TPFF Easter Update

Posted on April 5, 2012 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Campaigns, Projects, TPFF Film Club, TPFF Newsletter • Leave a comment

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters,

Are we the only ones who were thinking ‘it’s great to have 70 degrees in March, but surely, this can’t be right?!…

As summer and Easter collide, here’s a quick update on TPFF activity!

FILM CLUB

Our next event will be on Tuesday 24^th April – at the Lexi – for a screening of Ross Ashcroft’s direct and thought-provoking film, followed by a Q&A with Ross. More info and how to book

Rather than condemning bankers, politicians or the media, the ‘Four Horsemen’ (of the apocalypse) feature documentary puts the whole system up for discussion. Many leading ‘insider’ economists as well as more radical commentators share their observations and conclusions on how capitalism has failed and what it must do if it is to ‘redeem’ itself.

We are also talking to other NGO partners about more screenings of the film, so watch this space!

PROJECTS

WE ARE MANY

Following on from an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, Amir Amirani’s film is now in production with the USA filming now completed. More funding good news has also come in and we have now secured match funding of the Kickstarter funding, so the film’s production budget is well on the way to being 100% secured. If you haven’t watched the ‘teaser’ then see it here. Or if you marched, tell us your story here.

And finally, our partner War on Want is hosting a Just Giving campaign for the film – you can support the film by donating via Just Giving.

“The global protest against the Iraq War on 15 February 2003 was a pivotal moment in recent history, the consequences of which have gone unreported. Amir Amirani’s We Are Many chronicles the struggle to shift power from the old establishment to the new superpower that is global public opinion, through the prism of one historic day. I urge you to support this film in whatever way you can.” Oliver Stone

THE ROAD TO BETHLEHEM

Leila Sansour recently returned from a highly successful and encouraging trip to the USA where she met with leading faith leaders to explore and discuss how The Road to Bethlehem can become a focal point for that part of their work that addresses Palestine and how they in turn, can support the film’s release across the USA. We are looking forward to a late autumn UK release and a release in the USA in 2013. If you would like to donate to support the film’s release and outreach please read more here (scroll to Donations to The Road to Bethlehem).

DRUG WAR (formerly Prohibition: A Modern Addiction)

As the debate around the legalisation of drugs seems to be getting more attention – not least from some of the Central and Latin American governments whose peoples have borne the brunt of the so-called ‘War on Drugs’, Shane Ward’s film seems more and more timely and much needed. Read more about this global ‘piecing together of the jigsaw puzzle’ that is the drug war. One that has cost hundreds of billions of dollars to worse than no effect.

As we seek to raise funds for development, we are delighted to have Mike Leigh lend his support along with others who argue that the public must know more about this issue that affects us all, in one way or another. See what the film’s supporters have to say here.

If you would like to know more about how you can help support the film email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

PABLO NAVARETTE’s last film ‘Inside the Revolution’ was a beautifully made fascinating insight into Chavez’s Venezuela. Pablo’s next film is looking at Venezuela’s Hip Hop Revolutionaries. Learn more about how you can help the film here.

UK PREMIERE OF AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY “FORDSON”
Thursday 19th April, 6pm, Apollo Cinema Piccadilly.

TPFF friends at Radical Middle Way are presenting Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football and the American Dream.

“Powerful… Intelligent… Moving. I want everyone… to watch this film!” Michael Moore.

The film follows a predominately Muslim and Arab high school football team from a working-class Detroit suburb as they practice for their big cross-town rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, revealing a community holding onto its Islamic faith while they struggle, under the dark clouds of growing anti-Muslim hatred, for acceptance in post 9/11 America. There are a limited number of free tickets for friends of the Tipping Point Film Fund. Additional tickets are also available for ONLY £5. Book here.

Also attending will be Director Rashid Ghazi, Coach Fouad “Walker” Zaban, Former Principal of Fordson High School Imad Fadlallah and the stars of the Fordson Tractors Football squad Ali Baidoun, Bilal Abu-Omarah, Baquer Sayed, Hassan Houssaiky.

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL

..is an amazing event in the festival calendar. One to watch out for, if you are attending, is a short doc having a special screening on Sunday 6^th May. ‘The Killing Fields’ by Carlo Nero asks How does our taxation system affect our ecosystem? Can we save the environment and prevent the decimation of species by creating a seismic shift in how we run our economy? A panel discussion will be introduced by Vanessa Redgrave and will include Prof. Sir Richard Jolly Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; Polly Higgins environmental lawyer and author of Eradicating Ecocide and Fred Harrison economist and author.

http://brightonfestival.org/event/477/the_killing_fields/

CAMPAIGNS to watch out for…

Amnesty Disarm Dictators campaign for a ‘bulletproof’ arms trade treaty.

In July, world leaders will meet in New York to draw up an historic document: the first ever international Arms Trade Treaty. Get it wrong and we may never get another chance to put it right.

