We The Peoples film festival attracts audiences in new venues
The We The Peoples Film Festival ended its 14th season on 26 November having screened twenty-six films at seven events across London including new venues Conway Hall in Holborn and The Exhibit in Balham, both new venues. The films were selected from more than three thousand submissions from one hundred and thirty countries over the summer by Westminster UNA volunteers. These relating to topics linked to the UN’s Three Pillars of Freedom: freedom from want (development), freedom from fear (security), and the freedom to live in dignity (human rights) as well as the environment. As in previous years, the screenings were curated by students from the Event Academy. The winning films in four categories were:
Human Security Opium Wars Director: John La Raw
The film records how in the Myanmar state of Kachin, more than half of the youth is addicted on opium sold with the help of a corrupted police force. Citizen efforts to fight the dealers are stymied by armed drug dealers and government indifference as the Kachin state is a Catholic area in a Buddhist country.
Human Rights Liu Xiaobo: the man who defied Beijing Director: Pierre Haski
Liu Xiaobo mentored students at the time of the Tiananmen Square protests and after his arrest was sent to a re-education camp. Upon release, he was re-arrested for co-signing Charter 08, a program for a democratic transition in China, thus unable to receive personally the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. This new film covers his one and only interview, in 2008.
Human Development By the Water Director: Kaelyn S Maehara
The filmshows how India’s draft legislation will open its entire coastline to industry and development, leaving the 170 million people who live mostly by traditional fishing out of options as demonstrated by the fishing village of Baguran Jalpai in north-east India.
Environment Chasing the snot of the whales of Samana Director: Marvin del Cid
‘SnotBot’ is a project of OCEAN ALLIANCE which uses drones to capture the whales’ blows to study the biological matter it contains.
The We The Peoples Film Festival is a project of the Westminster United Nations Association.
