No Boundaries Film Festival finalizes screening times
By Contributor
No Boundaries Film Club
presents the
2015
Join us to celebrate our 10th year in Grand Forks!
Friday, February 27th – 7 to 9:30 pm
Saturday, February 28th – 9 am to 9:30 pm
Sunday, March 1st – 9 am to 5:00 pm
Grand Forks Secondary School Auditorium
Welcome to the 10th annual Grand Forks screening of the Traveling World Community Film Festival. The World Community Development Education Society, based in Courtenay, BC has been holding the festival in the Comox Valley since 1990. No Boundaries Film Club in Grand Forks has screened the Traveling World Film Festival every year since 2006. Find out more about our parent organization at http://worldcommunity.ca/
Admission Prices (same low prices as 2006!)
Festival Pass $20 Low income $10 GFSS Students Free
Per Session $5 Low income $3
Tickets available at the door only
Please note – all times are approximate. However, films will not start before
the scheduled time. With a festival pass you can come and go as you please.
Friday, February 27th- evening session
7:00 pm Reaching Blue: Finding Hope Beneath the Surface 22 min.
2014 Global Reef Films Filmmakers: Ian Hinkle and Andy Robertson
An oyster farmer, a writer and an ocean scientist share their thoughts about a coastal way of life under threat, where stories from our past give the inspiration to face the challenges of the future.Twenty-two cinematographers contribute beautiful imagery from deep-sea submarines, advanced ocean research vessels and drone cameras, to expose the changes our coastal waters face. Do we have the wisdom and resilience required to understand ocean change before time runs out?
10 minute Break
7:40 pm All the Time in the World: Disconnecting to Reconnect 88 min.
2014 Director: Suzanne Crocker Story Editor: Nettie Wild
In search of a new perspective, a family of five leaves the comforts of home to live in the remote Yukon wilderness during the long northern winter and amidst the considerable surprises that the rawness of nature provides. The parents leave their jobs and take their three children (ages 10, 8 and 4) to spend nine months living in a small cabin with no road access, electricity, running water, Internet, TV or phone. Clocks and watches are also conspicuous by their absence.
This family-friendly film explores the idea of disconnecting from our hectic, technology-laden lives in order to reconnect with each other and our natural environment. The film is noteworthy for offering the unique perspectives of the children as they connect with both their parents and nature. “Heartwarming and breathtaking” Most Popular Canadian Documentary, Vancouver Int’l Film Festival
Saturday,February 28th- morning session
9:00 am On the Side of the Road 85 min.
2014 Naretiv Productions Filmmaker: Lia Tarachansky
Filmaker Lia Tarachansky grew up in Israel’s largest settlement, Ariel. When the second Intifadah broke out in 2000 her family moved to Canada where, for the first time, she met Palestinians and heard their stories. In this film, Tarachansky looks at Israelis’ collective amnesia of the fateful events of 1948 when the state of Israel was born and hundreds of thousandsof Palestinians became refugees. She follows the transformation of Israeli veterans as they uncover repressed memories of the war that changed the region forever. Tarachansky then turns the camera on herself and travels back to her settlement where that historical erasure gave birth to a new generation, blind and isolated from its surroundings. In 2009 the Israeli government proposed a law that forbade mourning this history. Attempting to shed a light on the country’s biggest taboo, she is met with outrage and violence. Indie Fest Film Award; International Independent Film Award
15 minute Break
10:40 am American Revolutionary:The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs 83 min.
2013 Director: Grace Lee
Grace Lee Boggs is a 99-year-old Chinese American writer, activist, and philosopher. Rooted for more than 70 years in the African American movement, she has devoted her life to an evolving revolution that encompasses the contradictions of America’s past and its potentially radical future. Grace’s lifetime of vital thinking and action traverses major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labour to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond. Angela Davis, Bill Moyers, Danny Glover and others help shape this story. “Revolution”, Boggs says, “is about the ability to transform oneself to transform the world”. Best Feature, Toronto Asian Film Festival & Woodstock Festival; Audience Award, Wisconsin Film Festival
12:05 pm to 1:00pm Lunch Break
Saturday, February 28th-afternoon session
1:00 pm Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds 88 min.