38 Degrees ongoing campaigns: Save the NHS; and Tax Dodging Campaign

That’s all for now! As always, thanks to all our supporters and if you’d like to know more about how you can join them and support TPFF’s backing of great ‘call to action’ films, read more here.

Happy Easter Holidays!

Deb, Kev, Fran, Jen and all at TPFF

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TPFF FILM CLUB: Four Horsemen

Posted on April 4, 2012 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Four Horseman, Ross Ashcroft, The Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club • Leave a comment

Four Horsemen by Ross Ashcroft (90 mins) Tuesday 24th April, 8pm

Four Horsemen is the debut feature from director Ross Ashcroft which reveals the fundamental flaws in the economic system which have brought our civilization to the brink of disaster.

23 leading thinkers – frustrated at the failure of their respective disciplines – break their silence to explain how the world really works.

The film pulls no punches in describing the consequences of continued inaction – but its message is one of hope. If more people can equip themselves with a better understanding of how the world really works, then the systems and structures that condemn billions to poverty or chronic insecurity can at last be overturned. Solutions to the multiple crises facing humanity have never been more urgent, but equally, the conditions for change have never been more favourable.

“The refreshing thing about this film is that Ross Ashcroft also takes the viewer on a broader journey, linking in terrorism, global warming and poverty along with world finances to present a troubling picture of the world today.”
– Mark Adams, Chief Film Critic Screen International

From Joseph Stiglitz to maverick US commentator on RT, Max Keiser; from the FT’s Gillian Tett to economist Ha Joon Chang (23 things they don’t tell you about capitalism) this film takes a step back to put the financial crisis into a much wider context, framed as it is within the metaphor of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A festival hit, the film has just been released in the UK to great critical reviews.

Watch the trailer.

Post-Film Discussion with Ross Ashcroft

We’re delighted that the director Ross Ashcroft can join us for a post film discussion and Q&A to explore the many interconnected themes in the film

Info: Lexi Cinema, 8pm. Tickets £6.50

Book here

Or call the box office 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee).

Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of £60 or more

Email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com

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 Circus) stop directly outside the cinema. To map your route by public transport click here, and for a streetmap click here.

TPFF Film Club: Future of Hope

Posted on January 27, 2012 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Future of Hope, Henry Bateman, Iceland, Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club • 3 Comments

Future of Hope by Henry Bateman (75 mins)
Mon 6^th Feb at 8.30pm

How can we shift a society’s values and vision after a banking collapse while simultaneously advocating a global green economy? Join us for the first London screening of Henry Bateson’s beautiful new ‘Iceland’ film and post-film discussion with author and Green Party candidate Dr.Shahrar Ali and Rajesh Makwana, Director of Share the World’s Resources, an advocacy NGO with UN consultative status.

‘…the general consensus among those interviewed is that it (the financial crash) presents an opportunity to transform an entire society. The philosophy of sustainable living has to underpin everything we do, economics included.’ Cristina Galvin, Irish Times

The Film

Henry Bateman’s film takes us from the origins of the Icelandic financial crash, through to the present day, exploring the consequences and the solutions. His engaging cast of characters explain the levels of indebtedness upon which the Icelandic economy grew to depend; the impact on the entire population when the bubble burst; and the urgent need for new thinking if they – and by extension, us – are to create a more equitable, sustainable economy for all.

Watch the trailer

Cinematically stunning, the film captures the breathtakingly beautiful landscapes of Iceland – from the midnight sun to dark winters lit only by the snow, from geysers to volcanoes, and it features a specially commissioned soundtrack comprising brand new compositions from artists such as Damien Rice. Future of Hope is journey of struggle, determination and most importantly, as the title says, hope as it clearly explains the country’s past, explores its present, and predicts a progressive future for a new and sustainable Iceland

Post Film Discussion

Joining us to explore the various themes in the film, not least how to turn the financial crisis into an opportunity and how to extend equitable solutions on a global scale will be:

Dr Shahrar Ali – officer of London Green Party and their former Policy Coordinator 2004-09. His PhD in Philosophy from UCL looked at lying and deception, with specific reference to public life. He entered Green politics after working as a researcher in the European Parliament on the risks of GM food. He has lived in Brent for ten years, has campaigned for sustainable solutions, such as transition towns; is the author of the bestseller Why Vote Green; and is a candidate in the 2012 London Assembly election.

And

Rajesh Makwana, director of Share The World’s Resources (STWR), a London-based organisation campaigning for international economic sharing – a more equitable distribution of financial and natural resources within and between nations. He has written articles on key development issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change, and previously worked in the private sector before formally establishing STWR as an advocacy organisation with consultative status at the United Nations.

Booking

Lexi Cinema. Tickets £5 . Book here.

Or call the box office 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee).

Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of £60 or more.

Email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com

Getting There

TPFF Festive Greetings

Posted on December 15, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Christmas Newsletter, Prohibition: A Modern Addiction, Road to Bethlehem, TPFF Film Club, We Are Many • Leave a comment

TPFF Festive Greetings!

