London Socialist Film Co-op

Oct 14, 2007: La Ultima Cena/The Last Supper

2007-11-06T01:14:00.001Z

LA ULTIMA CENA/THE LAST SUPPER
Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Cuba 1976, 120 mins, EST, (15)

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea is best known for his Memories of Underdevelopment. The Last Supper is unfairly neglected, made during the height of 'the cold war', showing a Cuba that was unknown and a history that was of little interest to audiences of that time. The meal of the title is provided by a slave owner to impress his slaves with his concern. We are shown that a Christian doctrine given to his slaves is in direct conflict with the work they have to do on the plantation. The film opens a window onto a past, remembered in 2007 by some who celebrate the bicentenary of 'the ending of the slave trade' but who forget that the abolition of slavery was a hard road fought for by slaves, as portrayed by Alea.

Discussion led by Michael Chanan, Professor of Film and Video at Roehampton University, London, Jacqui McKenzie, Caribbean Labour Solidarity, Dionne Walker, Lead Co-ordinator for the 1807-2007 Abolition Programme and Chair of Black History Month Steering Group for the London Borough of Camden and Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Assistant Director of the International Institute for Cuban Studies

Nov 11, 2007: Bayit/House & The Iron Wall

2007-11-05T23:15:00.000Z

BAYIT/HOUSE
Amos Gitai, Israel 1980, b&w, 51 mins, EST, (tbc)

While studying for his PhD at the University of California (Berkeley), Amos Gitai made his first documentaries, including House, having strayed into camera work when flying helicopter missions during military service in Israel.

‘House is the story of a house in West Jerusalem: abandoned during the 1948 war by its owner, a Palestinian doctor; requisitioned by the Israeli government as “vacant”; rented to Jewish Algerian immigrants in 1956; purchased by a university professor...

‘The building site is like a theatre in which the former inhabitants, the neighbours, the workers, the builder and new owner all appear.’

Israeli television censored the film.

Official website: www.amosgitai.com

LSFC is indebted to Amos Gitai for permission to show this example of his early work.

THE IRON WALL
Mohammed Alatar, Palestine 2006, 52 mins, EST [tbc]

Following the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, more than 200 settlements and outposts have been built in these territories, in violation of international law. The Iron Wall exposes this phenomenon and warns that a contiguous and viable Palestinian state is becoming no longer possible.

Interviews are included with prominent Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, political analysts, settlers, soldiers and farmers.

It has been screened in 19 countries and has gained the attention of diplomats worldwide, including former President Jimmy Carter. 'What I want to do' says director Mohammed Alatar, 'is on the ground. I want to highlight how the settlements are the major obstacle to peace. I want people to know that out of the 600 checkpoints, only 24 separate us from Israel. All the others separate Palestinians from Palestinians.'

Discussion Led by Bernard Regan, Trade Union Officer of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. with Abdul Wahab Sabbah, Abu Dis Co-ordinator of the Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association

Dec 9, 2007: Salt of the earth

2007-11-05T23:12:00.000Z

SALT OF THE EARTH
Herbert J. Biberman, US 1954, 94 mins, b&w, [tbc]

Written, directed and produced by members of the original 'Hollywood Ten', who were blacklisted for refusing to answer Congressional inquiries, Salt of the Earth is said to be unique in being the only film in US history ever to be blacklisted.

Based on the 1950 strike by miners at the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers, who struck to attain wage parity with Anglo workers in other mines. The film is considered an early treatment of feminism, as the wives of the miners play a pivotal role in the strike, against their husbands' wishes. Against a backdrop of social injustice, a riveting family drama is played out by the characters of Roman and Esperanza Quintero, a Mexican-American miner and his wife. In the course of the strike, Ramon and Esperanza find their roles reversed: an injunction against the male strikers moves the women to take over the picket line leaving the men to domestic duties. The women evolve from men's subordinates into their allies and equals.

Discussion led by Hilary Smith, Lecturer in Film and Media Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London, Joni McDougall, international Solidarity Officer of general union GMB, and Tom Lannon, Chair of London SE Regional Council of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades & Technicians.

