TPFF Spring Newsletter

Dear colleagues, supporters and friends,

Here’s a quick round-up of TPFF news – dates for your diary, project news, more films and campaigns to watch out for and, most importantly, read to the end to find out how you can get more involved with what we do!

FILM PROJECT NEWS

We Are Many

We are delighted to say we are working with director Amir Amirani to help raise funds and provide campaign outreach support for his film We Are Many, which will be released in 2013 to mark the 10th anniversary of the global anti-Iraq invasion marches. ‘We Are Many’ is a film about a single day and its aftermath – an untold chapter in the history of people power. By turns uplifting and chilling, it reveals both the power and potential of ordinary people, as well as the dark underbelly of the war machine.

Imagine This (working title)

As we witness the outcome of unfettered greed in the markets and financial systems, TPFF is leading on the development of a film that will take us on a journey to show how you can combine ethics and commercial success. Some are arguing that the ‘unselfish gene’ is embedded in many areas of human economic activity – we just don’t seem to make much noise about it . Taking an international look at this subject, the first stage research has been completed. Read here for more.

The Road to Bethlehem

Following from a very successful presentation at the Dubai International Film Festival, and as distribution plans for its release for Christmas get underway, we are embarking on the task of fundraising for the film’s outreach campaign to accompany the film’s release. As part of this, there will be a fundraiser held at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre on May 16th, with a screening of Jeremy Hardy vs The Israeli Army, with a Q&A with Jeremy and Leila. If you would like to book for this event or find out more about how you can help, email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com.

More ones to watch…

Just Do It – TPFF is part of the funding community supporting Emily James’s film about environmental activists, due for release this summer.

Our Generation – Sinem Saban & Damien Curtis’s shocking new documentary about present day Australia’s abuse of Aboriginal people’s rights – land, culture and freedoms.

New Dogwoof Release on June 21st – Countdown to Zero

“The horror film to end all horror films.” Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness.” – President John F. Kennedy

Nine nations possess nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them. The world is now held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident. Written and directed by Academy Award® nominated documentarian Lucy Walker (Waste LandThe Devil’s PlaygroundBlindsight), Countdown to Zero traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament and features an array of important international statesmen, including Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Pervez Musharraf.

The film’s UK distributor, Dogwoof (The Age of Stupid), have announced Demand Zero Day on Tuesday 21 June. The film will screen simultaneously across the UK and Ireland before venues link up live to London’s BAFTA for a high-profile panel discussion starring Queen Noor of Jordan, Valerie Plame and Tarantino’s producer, Lawrence Bender.  Audiences will also be encouraged to join the discussion and text in their questions. Not screening near you? You can bring the premiere to your community by hosting your very own. Dogwoof’s Ambassadors programme allows individuals to make a big social impact while generating funds for both themselves and the filmmakers. Find out where the Countdown to Zero is playing and bring the movement to your area with Ambassadors.

Watch the trailer here.

CAMPAIGN NEWS

TPFF is a member of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition and this Spring, SCC are driving The Big Climate Re-Connection – find out how you can make sure your MP pushes the government to deliver the best possible Climate Act.

We are also members of the wonderful Tax Justice Network – who worked closely with author Nicholas Shaxson to produce a new book, Treasure Islands – the truth about tax havens. Check it out.

Join a revolution – courtesy of The Co-operative! The Co-op Group are encouraging its customers to Join The Revolution as it announces the most radical sustainability programme in UK corporate history that will spearhead its membership drive and help build a more sustainable economy. Get involved!

Britdoc’s excellent Case Study on End of the Line was recently published and aims to illustrate just how and why film matters and makes a tangible impact that is auditable.