So, another year is about to come to an end – does anyone out there have a trick to share about how we can slow down time? It passes way too fast!!

It’s been a year of unbelievable upheaval and turmoil, but one of people protest too. We here are optimistic that the so-called 99% will see a more just set of solutions come out of the chaos we have witnessed this past year because there are so many fantastic networks and organisations out there who are taking the ‘1%‘ on. And support for them will grow next year, for sure!

On that note, we continue to be amazed at the Just Do It team – the film is now truly on its international journey. If you have any doubt about the power of protest and non-violent direct action, this film will put it to bed! TPFF remains a very proud supporter of Emily and her team.

We Are Many

And to continue the ‘protest’ theme, there’s been great news on Amir Amirani’s film, ‘We Are Many’. Our recent Kickstarter online funding campaign raised $92k –significantly exceeding our target of $70k! This means the film can begin production in early 2012. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED – a special thanks to project partner War on Want for their help with the campaign.

TPFF is supporting the film with funding, fundraising and campaign development. Tim Robbins, Jemima Khan, Mark Rylance and Terry Jones are a few of the latest individuals to come on board; Oliver Stone has given his endorsement and no less than Stephen Fry has tweeted the film!

And were you one of the millions who marched on February 15th, 2003, to stop the Iraq Invasion? If so, tell us your story here.

The Road to Bethlehem

Leila took time out this year due to illness, but we are delighted she is back on form and picking up her work on the film again. ‘The Road to Bethlehem’ will be ready for a UK/Ireland release, along with campaign outreach, in mid-2012 and a USA/Canada release Christmas 2012. This comes as we see Palestine move for recognition at the UN, so we expect the timing of the film and its campaign to resonate across the USA as well as UK/Europe. We recently received a $15,000 private donation for the film to go towards this next stage and are in the process of seeking partners for the release of the film in the UK. If you would like to know how to support the film email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com.

If you live in the Richmond, Surrey area join us for an evening hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. Leila will show excerpts from the film, share what it meant to document five momentous years in the life of Bethlehem and explain why she believes that Bethlehem has a crucial role to play in bringing about change in the Middle East.

Sunday 8th January 2012 at 8pm (Admission free, doors open at 7.30pm)

St Mary Magdalene, Church Walk off Paradise Road, Richmond TW9 1SN

Hosted by St Mary Magdalene & Richmond & Kingston PSC www.richkingpsc.org.uk

Prohibition: A Modern Addiction

TPFF is working with Australian director Shane Ward to help progress the development of his film ‘Prohibition: A Modern Addiction’ addressing the failure of the global war on drugs – a war that has cost hundreds of billions of dollars; that is abjectly failing those poorer nations affected by drugs; criminalising generation after generation of poor, often black, young people; while at the same time enriching cartels, the US private prison system and many others along the way.

Yet there is a growing recognition of the reality which is – this ‘war’ is making matters worse, not better. So what are the ways forward? What does the evidence tell us and do we have the courage to rethink the approach, the discourse, on prohibition?

Shane has spent two years researching the issue and has the support of many of the world’s leading drug policy experts – from policy and campaign groups to law-makers and enforcers. We are now at the stage of raising funds to move to the next stage of development and pulling together the all-essential fundraising trailer. If you would like to know more about the film’s campaign partners please find out more at:

Transform

Release

If you would like to help us raise funds for the film, please email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com for more information.

TPFF Film Club

Thanks to all our Film Club supporters for another great year of film screenings and a very big thanks to ALL our great panellists and directors who always make our Q&A’s so good! Highlights were Inside Job, The End of Poverty?, The Take, Just Do It, Iraq: War Love God Madness; When China Met Africa and An African Election.
As ever, thanks to the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and the lovely Lexi Cinema team for being such great partners! Thanks to Dogwoof for being our festival partners; and a special shout out to the team at Humanfilm – Mohammed, Isabelle, Danny and Kathryn – keep up the amazing work and we urge everyone to check out Humanfilm – their films and campaigns. Thanks for Greenbelt 2011!

And a Big Thank You to…

And finally, we end this year as last year, with a BIG THANK YOU to The Co-operative, without whom there would be no TPFF and to our donors, one off and regular givers, whose support to the Fund we hugely appreciate.

We send you all our best wishes for the festive season and wish you a peaceful New Year.

Deb, Kev, Fran, Jen and all at TPFF

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Film Club Screening – Monday 19th September, Lexi Cinema 8pm

Posted on September 9, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Iraq: War Love God & Madness, The Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club • Leave a comment

To mark UN Peace Day (21st September) Tipping Point’s next film club night at the Lexi Cinema in London will screen Mohamed Al Daradji’s Iraq, War, Love, God, Madness followed by a Q&A with the film’s co-producer and editor Danny Evans.

Truth is stranger than fiction, as seen in this personal journey into war-torn Iraq. Exiled Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji returned to Baghdad in 2004 with the idea of shooting a feature film (Ahlaam) in the midst of war and violence.