2014 Director: M Sean Kaminsky
One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk. Seeds are essential to life, providing the basis for everything from fabric to food to fuels. Approximately 90 percent of the fruit and vegetable varieties that existed 100 years ago no longer exist today. Corporations are co-opting seed genetics using patent laws. Today, corporate-owned seed accounts for 82% of the world-wide market. Seeds that were lovingly nurtured over hundreds of years have been lost forever. Maintaining seed biodiversity allows us to breed new varieties that are resistant to pests and thrive in temperature extremes in a changing climate. Open Sesame follows the challenges and triumphs of seed activists as they work to save this precious resource.
12 minute Break
2:40 pm Defensora 40 min.
2013 Director: Rachel Schmidt
Defensorais a documentary about Mayan Q’eqchi’ resistance against mining in Guatemala. The story is set along the shores of Lake Izabal in the community of El Estor where a nickel mining company has operated for over 50 years. Tensions run high against a backdrop of pro and anti-mining camps, violence and forced evictions. The film takes audiences into the lives of defenders in the resistance who struggle to reclaim their ancestral lands and seek justice in Canadian courts for alleged human rights violations.
“Defensorais a deeply moving testimony to incredible courage in the face of wanton brutality and a shining tribute to the human search for justice.” Maude Barlow Screen Award, Nevada Film Festival
15 minute Break
3:35 pm Becoming Bulletproof 82 min.
2014 superfilms.tv Director: Michael Barnett
Joy and persistence triumph over adversity in this award-winning documentary about a diverse group of people from across North America who come together in a camp every year to make a movie.On this occasion, it will be a Western called Bulletproofand the entire point is that it should be fun regardless of the challenges each person faces. Barnett’s documentary brings us face to face with our prejudices and misunderstandings. This is not the story of someone else who may have a disability; it is our story of who we are or may become. Becoming Bulletproof is a film about striving to live fully through artistic endeavour and raises important questions about the exclusion and marginalization of people with different abilities. This life-affirming film has much to teach us about embracing the great diversity of humanity. Best Documentary, Hollywood Film Festival; Audience Choice Award, Heartland Film Festival
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Dinner Break
Saturday, February 28th-evening session
7:00 pm Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story 74 min.
2014 Peg Leg Films Filmmakers: Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustmeyer
We all love food, so how could we possibly be throwing away nearly half of it? Filmmakers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm and retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge.
After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that would otherwise be thrown away. In a nation where one in 10 people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling. As Grant’s addictive personality turns full tilt towards food rescue, the ‘thrill of the find’ has unexpected consequences.
Just Eat Itlooks at our obsession with “best before” dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe. Just Eat Itis equal parts education and delicious entertainment. Impact Award,Vancouver Int’l Film Festival; Emerging Director Award, Hot Docs; People’s Choice, Calgary Int’l Film Festival
10 minute Break
8:25 pm Bringing it Home 53 min.
2013 McNabb/Connolly Directors: Linda Booker & Blaire Johnson
A father’s search to find the healthiest building materials leads him to the completion of the first hemp house in the US. Hemp with lime, hempcrete, is a non-toxic, energy efficient, mildew, fire and pest resistant building material. Although it is grown in 31 countries, growing hemp remains off-limits to almost all U.S. farmers. Industrial hemp is a non-psychoactive plant that provides the raw materials for thousands of sustainable products which can improve nutrition, stop deforestation and offer hopein a time of global warming. Bringing it Hometells the story of hemp, past, present and future, and a global industry that includes textiles, building materials, food products, bio-plastics, auto parts and more. Jury Award, Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival; Director’s’ Choice Award & Best Environmental Film, Sedona International Film Festival
Sunday, March 1st-morning session
9:00 am DamNation 88 min
2014 IndieCan Directors: Travis Rummel & Ben Knight
This powerful film odyssey across the US explores the sea change in attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has gained acceptability. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds after decades without access. Diverse interests are coming together to find more cost-effective options to meet power, shipping, irrigation and other needs.Restoring rivers helps to preserve tribal customs, recover fish stocks, revitalize waterfronts, improve recreational opportunities and render watersheds more resilient to climate change. DamNation’s majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature. Audience Choice, South by Southwest Festival; Audience Award, Mountain Films in Telluride
12 minute Break
10:40 am The Secret Trial 5 84 min.
