million people are expected to make a massive exodus. Although the film does the groundwork for a climate change cautionary tale, The Great Green Wall provides a refreshing story of resilience, optimism and collection action.
If completed, the Wall will be the largest living structure on earth, three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef — a new world wonder.
As Modja passionately pursues an African Dream for a generation seeking to control their own destiny, she reminds us of the enormity of the task ahead and that time is not on our side. The resulting journey of hope, hardship and perseverance reveals our shared human condition, reflecting a deeper moral and existential question we all must confront: “Will we take action before it's too late?”
Wild Coast Warriors
Showing Saturday 24 May
For centuries, indigenous people have lived sustainably while resisting invaders on South Africa's Wild Coast. In this documentary about a David and Goliath court-case struggle against Shell, these communities succeeded in halting oil and gas exploration, winning ongoing protection for their ocean and culture.
This film celebrates and pays tribute to the amaMpondo for their outstanding and historic, legal victory over Shell, Impact Oil and Gas (Impact Africa) and the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources in South Africa. The story is constructed as an almighty existential clash of cultures. The amaMpondo protagonists, conserving nature, their way of life and their very existence, battle the oil giants and the Minister of Energy antagonists, their profit-driven fossil fuel exploration that could potentially destroy marine life and indigenous culture on the Wild Coast. This leads to a climactic courtroom ruling that might help influence the direction of travel for the next few years that humanity has left to drastically reduce carbon emissions and prevent a burning planet and biodiversity loss.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Gary Janks, Volunteer for Greenpeace and Executive Producer of Wild Coast Warriors.
The Cycle of Life - Bicycle Short Films
Showing Saturday 31 May
Short films screening:
Directed by Joël Porter & Alex Moore
A short documentary about tall bicycles. Frankenbiking celebrates fun, silliness and creativity whilst exploring how and why people react to the new and unusual.
Swamp Films Website
@joel_porter @alexmoore_film @swamp.films @lydiaonstilts
Directed by Noah Sheldon
Guo Jie’s work in Shanghai consists of buying and transporting used styrofoam boxes from markets around Shanghai and selling them to seafood wholesalers who reuse them. She is one of the estimated 277 million rural migrant workers in China. With residency restrictions, many of these workers have limited access to education and healthcare resources for themselves and thier families in the cities that they work in. As a result, their children often stay behind in the rural communities they themselves have left. There are an estimated 61 million children “left behind” by their migrant parents in China.
Directed by Jeff Seal
Written, directed by and starring a clown and mime, this film shot on Super 8mm film re-imagines the spirit and technique of classic silent comedy in the style of Buster Keaton, George Melies and Charlie Chaplin. It follows a NYC bike messenger as he is derailed from delivering an important package by an alluring cyclist.
Jeff's Youtube Channel
Directed by Law Chen
Delivered deals with the experience of delivery workers, many of whom are immigrants, who work a very frontline job in New York City. A slice of life in the time of corona.
@thelawchen
Directed by Guy Wilkinson
A woman from Bangkok feels alienated by the comparatively languid pace of San Francisco until a bike restored from a dumpster changes everything.
YouTube channel
Patreon
Directed by Matt Dempsey
London is currently experiencing a knife crime epidemic. In response to this crisis, some of London’s youths have banded together to start the Knives Down, Bikes Up movement which is about breaking down barriers & creating a community of like-minded riders.
Directed by Eric Dyer
A bicyclist travels through a fantastical, collaged reconstruction of Denmark's capital city. About 25 zoetrope-like paper sculptures (cinetropes) were built to create the film.
Directed by Sander Joon
An addicted biker runs out of cigarettes. He joins a race to get more, but has to take help from some peculiar people in the audience to stay in the competition.
Directed by Cassie Quarless and Usayd Younis of black & brown.
Cycle courier cooperatives are turning technology on the gig economy giants.
blackbrownfilm.com