The horrific toll on cast and crew during the making of Iraqi feature “Ahlaam” is told by its helmer, Mohamed Al-Daradji, in “War, Love, God & Madness. “More than merely a companion piece to the 2005 drama, (the) docu provides a disturbing look at the situation in occupied Baghdad, when safety was illusory and kidnapping and torture became not merely a hypothetical fear but a reality.” Jay Weissberg,Variety

Clip

The Film

Undeterred by the volatile situation and very real dangers, Mohamed visits his Baghdad home that he fled years previously. He realises the Iraq of his memories is long gone as he witnesses the effects of 35 years of dictatorship, 3 wars and the toll of occupation. Finding the once-vibrant streets filled with unemployment, poverty and madness, he strives to make his film as planned. He is challenged by unimaginable risk and reverses as his camera reveals, instead, a world unravelling around him. As Mohamed rediscovers his homeland we see through his eyes the real Iraqi people and their spirit to survive.

The powerful title refers to the fact that, in Arabic, there is only one letter’s difference among the words war, love, god and madness.

“An amazing and uplifting documentary, which shows precisely how dangerous shooting in Iraq can be.” – Mark Kermode, BBC

The film has screened at many festivals amongst which it was voted one of the top 10 Best Films at the Tribeca International Film Festival (2008); won the Grand Jury Prize at the Ismailia International Film Festival (Egypt); Jury Special Mention at the Moqavemat International Film Festival (Iran) 2010.

Post-film discussion and Q&A with Danny Evans

Danny Evans, a core member of the Humanfilm team, has in-depth knowledge of Iraq and the Middle East. He went to Iraq at the start of filming for their latest award winning film SON OF BABYLON and has spoken at many events including a panel with Michael Moore on the situation in Iraq. Humanfilm is currently leading Iraq’s Missing Campaign – an effort to bring attention and funding to the campaign to help families find and identify their missing relatives.

Tickets

Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased through The Lexi Cinema website or by calling the box office on 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee). Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of more than £60.

Getting there

Screening of ‘Just Do It’ – Monday 4th July – The Lexi Cinema, 8pm

Posted on June 15, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Emily James, Just Do It, The Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club • Leave a comment

Tipping Point’s next film club night at the Lexi Cinema in London will screen Emily James’s Just Do It – a tale of modern-day outlaws. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Emily James.

The inside story of some of the UK’s biggest troublemakers, Just Do It is a feature documentary about environmental direct action. Crowd funded and released this summer, Just Do It follows some fantastically inspiring women and men who most definitely got off their derrieres and did something – and made a difference. What more can you ask for?!

‘Seriously topical but never so serious that it gets caught up in polemic, it’s a terrific story packed with characters and told with passion’. David Hughes, Empire Magazine

The Film:

The world of direct action has remained a secretive one, until now. With unprecedented access, Just Do It takes you on an astonishing journey behind the scenes of a community of people who refuse to sit back and allow the destruction of their world. Torpedoing the tired clichés of the environmental movement, Just Do It introduces you to a powerful cast of mischievous and inspiring characters who put their bodies in the way; they super-glue themselves to bank trading floors, blockade factories and attack coal power stations en-masse, despite the very real threat of arrest. Their adventures will entertain, illuminate and inform.

Read Empire’s 4* review in full here: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137258

See a clip here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2011/jun/08/sheffield-doc-fest-emily-james

Trailer

Post-film discussion and Q&A with director, Emily James

Emily James is an award winning documentary director and producer of one-off films and series, which has included trade justice campaign film The Luckiest Nut; Don’t Worry, a four part series for C4 which the Observer described as “A brilliant satire of the trend towards consumer affairs as entertainment”; Dallas Campbell’s Guide to the Impossible, for Discovery US and was an executive producer on Age of Stupid.

TPFF is proud to have supported Just Do It.

Tickets:

Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased through The Lexi Cinema website or by calling the box office on 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee).

Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of more than £60.

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 Circus) stop directly outside the cinema. To map your route by public transport click here, and for a streetmap click here.

Naomi Klein’s ‘The Take’ – 22nd June – 7.30pm FREE EVENT

Posted on June 1, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Avi Lewis, Naomi Klein, The Chapel Bar, The Take, TPFF Film Club • Leave a comment

True to form, Naomi Klein gets to the heart of a complex story and reveals the human impact of the effects of globalization, with her film made in Argentina at the time of the country’s banking and economic collapse.

It is 2005 and Latin America’s most prosperous middle class finds itself facing ghost towns with abandoned factories and mass unemployment. Klein follows one story – thirty unemployed car workers in Buenos Aires who occupy their idle factory and refuse to leave. All they want is to restart the machines… the result is a real-life political thriller that pits ordinary workers against the local ruling elite – factory owners, politicians and judges.

This film coincides with the start of the UK’s groundbreaking Co-operatives Fortnight – June 25th to July 9th – promoting the work and value of co-operation in the UK and abroad.