2014 Blue Ice Docs Director: Amar Wala
Imagine spending years in prison without being charged with a crime or knowing exactly what you’re accused of. The Secret Trial 5is a sobering examination of the Canadian government’s use of security certificates, a Kafkaesque tool that allows for indefinite detention without charges, based on evidence not revealed to the accused or their lawyers. Over the last decade, this rare and highly controversial device has been used to detain five men for nearly 30 years combined. To date, none has been charged with a crime or seen the evidence against them. Through the experience of the detainees and their families, this timely film raises poignant questions about the impact of the “War on Terror” and the balance between security and liberty. Best Documentary, Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival ; Top 10 Audience Award, Hot Docs
12:05 pm to 1:00 pm Lunch Break
Sunday, March 1st– afternoon session
1:00 pm The Revolutionary Optimists 38 min.
2013 Collective Eye Films Director: Nicole Newnham & Maren Grainger-Monsen
The Revoluntionary Optimistsdraws us into the world of two 11-year olds with no access to clean drinking water, a girl forced to labour in a brick-making operation, and a teenage dancer on the precipice of accepting early marriage to escape from her abusive family. Lawyer turned change-agent, Amlan Ganguly, does more than simply rescue children living in Calcutta’s slums. He empowers them to transform their own neighbourhoods and lives as they organize to get clean water, go to school, reduce malaria infections and learn to dance.
12 minute Break
1:50 pm The Malagasy Way 84 min.
2014 www.adygasy.com Director: Lova Nantenaina
“The Chinese make everything and the Malagasy fix everything.” The people of Madagascar pride themselves on producing things out of nothing; tires transformed into shoes, oil lamps made out of light bulbs, wheelbarrows fashioned from scrap metal. You see ingenuity, not underdevelopment, in their practices. A return to a conservationist lifestyle that encourages recycling, fraternity and self-reliance makes perfect sense. Filmmaker Nantenaina Lova venerates the family business, the clever artisan, the resourceful craftspeople and those who possess the ability to create using everyday objects. The Malagasy Wayis a poetic, music-filled and proverb-packed lesson in creativity and resistance.
15 minute Break
3:30 pm Alive Inside 78 min.
2013 www.filmsalescorp.com Director Michael Rossato-Bennett
Alive Insideis a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the US who have been revitalized through the simple experience of listening to music. His camera reveals the uniquely human connection we find in music and how its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short. Social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the non-profit organization Music & Memory, fights against a broken healthcare system to demonstrate music’s ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Rossato-Bennett visits family members who have witnessed the miraculous effects of personalized music on their loved ones, and offers illuminating interviews with experts, including renowned neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks and musician Bobby McFerrin. Audience Award, Sundance
Over the yearsNo Boundaries Film Club has purchased and donated to the Grand Forks Public Library a number of dvds, chosen from audience favourites at previous festivals. Email us your choices to jwestawa@telus.net
If you are not on our email list now and would like to be for information about next year’s festival send an email request to jwestawa@telus.net
Once again The Boundary Peace Initiative will be providing us with coffee and tea and serving their delicious borscht lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. The cost is by donation. You want to be sure to take in at least one of these great lunches and visit with fellow festival attendees. Please give generously to this fund-raiser.
View the film trailers at the website: www.noboundariesfilmclub.weebly.com