January 13, 2008: Tambogrande: Mangos, murder, mining

2007-11-05T23:06:00.000Z

TAMBOGRANDE: MANGOS, MURDER, MINING
Ernest Cabellos, Damian and Stephanie Boyd, Peru 2006, 85 mins EST, [tbc]

'In the countryside, we put everything we have in the cooking pot. But we'll never put gold and silver in the pot.'
-Segundo Palacios, Tambogrande farmer

The small agricultural town of Tambogrande lies in the heart of the lush San Lorenzo Valley, Peru’s top fruit-production district. In 1999, residents learned that the Fujimori government had secretly granted mining concessions on the land to the multi-national corporation Manhattan Minerals. The company’s plans for an open-pit gold mine would involve relocation of half of the town’s residents and severely contaminate the soil and water supplies. The film follows the epic five year struggle of farmers and residents to oppose the project through a campaign of non-violent resistance that drew on traditional music, street art and colourful demonstrations. Choosing mangoes over gold, the film shows how ordinary people can rise to extraordinary heights in a time of crisis and provides inspiration for communities around the globe.

Discussion led by Jeremy Corbyn MP with Gaby Drinkwater Peru Support Group Co-ordinator.

February 10 2008: The wind that shakes the barley

2007-11-05T23:01:00.000Z

THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
Ken Loach, Germany/Italy/Spain/France/Ireland/UK, 2006, 127 mins, [15]

Ireland 1920. In the town and countryside workers are uniting to form volunteer guerilla armies to face the ruthless 'Black and Tan' squads being shipped from Britain to counter Ireland's bid for independence. When his friend is brutally murdered by British soldiers, Damien (Cillain Murphy) abandons his career as a doctor and joins his brother Teddy (Padraic Delany) in a dangerous and violent fight for freedom. As their bold tactics bring the British to breaking point, both sides finally agree to a treaty to end the blooodshed. Despite the apparent victory, civil war erupts and the brothers find their loyalties put to the ultimate test.

Winner of Best Film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and 2007 Irish Film & TV Awards, The Wind that Shakes the Barley is an unflinchingly raw and beautiful film from a director whose career spans 40 years of hard-hitting docudrama and social realism.

Official website: thewindthatshakesthebarley.co.uk

Discussion led by a panel including a representative of Sinn Fein.

March 9 2008: Battle of Cable Street & Memories of a future

2007-11-05T22:58:00.004Z

THE BATTLE OF CABLE STREET
Yoav Segal, UK 2006, 10 mins

Told through the eyes of a child (Danny), The Battle of Cable Street uses a powerful mix of
animation and live action to recreate this seminal event in British history. In the film Danny learns, much as the director’s grandad did in the 1930s: ‘Look up, see the world around you. Find a voice, express yourself.’

MEMORIES OF A FUTURE
Margaret Dickinson and Pepe Petos, UK 2007, 83 mins EST

Memories of a Future commemorates and reflects on the International Brigades who fought in the defence of the Spanish Republic. In 2006, a party from Britain travelled to Spain to mark the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Brigades. Despite their different starting points, both co-directors found themselves constantly returning to the same question: What does this past mean now?

Discussion led by Yoav Segal, Margaret Dickinson, Pepe Petos and Michael Rosen

April 13 2008: CND anniversary shorts

2007-11-05T22:57:00.002Z

CND ANNIVERSARY SHORTS

Celebrating 50 years of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. A selection of films from around the world, including the 'Oscar’ winning film made by Dr Helen Caldicott, If You Love This Planet, Terre Nash, Canada 1982, 26mins.

MARCH TO ALDERMASTON

Made anonymously by a committee
(including Lindsay Anderson), GB 1959,
33 mins [Cert tbc]

Narrated by Richard Burton, this film was a vehicle for the message of the first Aldermaston March in April 1958, displayed on banners and plackards: ‘Ban the Bomb’, a message that was taken up around the world.

At the end of the march, 10,000 gathered in a field opposite the plant to hear Michael Foot, Cannon Collins and others speak of the evil being manufactured there. The committee’s film journalism and lyrical style reflect the differing backgrounds of the TV and film documentarists, while capturing the conviction and humanity of the marchers.