‘Fierce and Inspiring’ – Washington Post

… ‘A suspenseful, cautionary tale universal in its implications’ – LA Times

… ‘A cross between Michael Moore and Ken Loach’…. – International Herald Tribune

The Take (87 mins), the winner of several festival prizes, is directed by journalist Avi Lewis, written by Naomi Klein (No Logo) and is 87 mins duration.

Admission

This will be a FREE event! 7.30pm on Wednesday 22nd June.

Come and join us for a pre-mid summers day drink/screening/social gathering

No RSVPS – max 80 capacity, so come on time if you want a seat!

Getting there

Venue: The Chapel Bar, Islington (29a Penton Street, N1 9PX – nearest tube is Angel)

Map: http://www.thechapelbar.co.uk/contact.html

Directions: 5 mins walk from Angel Tube. Cross to White Lion Street, walk to the top where it meets Penton Street, Chapel Bar is on the opposite corner.

Screening of Inside Job, narrated by Matt Damon, March 28th 7.45pm

Posted on March 10, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Charles Ferguson, Inside Job, Matt Damon, The Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club • Leave a comment

Fresh from its best documentary win at the Oscars, Tipping Point’s next film club night at the Lexi Cinema in London will screen Charles Ferguson’s INSIDE JOB followed by a post-film discussion with John Christensen, Director of the Tax Justice Network.

Premiered at the Cannes film festival in 2010, selected for many festivals worldwide and narrated by Matt Damon, Inside Job is about the origins of the financial crash and is a damning condemnation of the banking industry and its role in the financial meltdown of 2008.

‘Boasting more villains than a dozen blockbusters, it points an incriminating finger at not only financial services execs who got filthy rich on working people’s pain (and who remain in power) but also government officials and biz-school toppers irrefutably revealed to be in Wall Streeters’ pockets…. The pic’s musical selections…somehow manage to keep one’s toes tapping, even as one’s fist remains firmly clenched.’ Rob Nelson, Variety

‘… Charles Ferguson’s Oscar-winning tank ride through Lower Manhattan that truly promises to light a Molotov in your mind. An intricately detailed, journalistically solid and morally outrageous examination of the 2008 stock market crash and ensuing bailout paid for by the American taxpayer…’ Katherine Monk, The Vancouver Sun

The Film:

Inside Job traces the connections between government and financial institutions, as well as theoretically independent academics, showing how they combined to trigger excessive profit-taking and endanger the wider economy. A clear exposé of ‘how it happened’, with interviews from those within as well as outside the financial community and comment from leading financial journalists, the director nevertheless struggled to get a single spokesperson for the current administration or for the regulators. “I asked everyone from the president on down and every single one of them said no… American banking is very much in denial,” Ferguson said. And at the Academy Awards, he began his acceptance speech by reminding us that three years after our worst financial meltdown, the subject of his movie, “not a single financial executive has gone to jail.” Let’s take action!’

Read an interview with the director here.

The Post Film Discussion

As public anger continues over ongoing banking bonuses being paid out while the rest of us deal with the fall-out, the post-film discussion will explore this idea – if crimes have been committed, then how to see the perpetrators punished. The discussion will also ask what do we do with the knowledge we have acquired post this global crisis to forge new, more socially responsible, transparent and accountable financial models.

Joining for the post film discussion is John Christensen, Director of the Tax Justice Network.

John Christensen is a development economist and former economic adviser to the UK and Jersey governments and has researched tax havens and tax policy for many years. He has also played a leading role in campaigning for tighter regulation and control of tax havens and offshore finance centres. He is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The Tax Justice Network is now a worldwide campaign.

Tickets:

Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased through The Lexi Cinema website or by calling the box office on 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee).

Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of more than £60.

Getting there

Screening of The End of Poverty? narrated by Martin Sheen – 28th February

Posted on February 7, 2011 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Philippe Diaz, The End of Poverty?, The Lexi Cinema, TPFF Film Club

As Fairtrade Fortnight gets underway, Tipping Point’s next film club event is Monday 28th February 8pm at the Lexi Cinema.

Philippe Diaz’s film The End of Poverty? will be followed by a post film discussion with John Hilary, Executive Director of War on Want, and Andrew Simms, nef fellow.

Released in 2009 and selected for 25 international film festivals around the world, including Critics Weeks at Cannes, this is a daring, thought-provoking and timely film.

‘Diaz’s clear-eyed look at how cultures of despair and dependency are created andmaintained alone is worth price of admission’. Ernest Hardy, LA Weekly.

‘A sort of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ for global economics…a powerful description ofhow western policies since colonialism have subjugated Third World countries’. Charles Masters, The Hollywood Reporter

The film: Today, with global poverty reaching new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies — wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries seems part of this continuum. With comment from leading economic thinkers including Susan George, Joseph Stiglitz and John Christenson, Diaz takes us on a historical journey to the present day – from Europe and the USA to Latin America, Asia and Africa – in order to explain better how and why such widespread poverty exists today in the global south. And if 20% of the planet’s population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate, at this rate, to maintain our lifestyle, will more and more people need to sink below the poverty line?

