Tonight: Final Night of the 20th Annual One World Film Festival

October 30, 2009 · Filed Under Festival News, News

Friday, October 30th
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Doors Open at 5:30/Screenings Begin at 6:00PM
Evening Pass: $12.00/$10.00 (Students and Seniors)
www.wiam.ca

6:00PM /

THE MOST SECRET PLACE ON EARTH – THE CIA’S COVERT WAR IN LAOS
A film by Marc Eberle (Germany)
52 min., 2009

The Vietnam War was the most intensely televised war ever. However, next door in neighboring Laos, the longest and largest air war in human history was underway, which eventually made Laos the most bombed country on earth. The Secret War was the largest operation ever conducted by the CIA, yet to this day, hardly anyone knows anything about it. Critics call it the biggest war crime of the Vietnam War era and point to striking similarities to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; similarities that were tested and set in motion back in Laos in the 1960s. In The Most Secret Place On Earth, key players of the Secret War- former CIA agents, American pilots, Laotian fighters and war reporters – take us on a journey into the physical heart of the conflict: Top secret Long Cheng, where the CIA built its headquarters in 1962. It was from this base that the Secret War was largely planned and executed. As the war dragged on, Long Cheng became the busiest airbase in the world and a major center for the global opium and heroin trade. As we journey into Long Cheng for the first time – the site has been off limits to the outside world since the end of the war in 1975 – the film reconstructs the gripping story of the operation and illustrates its relevance to current American conflicts.

BREAK

7:30PM /

Good Fortune
A film by Landon Van Soest (USA)
73 min., 2007

GOOD FORTUNE explores how massive, international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. Through intimate portraits of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development organizations, the film presents a unique opportunity to experience foreign aid through the people it is intended to benefit.
In the rural countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice farm. Across the country in Nairobi, Silva’s home and business in Africa’s largest squatter community are being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project.
Interweaving meditative portraits of its characters, GOOD FORTUNE examines the real-world impact of international aid. With a broad scope and intimate style, the film portrays gripping stories of human perseverance and suggests that the answers for Africa lie in the resilience of its people.

Followed by:

WaterCan
3 short films – 1 min.

Featuring the winning entry, H2Slow by Ottawa-native William Barber, these one-minute videos were run as a contest by the locally-based non-profit organization WaterCan.
Presentation by :Gary Pluim, Executive Director of WaterCan and George Yap Program Director, WaterCan.

BREAK

9:30PM /

The Choir
A film by Michael Davies (Australia)
88 min., 2008

South Africa in 1994 was in the grip of massive social change. The transition from dictatorship to democracy also ushered in a massive crime wave that rocked the country. The Choir explores the consequences of this social upheaval in the struggle for humanity and redemption through music in South Africa’s biggest prison.

Shot over six years by Emmy award winning Australian filmmaker Michael Davie, the story follows a group of inmates – led by wily ex-bank robber Coleman – finding strength in the community of the prison choir. Coleman takes under his wing a rebellious and angry young prisoner, Jabulani Shabangu whose eventual release back onto the streets of Johannesburg is fraught with poverty and despair before his returned to prison.

Under the tough love of the choirmaster, Jabulani learns to respect others and behave with discipline. Mirroring their homeland’s struggle to deal with the past and forge a new identity, The Choir is testament to the power of music and self-belief.

Tags: film festival, One World Film Festival