TPFF FILM CLUB & Save the Dates…

April 18th, May 16th, Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre

TPFF held recent events at the Lexi Cinema – End of Poverty (to mark Fairtrade Fortnight) and Academy Award winner Inside Job. Both played to full houses, followed by great post-film discussions with great panellists – so watch this space for our next Lexi screenings! We are now exploring taking TPFF film club to other London venues as well as other cities around the UK…

Meantime, on April 18th, we are partnering with Jubilee Debt Campaign and Pambazuka News to co-host a film + panel discussion to mark 50 years since the death of DRC’s first independent leader – Patrice Lumumba, assassinated just 10 weeks after his election. The event will ask: 50 years on, what future for the Congo?

7pm, admission free, on a first come first serve basis on the night. Read here for more.

May 16th – join TPFF, Jeremy Hardy and Leila Sansour for a fundraising event for The Road to Bethlehem outreach campaign at Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre. Tickets on sale soon – watch this space. Meantime, if you would like to know more email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com.

GROWING THE FUND…

TPFF raises funds for projects from various sources – individuals, charities, NGOs. More and more, people are asking us ‘how can we help?’ or ‘how can we get more involved?’ – so here is how! Fundamentally, we need supporters to back the fund and spread the word. The more the fund grows, the more projects we can support. Find out more – or email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com if you would like to talk to one of us at TPFF about how you can get more involved.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

TPFF screening of new Oliver Stone film ‘South of the Border’ plus panel debate

TPFF screening of new Oliver Stone film ‘South of the Border’ plus panel debate

We’re very excited to announce that Tipping Point Film Fund will hold a screening of the new Oliver Stone film South of the Border (including a panel discussion entitled: Radical Latin American leadership – what’s to be afraid of?) on the film’s opening weekend, Friday 30 July.

The screening at The Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise will start at 6.15pm.

The panel discussion, which will be chaired by Tipping Point Film Fund, will look at the key issues raised in the film – the US media’s demonising of radical Latin American leaders. It will explore how effective these leaders have been in delivering radical policies that work for the poorest communities and the wider economy.

WE DO HOPE YOU’LL COME AND JOIN US!

View the trailer…

In South of the Border, Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents – Presidents Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Néstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba), Stone gains unprecedented access and sheds new light upon the exciting transformations in the region.

Read latest articles about the film on the Guardian

RADICAL LATIN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP – WHAT’S TO BE AFRAID OF?
Panel members include…

Roberto Navarrete, editor at www.alborada.net, a website covering issues such as politics, media and culture in Latin America. He is the executive producer of the feature-length documentary ‘Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela’ (Alborada Films, 2009).

Michael Klein was Campaign Manager for left of centre US Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s campaign to be candidate for the democratic party’s nomination for US President in 2008. Now London based, Mike is a business consultant specialising in media and early stage technology companies. Formerly in the US army, he has lived in Venezuela and has first-hand knowledge of where and how US media, business and military interests intersect with Latin America.

Jasmine Huggins has almost 20 years experience of development agency work at Christian Aid. She is currently Senior Advocacy Officer for the Latin America and Caribbean Division. Her work has a particular focus on accountable governance and her geographical remit includes the countries of Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

BOOKING TICKETS

Tickets cost £10 (plus £1 booking fee) but are free to regular Tipping Point Film Fund donors. Tickets can be purchased through The Lexi Cinema website or by calling the box office on 0871 704 2069 (lines open 9.30am – 8.30pm and there is a £1.50 Booking Fee). If you are a Tipping Point Film Fund regular donor and would like to attend please contact us.

GETTING THERE

The Lexi Cinema is located at 194 Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, NW10 3JU. It is around 7 minutes walk from Kensal Rise over-ground station and a good bus service runs from central London. The 52 (from Victoria) and the 6 (from Oxford St) stop directly outside the cinema. To map your route by public transport click here, and for a streetmap click here.

This is a Tipping Point Film Fund screening in association with the film’s UK distributor Dogwoof and The Lexi Cinema.  The Lexi Cinema is a social enterprise and all profits from ticket sales go to The Sustainability Institute, which supports a vibrant and forward-thinking eco-centre near Cape Town, South Africa.