Post film discussion: Who wouldn’t like to see the end of poverty? Although the rhetoric is mainstreamed, how far are we in the rich world ready to go in rolling back the systemic economic injustice done to poorer nations in our name? How much do we really care – as citizens or governments? Is buying Fairtrade enough –or is it the limit for most? How can the more complex issues that hold back many developing nations ever ‘punch through’ when it demands so much more attention – not to mention political and economic ‘sacrifice’. This event is taking place as Fairtrade fortnight gets underway and we hope post film discussion will unpack some of these questions as we explore how we citizens and consumers in the rich world can most effectively challenge and change our world for the better.

To see the film-makers’ call to action visit.

Post Film discussion and Q&A with John Hilary and Andrew Simms.

John Hilary is Executive Director of the campaigning anti-poverty organisation War on Want. John has 20 years experience in the international development and human rights sector. He has published widely on issues of international politics and globalisation, trade and investment, privatisation, conflict, aid conditionality, Palestine and Iraq.

Andrew Simms is an author, broadcaster and nef (New Economics Foundation) fellow, where he founded the climate change, energy and interdependence programmes. Andrew was a founding organiser of Jubilee 2000 debt campaign and sits on various boards including Greenpeace UK.

Tickets: Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased through The Lexi Cinema website or by calling the box office on 0871 704 2069 (£1 Booking Fee).

Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of more than £60.

Getting there

Tipping Point wants to send sincere thanks Cinema Libre and Share the World’s Resources for their help with this event.

Christmas screenings of 'Jeremy Hardy vs the Israeli Army' – 29 Nov and 5 Dec 2010

Posted on October 22, 2010 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Jeremy Hardy, Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army, The Lexi Cinema, The Road to Bethlehem, TPFF Film Club

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie’

Christmas is almost upon us and the Holy Town of Bethlehem is anything but still. For almost five years now the Israeli Army has been building an enormous concrete wall around and through the city, carving up neighbourhoods and cutting off local Palestinians from generations-owned land and from food and medical supplies. Leila Sansour has been documenting the expansion of the wall and the impact on Bethlehem’s citizens for her new film The Road to Bethlehem, now in final stages of editing.

This Christmas, to highlight the emergency facing Bethlehem’s community, Tipping Point Film Fund will be showing Leila’s first feature documentary film (also shot in Bethlehem) Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army, in London and in Edinburgh. Both screenings will be followed by a panel discussion and include a short preview clip of The Road to Bethlehem. For screening details see the end of the page.

Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army follows the Radio 4 comedian in 2002 as he travels to Israel and the Occupied Territories to team up with members of the International Solidarity Movement (or ISM), where he engages in non-violent direct action to challenge the occupation.

CHRISTMAS SCREENINGS – London and Edinburgh

SCREENING INFORMATION (London and Edinburgh)

MON 29 NOVEMBER, 7.30pm
The Lexi Cinema, 194 Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London NW10 3JU.XBuy tickets online or call 0871 704 2069. Tickets cost £10 but are free to TPFF regular givers and annual donors of more than £60. All tickets include a lovely Christmas mince pie and glass of something special. If you work for an NGO you can purchase two tickets for the price of one by emailing info@tippingpointfilmfund.com from your work email address.

The post-film discussion will ask the question: As we approach Christmas, and the Israeli ‘separation wall’ continues unabated to encircle the town, what future is there for Bethlehem? The panel, chaired by TPFF, will include Maxim Sansour, brother of the director Leila Sansour. Maxim is a character in her new film, The Road to Bethlehem, supported by TPFF and released next year.

SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER, 8.15pm
Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, EH3 9BZ,
Buy tickets online or call 0131 228 2688. Tickets cost £6.90 (£5.20 conc) but are free to TPFF regular givers & annual donors of more than £60.
For details of how to get there.

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Filmhouse panel includes: Michael Marten (academic and chair of the Scottish Palestinian Forum), Maureen Jack (vice chair of the Scottish Palestinian Forum and member of Christian Peacemaker Teams), the Rev Clarence Musgrave who has lived and worked in Jerusalem, and Deborah Burton, Co-founder of Tipping Point Film Fund.

FILMHOUSEFILMHOUSEFILMHOUSE

Autumnal greetings – September’s newsletter

Posted on September 10, 2010 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Cashback, Greenbelt, McCabe Travel, Newsletter, The Lexi Cinema, The Road to Bethlehem, TPFF Film Club

Spotlight News

Welcome to our latest newsletter… the summer is almost over and we’ve packed a whole lot of stuff in. But before we start with our update we’d like to highlight a new and exciting TPFF venture – the launch of our very own film club!