Discussion led by Kate Hudson, National Chair of CND

May 11 2008: The making of 'Shooting Magpies'/Launch/Coffee: Take it Fairly

2007-11-05T22:52:00.008Z

THE MAKING OF ‘SHOOTING MAGPIES’
Amber Collective, UK 2006, 62mins

LAUNCH
Amber Collective, UK 1973, 10 mins

The Amber Collective grew out of a meeting of film students at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic in May 1968 and moved to the North-East of England in 1969, with a remit to record working class life in the region. The first film to come out under the Amber banner was Launch, capturing the relationship between the launch of an oil tanker and the Wallsend
community which made it. Since then, Amber has constantly experimented, extending collective practice into creative and collaborative relationships with different communities. The Making of ‘Shooting Magpies’ documents the process as the Collective works on its latest film.

COFFEE: TAKE IT FAIRLY
Produced by Anita Sandhu and Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, UK 2006, 25 mins, EST

Three women fairtrade coffee producers from the community of Las Alpes, northern Nicaragua, describe with great pride their families, their farms and the difference that fairtrade has made to their lives.

Discussion led by Graeme Rigby of the Amber Collective, Kathryn Smith, Director of Co-operatives UK, Anita Sandhu and Felicity Butler of Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign.

June 8 2008: Why We fight & One man's story: Philip Agee and the CIA

2007-11-05T22:43:00.007Z

WHY WE FIGHT
Eugene Jareki, France/UK/Canada/Denmark 2005, 98 mins, EST (Cert tbc)

Why We Fight looks at conflicts from World War II right up to the current war in Iraq to examine the political, economic and ideological reasons that drive US war policy. The film includes interviews with John McCain, Gore Vidal, William Kristol and Richard Perle, as well as a retired New York City cop and Vietnam veteran who lost a son in the World Trade Center attacks.

Why We Fight won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

ONE MAN'S STORY: PHILIP AGEE, CUBA AND THE CIA
Bernie Dwyer and Roberti Ruiz Rebo, Cuba/Ireland 2007, 30 mins. (Cert 12A)

This Cuba/Ireland co-production was released at the Havana Film Festival in 2007.

Discussion led by Alun Morinan, Local Campaigns Co-ordinator for Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Bernie Dwyer and Steve Cottingham, a lawyer memebr of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, campaigning for the Miami Five.

Estimate: One million dead in Iraq and counting...

2007-08-10T11:19:00.000+01:00

I'm sure everyone recalls the outrage from No.10 when the Lancet estimated that over 600,000 civilians were killed as a consequence of the invasion of Iraq. Less well publicised was the later acknowledgement that the figures were in fact reliable.
Today Just Foreign Policy.org brings the figures up to date by re-evaluating current Iraqi fatalities to over one million:-

Explanation here.

Many thanks to Tim Ireland and Ten Percent for flagging this up.

Autumn '07 schedule in preparation

2007-07-02T23:50:00.000+01:00

We're currently working on our Autumn schedule and will post it online as soon as is possible. Meanwhile if you wish to contact us please use the comments link at the bottom if this item and don't forget to keep an eye on our del.icio.us linkroll on the right-hand column which will have extra links added on a semi-regular basis. To make it easier to spot we have included their logo above the list:-

EU dear!

Elsewhere on the web, the European Union attempts to get we cinephiles hot under the collar on thier section of YouTube known as eu tube. Sounds like a bunch of tortured cats to me:-

Ladies and gentlemen, we present the last Blairite:-

I always knew we would live to regret getting rid of the re-education camps. Arf! Arf! Arf!

Oct 8: Come and See

2006-08-22T21:07:00.000+01:00

COME AND SEE (Idi i Smotri)
Elem Klimov, SU, 1985, 142 mins

Described by J.G. Ballard as 'the greatest war film ever made', Klimov's film tells the story of Florya, a young partisan , during the German invasion of Belorussia in 1943. The film bears witness to the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the invading Nazis and mixes horror with lyricism to convey its antifascist message.

