City Circle welcome film as a way to make change

Posted on June 30, 2009 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Bethlehem, Event, Film, power of film • Leave a comment

The City Circle

Friday 19th June – Maxim Sansour from the Open Bethlehem campaign and Deborah Burton, co-founder Tipping Point Film Fund talk at the City Circle. The City Circle is a charity that promotes the development of a distinct Muslim identity through debate as well as practical and progressive solutions to community problems.

Open Bethlehem is an international public relations campaign set-up to address the state of emergency in Bethlehem and is the campaign linked to Road to Bethlehem. The campaign aims to bring world attention to the crisis facing the city by reaching out to decision-makers, faith leaders and the media and acting as a route into Bethlehem for initiatives of all kinds. Above all, they aim to build a positive legacy for Palestine and the wider region by reasserting Bethlehem’s unique historical character as a living example of an open and multi-faith Middle East.

Open Bethlehem is a non-violent attempt to save a city that belongs to many in the world. It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation.: – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Open Bethlehem is an admirable project.: – President Jimmy Carter

Open Bethlehem is an initiative set up to address the state of emergency in Bethlehem, Palestine, that has secured global attention as well as endorsements from such world figures as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter. Open Bethlehem aims to bring international support to a ‘Save the City’ campaign to help reverse the erosion of Bethlehem’s historic character and the dissipation of a community that stands as a living example of a multi-faith and multi-ethnic Middle East.

To find out more about ‘Road to Bethlehem’ film and the Open Bethlehem campaign – read on…

Maxim Sansour is a founding board member of Open Bethlehem and a former communications advisor to the United Nations, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Palestinian Central Elections Commission.

Redistributing the power

Posted on June 26, 2009 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Film, power of film, Sun • 1 Comment

solar Here at Tipping Point Film Fund we are all about harnessing the power of films to drive and build campaigning movements. Recently we’ve been intrigued by the possibility of harnessing another great power – that of the sun…. This is why we are developing a new film on the power of solar.

Here Comes the Sun is inspired by the many visionaries around the world who have led the way on pushing for renewable energy to play a MUCH more prominent role in global energy provision and includes scientists and business people, activists and charities.

The Solar Century One such person is London based Jeremy Leggett, of Solar Century. He has recently edited a new book:-

The Solar Century
The past, present and world-changing future of solar energy

‘[Leggett has] done more to change attitudes towards the (solar) resource than almost any other individual’
Financial Times

Clean, silent, renewable and climate-friendly solar power is the holy grail of energy. And there’s no shortage of daylight out there: enough falls on the surface of the planet each day to power human society many thousands of times over.

Yet there are still many myths about solar – especially the ideas that it’s prohibitively expensive, impractical for countries with cloudy skies, and will always require fossil-fuel stations on standby.

In the first definitive book on the subject, Jeremy Leggett (founder and Executive Chairman of the UK’s leading solar company, Solarcentury) debunks these myths. More importantly, he shows how solar energy can be the backbone of a renaissance in which, after the current credit crunch and the impending energy crunch, the world economy will be run on renewable energy, and the worst effects of global warming staved off as a consequence.

Above all, the book provides a positive set of visions which extend well beyond the provision of electricity, heat, and water for anyone with a curiosity about solar power and an interest in our planet’s future.

Read more:
– see the impact a 4 degree temperature rise would have on the planet
– how solar power from the Sahara is a step closer

Film-makers meet campaigners

Posted on June 22, 2009 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Black Gold, Event, Film, power of film

Deborah Burton, co-founder of Tipping Point Film Fund, and Black Gold Producers and Directors Marc and Nick Francis talk about harnessing the power of films and campaigns on The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation website. Click here to watch the clip (scroll to bottom of page).

Not got time to watch the clip? Nick Francis has this to say:

Tipping Point is crucial to ensure more films like Black Gold continue to made and now is the perfect time for this fund to be launched: – Nick Francis, Producer/Director – Black Gold.

To find out more about the new film from the Producers / Directors of Black Gold click here.