Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival under way on campus

February 19, 2010

 

Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies will co-host the 10th Annual Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival Feb. 18-25 at venues across Bellingham.

This year’s slate of films, which highlight human-rights concerns across the globe, will be shown at the Fairhaven College Auditorium at WWU, in addition to opening night showings at the Pickford Theater and other screenings at Bellingham Technical College, Sehome High School, Squalicum High School, and Lummi Youth Academy.

All films at all venues are free and open to the public. The Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival is co-sponsored by Western Washington University, the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, and the Whatcom Film Association.

Films, venues and times are as follows:

 
Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.  – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Jailed for Their Words (2008 / USA / 60 minutes) What happens when Americans give up liberties in return for the promise of increased security?  In a sobering lesson of how easily civil liberties can be lost, we learn the untold story of how dozens were jailed under Montana’s sedition acts during World War I.
  • The Response (2008 / USA / 30 minutes) Transcripts of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay are dramatically depicted in this disturbing version of what occurs in secret in the name of democracy. Facilitator: Daniel Larner, Professor, WWU’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Red Gold (2008 / USA/  50 minutes)  In Bristol Bay, Alaska, the most abundant sockeye salmon runs in the world are being threatened by proposals to build what could become the largest copper and gold mines in North America.  Native and non-native community members and fishermen come together to raise alarm over what this may mean for salmon and humans alike.
  • River of Renewal (2009 / USA / 55 minutes)  Competing demands for water, food, and energy have pitted farmers, Native Americans, and commercial fishermen against each other in the Klamath Basin in northern California.  It takes environmental disaster to bring remarkable consensus to decommission dams and put the health of the river first.
Sunday, Feb. 21 from noon to 5 p.m. – WWU’s  Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Noon: The Last Word(2008 / USA / 90 minutes) Years after a brutal murder in Texas led to the execution of a man who was 17 years old at the time of the crime, the case was re-opened by individuals determined to seek the truth of his professed innocence.  Viewers will be compelled to confront the dilemmas associated with the death penalty and the collective pain associated with executing the innocent.  Facilitator:  Amnesty International.
  • 1:45 p.m.: Split Estate (2009 / USA / 75 minutes) In vast areas of the United States, mining and oil companies have virtually unlimited rights to extract subsurface minerals, including through destructive methods such as “fracking.”  Seen through the eyes of homeowners and farmers, this unnerving documentary reveals their complete absence of rights even in the face of horrific consequences for the environment, health, and property values.
  • 3:15 p.m.: The Story of Cap and Trade (2009 / USA/ 10 minutes)  A much heralded response to global climate change is succinctly explained, and artfully challenged, in this engaging short film.
  • 3:30 p.m.: Flow, For Love of Water (2008 / 86 minutes)  Scientists, activists and ordinary citizens worldwide respond to the growing privatization of dwindling fresh water supplies, in an unflinching critique of politics, pollution, and the dangerous emergence of a domineering world water cartel.
Sunday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. – Lummi Youth Academy - 2330 Lummi View Dr.
  • River of Renewal (2009 / 55 minutes)Competing demands for water, food, and energy have pitted farmers, Native Americans, and fishermen against each other in the Klamath Basin in northern California.  It takes environmental disaster to bring consensus to decommission dams and put the health of the river first.
Sunday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Money Driven Medicine (2009 / USA / 86 minutes)  The current "medical-industrial complex" has turned health care in the U.S. into a profit-hungry system, with billions of dollars squandered on unnecessary tests, unproven and unwanted procedures, and overpriced prescription drugs.  We can do better. Facilitators: Larry Kalb, Community Health Advocate; Liz Mogford, WWU assistant professor of Sociology; and Dr. George Rofkar.
Monday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. – Lummi Youth Academy - 2330 Lummi View Dr.
  • Children of the Amazon (2008 / 72 minutes) Decimation of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous communities continues at an alarming rate.  This extraordinary film pairs current images with footage taken when highways first penetrated deep into the forest, revealing powerful impacts on children photographed 15 years earlier as well as profound implications for the entire planet. 
Monday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium  
  • Torturing Democracy (2009 / USA / 90 minutes) This carefully researched account of the “War on Terror” examines policies on detention and interrogation instituted under the Bush Administration, and largely still in place.   Facilitator: Amnesty International.
Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Marina of the Zabbaleen (2009 /Egypt / 70 minutes) Two billion people live in megacities and slums worldwide, largely invisible to more affluent people.  This intimate portrayal of Coptic families in Cairo reveals the harshness of poverty, but also the strengths that children develop in surviving against great odds. Facilitator: Milt and Judith Krieger, retired WWU professors with expertise on Africa.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7-9 p.m. – Sehome High School 
  • 7 p.m.: Red Gold (2008 / 50 minutes)  In Bristol Bay, Alaska, the most abundant sockeye salmon runs in the world are today threatened by proposals to build what could become the largest copper and gold mines in North America.  Native and non-native community members and fishermen come together to raise alarm over what this may mean for salmon and humans alike.
  • 8 p.m.: My Neighbor, My Killer (2009/80 minutes)  In 1994, nearly one million people in Rwanda were massacred in less than 100 days.  How former neighbors use tribunals to confront unimaginable horrors provides hope and guidance for rebuilding community in the aftermath of violence.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7-9:30 p.m. – Squalicum High School 
  • 7 p.m.: Children of the Amazon (2008/72 min) Decimation of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous communities continues at an alarming rate.  This extraordinary film pairs current images with footage taken when highways first penetrated deep into the forest, revealing powerful impacts on children photographed 15 years earlier as well as profound implications for the entire planet.
  • 8:30 p.m.: Murder in the Snow (2008 / 52 min) The Himalaya range, “the roof of the world,” is the setting for spectacular mountaineering – and the desperate flight of refugees from Tibet.  The two are dramatically intertwined in this unforgettable film, one that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit, while raising disturbing moral questions. 
Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • You, Me and the SPP:  Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule (2009/Canada / 91 minutes) The profound implications of secretive security and economic agreements linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico, are told from a Canadian perspective – providing sobering comparison for considering the future of democracy in the U.S. Facilitator: Don Alper, director of Canadian American Studies and the Border Policy Research Institute, WWU.
Thursday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. – AW 204 (Academic West), WWU
  • Murder in the Snow(2008 / Australia / 52 minutes)See earlier description.  Facilitator: Luis Benitez, professional high altitude mountaineer and guide, featured in the film.
Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Murder in the Snow(2008 / Australia / 52 minutes)See earlier description.  Facilitator: Luis Benitez, professional high altitude mountaineer and guide, featured in the film.
Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. – Bellingham Technical College
  • Film on Human Trafficking, TBA
Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • The Reckoning (2009 / USA / 95 minutes) During the 1990s, more than 120 countries united to form the International Criminal Court to respond to crimes against humanity anywhere in the world.  The effectiveness of the ICC to prosecute abuses and promote human rights remains in question, in part because the United States is still not a signatory. Facilitators: Babafemi Akinrinade, assistant professor, WWU’s Fairhaven College; and Kathleen Young, WWU associate professor of Anthropology.
Saturday, Feb. 27, noon to 5 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Noon: My Neighbor, My Killer (2009 / USA France / 80 minutes) In 1994, nearly one million people in Rwanda were massacred in less than 100 days.  How former neighbors use tribunals to confront unimaginable horrors provides hope and guidance for rebuilding community in the aftermath of violence.
  • 1:30 p.m.: This Palestinian Life  (2009 / Palestine / 29 minutes)  This intimate portrayal of Palestinian villagers is not an overview of the entire conflict, but rather a remarkable example of the dignity of lives that revolve around sumoud - perseverance through nonviolent resistance.
  • 2 p.m.: To See If I’m Smiling (2007 / Israel/ 60 minutes) This film follows six women soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces during two years of compulsory military service, we witness their changes and increasing doubts as they participate in things they never before imagined.
  • 3:15 p.m.: The Good Soldier (2009 / USA / 60 minutes) Veterans of four wars (World War II to Iraq) reflect on their journey from enlistment to combat, speaking courageously of their darkest moments and of the brutal moral dilemmas of what it means to be “a good soldier.”   Facilitator: Veterans for Peace.
Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. – WWU’s Fairhaven College Auditorium
  • Children of the Amazon (2008 / Brazil / 72 minutes)Decimation of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous communities continues at an alarming rate.  This extraordinary film pairs current images with footage taken when highways first penetrated deep into the forest, revealing powerful impacts on children photographed 15 years earlier as well as profound implications for the entire planet. Facilitator: James Loucky, WWU professor of Anthropology.
For more information about the 10th Annual Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival, contact ShirleyOsterhaus at (360) 650-2309, or shirley.osterhaus@wwu.edu.