Discussion led by Mike Wayne, lecturer in film at Brunel University

Image courtesy of Flickerings.

Nov 12: Mission Against Terror and City Swimmers

2006-08-22T21:04:00.000+01:00

MISSION AGAINST TERROR
Bernie Dwyer and Roberto Ruiz Rebo
Cuba/Ireland, 2004, 50 mins

CITY SWIMMERS
Margaret Dickinson
GB, 2006, 54 mins

Two films about two very different but equally powerful campaigns. Mission Against Terror tells the fight, in Cuba and internationally, for justice for the 'Miami Five', arrested and imprisoned eight years ago in the United States for infiltrating terrorist plots against Cuba. City Swimmers is a celebration of open water swimming and a record of a campaign, showing why people want to swim every day – even in the depths of winter - in the ponds of Hampstead Heath. But it also looks beyond London to show the pleasures of other swimming places and how to keep them open.

Discussion led by Fr Geoff Bottoms, Executive member of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and National Co-ordinator of the Miami Five Campaign Working Group, Margaret Dickinson and Jane Shallice, Chair of the Kenwood Ladies Pond Association

More on the Miami Five:-
- The Miami Five: An injustice too far.
- Free the Five campaign.
- Harold Pinter calls for the release of the Miami Five.
- Cryptome page on the Miami five.
- You can download an interview with director Bernie Dwyer (word document, 4 pages) courtesy of the department for Philosophy, Cuba and Development at Queens University, Canada.
- You can purchase Miami Five: Guilty of defending Cuba from Cuba connect.

Hampstead Ponds/swimming campaigns:-
- Save the (Hampstead) ponds.
- Hampstead Ponds at Wikipedia.
- London Pools Campaign.
- Guardian and Times articles on the campaign and the River and Lake Swimming Association views on the wider implications of the victory.
- More Ruth Corney's Hampstead Pond photos.

Photos courtesy of Travelling World Community Film Festival and Ruth Corney.

Dec 10: Hue and Cry (free admission for children)

2006-08-22T21:01:00.000+01:00

HUE AND CRY
Charles Crighton, GB, 1946, 82mins
Plus additional shorts.

Hue and Cry is generally described as the 'first Ealing comedy'. With a stalwart cast of British comedy actors, including the great Alistair Sim, Jack Warner and a very young Harry Fowler, and set in the bomb-damaged streets of Docklands just after the second world war, the film celebrates the solidarity of working class street kids as they combine to foil the activities of a gang of crooks who are using the youngsters' favourite comic serial as a means to further their nefarious plans. A first for the LSFC, this showing will be free to young people aged 16 and under.

Discussion led by Sue Crockford, film maker

Jan 14: Wal-Mart - The high cost of low price

2006-08-22T20:56:00.000+01:00

WAL-MART - THE HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE
Robert Greenwald, US, 2005 97 mins

This highly-praised documentary exposes the human and environmental cost of the retail giant's global takeover. Small communities and businesses are driven under, employees are forced to choose between food and health insurance, and employment rights are destroyed. But meanwhile in California, a community gets together to take on and defeat the ogre... This film is guaranteed to make you think twice about giving your custom to the local supermarket.

Discussion led by Ed Blissett, London Regional Secretary, GMB Britain's General Union, and John Woolf, member of the Hertford & Essex Area Committee of the Co-operative Group

Click arrow to play interview with Director Robert Greenwald:-

"Greenwald is just like, to the right of Fidel Castro" -Bill O'Reilly

Feb 11: Banned in Turkey: Hejar

2006-08-22T20:55:00.000+01:00

HEJAR
(Büyük Adam Küçük Ask)
Nandan Ipekçi, Turkey/Greece/Hungary, 2001, 120 mins

A courageous film that tells the story of Rifat, a retired judge living in western Turkey who instinctively sides with the cops when they kill his Kurdish neighbours. He can't resist offering his protection to 5-year-old Hejar, who miraculously survives. She speaks only Kurdish but slowly a bond begins to form. The film was banned at the request of the Turkish police, even after it had been chosen as the official Turkish entry for the Oscars.

