Cinema Politica Whistler screens independent documentary films covering important socio-political, environmental, cultural and economic issues in Canada and worldwide.
Admission is by donation and is open to everyone. Casual discussions follow each screening. BYO mug for a free organic, Fair Trade tea. Doors open at 6:30PM, films begin at 7:00PM with discussion and opportunities for action afterwards. Inspire the activist in you!
Cinema Politica (CP) is the largest grassroots documentary screening network in North America. CP’s main objective is to promote, disseminate, exhibit and promote the discussion of political cinema by independent artists with an emphasis on works that tell stories underrepresented by mainstream media, including narratives around political struggles within Canada, and stories that deal with oppression and/or identity politics.
Wiebo Ludwig is the prime suspect in a recent string of pipeline bombings. The bombings echo a campaign of sabotage he waged against the oil and gas industry in the 1990s – barricading roads, blowing up stuff, vandalism... culminating in the unsolved death of a sixteen-year-old girl on his family's farm.
Wiebo’s Trickle Creek Farm is off the grid and self-sufficient. It also sits atop one of the largest fields of natural gas on the continent. Despite the Ludwig family’s concerns and protests over the potentially harmful impact of sour gas on their health and sustainability, a series of wells were drilled in close proximity to their remote Christian community. Soon after, livestock began to die, and the family started to experience health problems, including a series of miscarriages. After five years of being dismissed and ignored by industry, politicians and the press, Ludwig went to war.
“Ludwig may well be an eco-terrorist and a charismatic cult leader — a biblical patriarch who goes to war against an industry that’s encroaching on his land with sour gas wells. But this documentary reaches beyond the headlines to find some credible sympathy for Ludwig. His self-sufficient farm is impressive, and so is his family… Without necessarily endorsing Ludwig’s tactics, WIEBO’S WAR presents a sympathetic portrait of the horrors his community has had to endure…” Brian D Johnson · Maclean’s
LUNA and Cinema Politica invited Wiebo Ludwig to talk at this screening, however Wiebo declined. His cancer has made him too ill to travel.
Post-film discussion will be led by Kim Slater, Environmental Coordinator for the Resort Municipality of Whistler. Kim holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Toronto and is training for the Edge to Edge marathon this June, which she is using to build awareness around proposed pipeline expansion projects and the impact they will have on Canadian values such as clean water, intact pristine boreal forest, sacred fishing grounds, climate change commitments, jobs and Canada’s reputation abroad. Slater plans to raise funds to protect the Great Bear Rainforest, which is being threatened by Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.
There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
This film shows the negative impact this technology bears on the lives and livelihoods of farmers from the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
The Future of Food is presented by LUNA, Earthsave Whistler, and Whistler Public Library.
Jan 6, 2012 |FORCE OF NATURE | Discussion facilitated by David Waldron, Synapse Strategies
Dec 2, 2011 | FRESH | Discussion facilitated by Anna Helmer, Helmers Organic Farm
Nov 4, 2011 | DIVE! LIVING OFF AMERICA'S WASTE | Discussion facilitated by Kari Mancer, Food Program Manager at WCSS.
Mar 18, 2011 | EARTHLINGS | Discussion facilitated by Paula Del Bosco, Executive Director, Whistler Animals Galore Society
Feb 18, 2011 | POOR NO MORE| Discussion facilitated by Jonathan Warner, Quest University Economics tutor
Jan 21, 2011 | WATER ON THE TABLE| Discussion facilitated by Pina Belperio, Director on the Board of the Council of Canadians Dec 17, 2010 |THE UNION| Discussion facilitated by filmmaker Adam Scorgie
Dec 28, 2009 | THE SARI SOLDIERS | Discussion facilitated by LUNA
Dec 21, 2009 |CLUB NATIVE| Discussion facilitated by Linda Lepine, Lil’wat Nation community activist
Dec 14, 2009 |ROADSWORTH: CROSSING THE LINE | Discussion facilitated by TiFdyL, Whistler and Japan based artist; Tobias c. van Veen, curator and media artist; Jesse Graves, Wisconsin mud graffiti artist Dec 7, 2009 | THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: HOW CUBA SURVIVED PEAK OIL | Discussion facilitated by Tamara Hansen, Executive Director of the Canadian Network on Cuba
Apr 27, 2009 | TAKING ROOT: THE VISION OF WANGARI MAATHAI | Discussion facilitated by Brad Kasselman, AWARE Past President
Apr 20, 2009 | IN THE SAME BOAT?| Discussion facilitated by
Apr 13, 2009 | SHARKWATER| Discussion facilitated by Jessie Schwarz, Greenpeace
Apr 6, 2009 | ADDICTED TO PLASTIC: THE RISE AND DEMISE OF A MODERN MIRACLE| Discussion facilitated by Nicolette Brinkhoff, RMOW
Mar 30, 2009 | TOXIC SLUDGE IS GOOD FOR YOU: THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY UNSPUN | Discussion facilitated by Kevin Grandia, Project Manager, DeSmogBlog.
Mar 23, 2009 | OCCUPATION 101 | Discussion facilitated by Valerie Bergeron, Intercultural Communication and Israel/Palestine Conflict Studies.
Mar 16, 2009 | FINDING DAWN | Discussion facilitated by Annabelle Pierre, Safe Home Coordinator, and the Howe Sound Womens Centre Mar 9, 2009 | TO THE TAR SANDS| Discussion facilitated by Jodie Martinson, film Producer and Director. Mar 2, 2009 | UNDER RICH EARTH | Discussion facilitated by Dawn Paley, Dominion News Cooperative and Assistant Producer of the film. Feb 23, 2009 | BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS| Discussion facilitated by Pina Belperio, Council of Canadians Feb 16, 2009 | KIVIAQ VS CANADA | Discussion facilitated by Roland Rudkowsky, Gwich'in Nation, NWT. Feb 9, 2009 | CARTS OF DARKNESS | Discussion facilitated by Murray Siple, filmmaker
withBEVEL UP: DRUGS, USERS AND OUTREACH NURSING | Discussion facilitated by Jackie Dickinson, Drug Prevention and Education Worker Feb 2, 2009 | GARBAGE WARRIOR | Discussion facilitated by Guy Patterson, RMOW Community Planner and Bob Deeks, RDC Fine Homes
Cinema Politica Whistler is an annual, independent documentary series presented by LUNA as part of the worldwide Cinema Politica Network. Screening Truth to Power.