New film club starts with ‘Life and Debt’

The TPFF Film Club – which we’re launching at The Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise on 20 Sept – will be a regular event where TPFF supporters, relevant NGO networks and the general public can get together to watch a specifically chosen feature-documentary (usually related to the news agenda and campaigning) and enjoy a lively panel discussion or Q&A with guest speakers. The event will be free to TPFF regular givers and one-off annual donors of £60 or more. To find out more about our first screening – Stephanie Black’s award-winning documentary Life and Debt – and panel discussion ‘when will rich countries own up to their responsibility in keeping developing nations poor in order to grow their own wealth?’ visit our website or watch the trailer. The panel includes the broadcaster and academic, Dr Robert Beckford; the Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign, Nick Dearden and Dr Patricia Daley, lecturer in Human Geography at Oxford University.

TPFF summer round-up

Over the summer we teamed up with Dogwoof and the solar-powered Groovy Movie Picture House and held screenings at Glastonbury, Lounge on the Farm and The Wickham Festival. We screened Great African Scandal for UNITE trade union, and in association with the brilliant Lexi Cinema, we hosted a sold-out screening and panel discussion of Oliver Stone’s ‘South of the Border’. We also had a great time at the 25,000 strong Greenbelt Arts Festival where we hosted four screenings and Q&As over three days – to find out more about the films and speakers, including a video-message from Jeremy Hardy, visit our website.

Ones to watch!

No Impact Man – September

No Impact Man (guilty New York liberal, Colin Beavan, decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for a year) will be hitting cinemas around the country from 3rd September. Watch the trailer at www.noimpactdoc.com or to find a screening near you go to Dogwoof.

Budrus – September

Budrusthemovie follows a Palestinian leader who manages to unite Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction. Success appears to elude him until his 15-year-old daughter jumps into the fray. Another Dogwoof film released 24 September.

Collapse – October

Collapse is an astonishing portrait of radical thinker Michael Ruppert – exploring his apocalyptic vision of the future, spanning the crises in economics, energy, environment and more.

Project news

The Road to Bethlehem

We are delighted to have secured the grant support of the charitable arm of McCabe Travel – a company specialising in pilgrimages to the Holy Land. McCabe’s support will enable the post-production costs of ‘The Road to Bethlehem’ to be met. McCabe Travel will also be an outreach partner on the film in 2011 and we very much look forward to our collaboration highlighting the need for visitors to go to Palestine to witness as well as appreciate all that its people have to share.

‘The Road to Bethlehem’ is in final stages of editing and we are now turning our attention to raising funds for the international outreach campaign to accompany the film on its release in 2011. Find out about our latest fund-raising initiative and how you can help us to raise money by hosting your own screenings! Watch the latest clip from Leila Sansour to find out why this is important, and if you need any more encouragement find out what Jeremy Hardy had to say at the Greenbelt Arts Festival.

Cashback

TPFF is part of the effort to raise production funding for ‘Cashback’ a film by Marc and Nick Francis. The film will tell the story of how money is drained out of developing countries by a network of bankers, accountants, and lawyers into secret, off-shore Western bank accounts, undermining the lives of millions of people. If you would like to know more or donate to the film’s funding, contact us at info@tippingpointfilmfund.com. In the meantime, Marc and Nick’s latest film ‘When China Met Africa’ was screened as part of the BBC’s Storyville strand in July – you can find out more here! To find out more about Tax Justice visit The Tax Justice Network, Christian Aid or Action Aid.

Save the date – Tipping Point screenings

Monday 20th September, TPFF Film Club at The Lexi Cinema (Kensal Rise, London), screening of ‘Life and Debt’ followed by panel discussion. To find out more about the film and the panel discussion ‘when will rich countries own up to their responsibility in keeping developing nations poor in order to grow their own wealth?’ click here, or to buy your ticket go to The Lexi Cinema. Tickets are free to TPFF regular givers!

Tuesday 26th October, Inn on the Green (Ladbroke Grove, London)

A screening of ‘Inside the Revolution: a journey into the heart of Venezuela’. This 2009 film will be followed by Q&A with the director Pablo Navarrete. Please check our website in the next few weeks for more details.

‘…a rare film about Venezuela, a country in extraordinary transition. Watch this film because it is honest and fair and respectful of those who want to be told the truth about an epic attempt, flaws and all, to claim back the humanity of ordinary people.” – John Pilger (Journalist, author and documentary filmmaker).

Monday 29 November, TPFF Film Club, The Lexi Cinema (Kensal Rise, London)

Programme tbc. Admission free to TPFF regular givers!

And later this week….

Good Pitch UK 2010

Friday 10th September (London)

Observer Passes now on sale! The Good Pitch brings together documentary filmmakers with NGOs, foundations, philanthropies, brands and media around leading social issues – to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners, good for the films and good for society. Find out more at Good Pitch UK.

Well, that’s all from us folks and very much hope to see some of you on the 20th!