Discussion led by Desmond Frenandes, who teaches at de Montford University, Bedford, and is joint author of the forthcoming book the Kurdish Genocide in Turkey (Apec Press, Stockholm).

March 11: Death in El Valle & Jeremy Hardy vs. the Israeli army

2006-08-22T20:45:00.000+01:00

Death in El Valle
C.M. Hardt, US, 1996/2005, 50 mins

Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army
Leila Sansour, GB, 2003, 75 mins

A thought-provoking double bill on the cost of standing up for freedom.
A photo-journalist from the radical New York paper Village Voice, C.M Hardt went to the mountains of northern Spain to investigate the murder of her grandfather, who was shot by Franco's Civil Guard in 1948, and found a growing conspiracy of silence around the events of 50 years previously. Completed and aired on Channel 4 in 1996, the Spanish version (still not accepted on Spanish TV) was released in 2005.
The stand-up comedian Jeremy Hardy put a new spin on his act; he was in Bethlehem during the occupation of the West Bank by the Israeli army to stand up as a representative of the international solidarity movement and as a witness to the way in which ordinary people resisted the takeover.

Discussion led by Sam Lesser (Russell) who was in the first group of British volunteers in the International Brigade, Leila Sansour.
Death in El Valle: Official website.
Guardian review of Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army.

April 8: Shorts presented by the film makers

2006-08-22T20:43:00.000+01:00

A programme of independent films and discussion on future prospects for alternative film making. The programme will include:

HAMMER AND FLAME
Vaughan Pilikian, GB, 2005, 10 mins
A vision into the maritime graveyards of northern India, where ship breakers tear apart the ghost hulls of dead tankers using the simplest of tools.

DEAR MRS BLAIR
A Camcorder Guerilla Film, GB, 2005, 15mins
Dear Mrs Blair is a video letter to Cherie Blair from Glaswegian mother Rose Gentle, whose son ws killed in Iraq on June 2004. Rose believes his life was wasted on an illegal and unjustified war.

Fairford Coach Action (AKA: On The Buses)
by Zoe Young/Indymedia, UK, 12 mins.
Zoe Young's short documentary based on footage from coaches 1 and 2 has be shown at the World Social Forum 2004 in Mumbai.

Fairford Coach Action is the name of the group of more than 90 passengers who have collectively decided to pursue a Judicial Review case against the police's actions on 22nd March 2003. On 22nd March 2003, three days after the start of the US/UK war on Iraq, a demonstration organised by the Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors (GWI), attracted over 3,000 protestors to the airbase. Groups travelled to Fairford from 37 locations across the UK. American B-52 planes flew from RAF Fairford airbase to bomb Baghdad and Fairford was the site of excessive policing during the war on Iraq.
You can find more on the Fairfield Coach Action website.

THE LADIES BRIDGE
Karen Livesey, GB, 2006, 27 mins
As the riverboats pass the Waterloo Bridge, the pilots tell us it was built by women during the second world war. The documentary sets out to find these women. It explores why not only they but an estimated 24,000 female construction workers seem to have been completely written out of history.

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE (Forever Until Victory)
Santiago Alvarez, Cuba, 1965, 28 mins
This Film presents a strong indictment of US military in Bolivia. It contains televised speeches by Ernesto Che Guevara

ONE MAN AND HIS ISLAND
Platform Films, GB, 2002, 40 mins
A film about his declaration of independence from the UK by residents of the Isle of Dogs in 1970 , seen through the eyes of community leader Ted Johns.

Discussion with the filmmakers

If you are interested in submitting a film for future screenings please go to our submissions page.

PLEASE NOTE:- We are unable to show the scheduled WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF? by Alan Miles.