TPFF summer festival screenings

TPFF summer festival screenings

Tipping Point Film Fund hits the festival scene this summer at Glastonbury (25-26 June), Lounge on the Farm in Canterbury (9-11 July), Stokes Bay in Wickham (5-8 August) and the Greenbelt Arts Festival in Cheltenham (27-30 August).

FOR SCREENING TIMES SEE END OF PAGE

In association with our friends at Good With Film, we’ll be screening some of the past year’s most powerful and provocative cinematic documentaries – Dirty Oil, Burma VJ and The Yes Men Fix the World.

And we’ve got the best venue! Thanks to the Groovy Movie Picture House, we’ll have a proper cinema with space for almost 200 people but best of all it’s fuelled by the sun’s very own magnificent rays – so no harm to the environment.

We’re really hoping that festival-goers will have the chance to experience the power of people on film, and to see how individuals come together to create great social change.

Each film we’ve chosen charts the struggle of how ordinary people can – and do – challenge oppressive political regimes or all-powerful corporations. And, how you in the audience, just by spreading the word or taking a campaign action, can massively contribute to social change.

Dirty Oil takes a good hard look at the Canadian Alberta tar sands (the biggest US supplier of oil) and its impact on the environment and indigenous communities like the Beaver Lake Cree. Click here to find out more about the campaign and watch the film trailer.

Burma VJ tells the story of how Burmese video journalists risked torture and life imprisonment to expose images, from an otherwise closed country, to the international media during the 2007 monk uprising. Click here to find out more about the campaign and watch the film trailer.

The Yes Men Fix the World shows two US film makers posing as top executives of corporations they hate; how they lie their way into business conferences and parody their corporate targets, doing everything they can to expose the danger of letting greed run our world. Click here to find out more about the campaign and watch the film trailer.

Black Gold : As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man’s fight for a fair price. Visit the Black Gold Movie website to find out more.

Jeremy Hardy vs the Israeli Army : The comedian tags along with Palestinian film-maker Leila Sansour, as she travels to Israel and the Occupied Territories, to document daily life under Israel’s military occupation. The duo teams up with members of the International Solidarity Movement (or ISM), as they engage in non-violent direct action to challenge the occupation.

Vanishing of the Bees examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for the tragic loss. Watch the trailer here.

FOR SCREENING TIMES AND DATES READ ON…

Glastonbury, the Green Futures Field, 23-27 June
The Groovy Movie Picture House
Dirty Oil, 2pm, Friday 25 June
Burma VJ, 4pm, Saturday 26 June
The Yes Men Fix the World, 4pm on Friday 25 June and 2pm on Saturday 26 June

Lounge on the Farm, Canterbury 9-11 July
The Groovy Movie Picture House
Jeremy Hardy vs The Israeli Army, 3pm on Saturday 10 July
Dirty Oil, 5pm on Saturday 10 July
The Yes Men Fix the World, 12pm on Sunday 11 July

For Lounge on the Farm press release click here

Stokes Bay, Wickham, 5-8 August
The Groovy Movie Picture House
Black Gold, 2pm, Friday 6 August
Burma VJ, 4pm, Friday 6 August
Jeremy Hardy vs Israeli Army, 2pm, Saturday 7 August
The Yes Men Fix the World, 4pm, Saturday 7 August

Greenbelt Arts Festival, Cheltenham, 27-30 August
Vanishing of the Bees + Q&A with exec producer James Erskine, 2.30pm, Saturday 28 August
Burma VJ + Q&A with Burma Campaign activist Zoya Phan, 2.30pm, Sunday 29 August
Jeremy Hardy vs Israeli Army + Q&A with Jeremy Hardy, 11.30am, Monday 30 August
The Yes Men Fix the World + Q&A tbc, 2.30pm, Monday 30 August

Click here if you’d like to volunteer