With best wishes,

from Debs, Emma, Jen and us all at Tipping Point Film Fund

PS – Find out more about joining our network of regular givers – 360

TPFF screening of 'Life and Debt' at The Lexi Cinema, September 20

Posted on September 2, 2010 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Dr Robert Beckford, Life and Debt, The Lexi Cinema, Tipping Point Film Fund, TPFF Film Club

The Tipping Point Film Fund launches its very own Film Club at The Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise on Monday 20 September with a screening of Stephanie Black’s award-winning ‘Life and Debt‘. The film, which starts at 7.15pm, will be followed by a panel discussion and includes guest speaker, broadcaster and academic, Dr Robert Beckford.

After the great success of the TPFF hosted screening of Oliver Stone’s ‘South of the Border’ in July, and the accompanying panel discussion, where a packed cinema audience passionately debated radical Latin American leadership until we had to throw them out, we’re looking forward to many more packed-house events!

So join us for the launch of the TPFF Film Club (an exciting opportunity to get together with like-minded individuals, to discuss the issues of the day through the medium of film). All Tipping Point Film Fund regular givers will receive a free ticket to the event on 20 September and a free glass of wine too – courtesy of The Co-operative. For more information about the TPFF Film Club click here.

We do hope you can join us!

Life and Debt

Jamaica, land of sand, sea and sun… and a prime example of the complexities of economic globalisation on the world’s developing countries.

With twenty-five years of “help” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank intended to bring Third World nations such as Jamaica into the fold of free market economies, these restructuring policies have crippled Jamaica’s efforts toward self-reliant development while enriching the lenders.

This scathing film is an unapologetic look at the new world order from the point of view of Jamaican workers and farmers, as well as government and policy officials. Featuring interviews with former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and former President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Life and Debt portrays the relationship between Jamaican poverty and the practices of international lending agencies while driving home the devastating consequences of globalisation.

The film was made a decade ago and re-released in August 2010 by Axiom Films – but it remains as relevant today as when it was first released.

Discussion

‘When will rich countries own up to their responsibility in keeping developing nations poor in order to grow their own wealth?’

The panel discussion after the film will delve deeper into the truth behind why many developing nations are still under-developed. It will explore just ‘who owes who’ in the relationship between the rich north and the poor south – especially in light of the recent petition of France to return to poverty stricken post-earthquake Haiti, the 90 million gold francs (£14bn) it took as ‘compensation’ to French slave-owners for Haiti’s independence in 1804.

The panel

Dr. Robert Beckford is an academic and award winning broadcaster based in Birmingham. He has authored half-a-dozen books in the field of theology and culture and made over 20 documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, averaging two films per year with Channel 4, becoming a regular fixture on the prime time television slots of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.

Nick Dearden is Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign. Before, he worked at War on Want (special focus on labour national rights, including campaigning for justice for the people of Palestine); Amnesty International UK, with a lead role on their campaign on poverty and economic, social and cultural rights and joined Jubilee Debt Campaign in 2008 as its Director.

Dr. Patricia Daley is a Researcher and Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Oxford, where she is also a Fellow of Jesus College. Previously, she taught at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA, and at Loughborough University, UK. She is a Pan-Africanist; and her area of specialism covers the intersection between development, forced migration, gender, warfare, and the environment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her most recent book is entitled ‘Gender and Genocide: the Search for Spaces of Peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa’, James Currey and Indiana University Press. She is also chair of the Board of Trustees of the charity Fahamu, which, among a range of its activities, publishes the social justice online newletter Pambazuka News.org.

Booking tickets

SPECIAL OFFER: 2 tickets for the price of 1 if you email your telephone number to bea.addis@thelexicinema.co.uk with subject heading ‘TPFF 20 September’. Includes a free glass of wine

Individual 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 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 Film Club launches at The Lexi Cinema

Posted on September 2, 2010 by TPNS • Posted in News • Tagged Life and Debt, The Lexi Cinema, Tipping Point Film Fund, TPFF Film Club • 1 Comment

Tipping Point Film Fund launches its TPFF Film Club on 20 September at The Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise, with a screening of Stephanie Black’s award-winning ‘Life and Debt‘.

The film, a feature-length documentary which addresses the impact of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and current globalisation policies on developing countries such as Jamaica, starts at 7.15pm.

The panel discussion entitled ‘when will rich countries own up to their responsibility in keeping developing nations poor in order to grow their own wealth‘, will be chaired by Tipping Point Film Fund and includes the broadcaster and academic, Dr Robert Beckford.

For more information about the film and panel discussion, or to watch the trailer click here.

The TPFF Film Club will be a regular event (8-12 times per year) where TPFF supporters, relevant NGO networks and the general public can get together to watch a specifically chosen feature-documentary (usually related to the news agenda and campaigning) and enjoy a lively panel discussion or Q&A with guest speakers. Tickets to the TPFF Film Club are free to regular givers and one off donors of £60 p/a or more.

Initially the film club will be located in London but we would hope in time, as we build our volunteer base around the country, to roll the Film Club out more widely and where possible, grow the opportunity to live-stream it from our website.

There will be a free glass of wine for those attending the launch at The Lexi Cinema – courtesy of The Co-operative.