May 13: The Front and discussion with Tony Benn

2006-08-22T20:37:00.000+01:00

THE FRONT
Martin Ritt, US, 1976, 95 mins

THE HOLLYWOOD TEN
John Perry, US, 1951, 18 mins

Featuring Woody Allen in the unusual role of 'straight' actor, Ritt's feature is a fictional examination of the consequences of the McCarthyite panic through the experiences of a small-time bookmaker who becomes a 'front' for blacklisted writers. Both funny and moving, the film concentrates on the human plight of those who, rightly or wrongly accused of Communist sympathies, found their lives in turmoil thanks to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Together with The Front, we show historic footage of the original 'Hollywood Ten'
.

Discussion led by Tony Benn.

Image courtesy of Tracey Sanderswood. You can see more of her work on her website.

Please note that for technical reasons we are unable to show George Galloway at the Senate Permanent sub-committee on investigations.

June 10: Bethune - the Making of a Hero

2006-08-22T20:27:00.000+01:00

BETHUNE – THE MAKING OF A HERO
Phillip Borsos, Canada/China/France, 1990, 116 mins

Surgeon, pioneer and dedicated anti-fascist, Norman Bethune was the Canadian who first embraced the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War and then accompanied Mao on the Long March. Donald Sutherland plays Bethune in a lively bio-pic, which takes the audience on an epic journey from the valleys of Spain to the Great Wall of China.

Canadian Blood Transfusion Unit which operated during the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Norman Bethune is at the right. ca. 1936-1937, Spain.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia. you can view the full size image here.

Discussion led by Julie Allan, assistant producer, and Eric Gordon, editor, Camden New Journal.
Wikipedia on Norman Bethune.
CBC archive clips from 'Comrade' Bethune: A Controversial Hero. Includes Donald Sutherland praising Norman Bethune.
'Comrade' Bethune teaching resources.
Mao Zedong: In memory of Norman Bethune, December 21, 1939.
Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages.
Stefan Landsberger's page on Norman Bethune.
Stefan Landsberger article: The cult of Mao on Al-Jazeera (in english).
Chinese Propaganda Posters: Book. Includes many images from Stefan's collection.
Propaganda in the People's Republic of China on Wikipedia.
More images of Norman Bethune at Wikimedia.
Propaganda on Wikipedia.

Michael's note:- The Co-op's decision to screen this film has given me an excuse to highlight one of the genuine delights of the internet, Dutch professor Stefan Landsberger's website, which is devoted to his extensive collection of Chinese propaganda posters. His fantastic site, which contains catalogued colour images of the posters, has been blowing the socks off web users for years.
Above are four Chinese posters depicting Norman Bethune. In two of them he is administering care to patients, one shows him with Chairman Mao Zedong and another hints at his influence on others by showing him in the background.
Stefan Landsberger holds the Olfert Dapper Chair of Contemporary Chinese Culture at the University of Amsterdam and is Lecturer at the Sinological Institute, Leiden University. He has one of the largest private collections of Chinese propaganda posters in the world and has published widely on topics related to Chinese propaganda.

Many thanks to him for allowing us to use his poster images on our website.

May 14 Cinema of Protest

2006-04-04T02:17:00.000+01:00

CINEMA OF PROTEST
A programme of independent political films and discussion on future prospects for oppositional film making. The programme will include:

NOW! Santiago Alvarez, Cuba, 1965, 6 minutes
Lena Horne's famous song Now!, which was banned in the US in the 196o's was an angry call for struggle against racism. THis film uses Horne's song as the vehicle for a montage of film and photographic images from the US civil rights movement.

SQUATTERS, Cinema Action, GB, 1968, 18 minutes

SHOTS IN THE DOCKS, Labor Video Project, US, 2003, 28 minutes

The stepped-up repression of the anti-war demonstrators and trade unionists took a new turn in the US on 4/7/03 when Oakland (California) police attacked a peaceful picket on the docks. The Labor Video Project was there when Oakland lpolice fored over a hundred shots of rubber bullets and wooden projectiles as well as concussion grenades to attack the anti-war protest

OPEN THE ROAD TO THE WOMEN FIGHTERS (Pasa a las lachadoras)
Ojo Obrero Collective, US/Argentina, 2004, 33 minutes
Thousands of women in Argentina have taken up the struggle for liberation of women by thier own hand. Pasa a las luchadoras focuses on seven woemn whose day-to-day struggles against sexism take all aspects of life.

THE TOBIN TAX, War on Want, GB, 2004, 15 minutes
The film shows that a tax on currency trading would raise enormous sums to fight poverty and stop the worst kinds of foreign exchange trading causing economic disaster in the poorest countries: the 2002 version updated

Screening to be led by discussion involving some of the contributors, chaired by Mike Wayne, lecturer in film at Brunel University and contributor to Film International.

Venue: Renoir Cinema. Tickets £6. Concessions £4.
Discount to annual members £1.
Doors open 10.30am. Screening starts 11.00am. Tickets at the door.

About the Renoir/Curzon Cinemas

2006-03-01T20:18:00.000Z

The cinema has been a fixture in Bloomsbury for the past 35 years' showing the best in European art-house, independent and world cinema. It has two screens, both seating 250 people, and a bar to enjoy a drink before your film.

Curzon Cinemas have five London sites: Renoir, Curzon Soho, Curzon Mayfair, Chelsea Cinema and the Richmond Filmhouse. Each cinema showcases the best of independent and world cinema as well as hosting prestigious festivals, director Q&As, premieres, workshops and seasons throughout the year. The cinema group is part of the same company as Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd and works closely with many other independent distributors to provide a rich tapestry of films to suit all tastes.

Curzon programming is intended to educate, provoke, stimulate and entertain. Being associated with the London Socialist Film Co-op means Curzon Cinemas have further high quality support in reaching that goal.
Sign up to the weekly newsletter by emailing

You can see the website at www.curzoncinemas.com.

Maps and travel details for the Renior Cinema, Brunswick Centre.

Admission, tickets and advance booking here.

Download our current programme

2006-03-01T00:41:00.000Z

If you would like a printable version of our current programme click this link and enter the code in the box to it's right then click the orange download button. Then click the 'free download' button which will appear within a few seconds. The file size is fairly small (374 KB, .pdf).
We use the free download service from megaupload.com so don't be surprised when you click the above link and end up on another site!

Palestine and Israel: Wall

2006-02-12T19:43:00.000Z

WALL (Mur)
-Simone Bitton, France/Italy/USA, 2004, 99 minutes

This astounding film won three awards in one year, at Marseilles, Jerusalem and Pesaro. It looks at the apartheid wall dividing Israelis and Palestinians from each other and from themselves from interviews living on either side. The director has said that in her film 'space is essential: the sky, the earth, the landscapes are fully fledged characters' as much as the people whose lives have been torn apart. Bitton's film is 'an act of resistance' from a director with a joint Arab/Jewish heritage.

Discussion led by Bernard Regan, Executive Committee member of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and of the National Union of Teachers, and Diana Neslen, Just Peace UK

Photos courtesy of Reuters and Stop the Wall.

Feb 12: Spain in the 1930's

2006-01-18T01:14:00.000Z

BEHIND THE SPANISH LINES
-Thorold Dickinson, GB, 1938, 20 minutes

BARS IN THE MEMORY (Rejas en la Memoria)
-Manueal Palacios, Spain, 2004, 80 minutes

Our Spanish double bill features a recent documentary preceded by archive material from the British Film Institute. Bars in the Memory has caused great controversy in Spain; it uses information only just disclosed about the horrific treatment of nearly half a million political prisoners interned in concentration camps after Franco's victory. As well as interviews with survivors, Palacios uncovers his own family history in the process, as many of his relatives were internees. Our short has historic footage of life behind Republican lines, with footage of La Passionaria and 'Guerillas of the Theatre'.

Discussion led by Sam Lesser (Russell), who was in the first group of British volunteers in the International Brigade, with Marlene Sidaway, Secretary of the International Brigade Memorial Trust
International Brigade via wikipedia.
Website for the International Brigade Memorial Trust.
The Spanish Civil War - causes and legacy, BBC Radio 4 audio download ("In Our Time": 45 mins)
Martha Gellhorn on the Spanish Civil War (audio stream) 1 min 39 secs.

Image from Bars in the Memory. Courtesy of the 2005 Seattle Film Festival.