After clocking hundreds of hours watching a variety of documentary films, programmers for the 21st World Community Film Festival have chosen a diverse and dynamic program that is bound to provoke and inspire.
"One of the main objectives of our film festival is to link the content of these documentary films with issues that are current for the people of our community," says festival programmer Wayne Bradley of the event Feb. 3 and 4 in Courtenay.
"We hope that they can learn from the films, but also take inspiration and move to action around their own issues in this community," says Bradley.
One of his favourites is the opening night film Just Do It: A Tale of Modern Day Outlaws, a smart, high-energy and often-funny portrayal of 21st century activism that will inspire folks who may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the problems our society is facing.
"These are people who have concluded that our political systems will not prevent catastrophic damage from the profit-driven projects of huge multinational companies and have decided to go beyond the rule of law in pursuit of what they see as right," says Bradley.
"With our own community facing the prospect of three coal mines, two of them open pit, the threat of massive oil pipelines across the North and gigantic supertankers in our coastal waters, many people are fed up with the diversions of official hearings and public meetings and are contemplating the likelihood of the need for a direct action response to these issues."
Programmer Janet Fairbanks says she could pick favourites in several categories this year. One of which is Kinshasa Symphony, a film about the Congo, the people in Kinshasa and the power of music.
"I love this film because it shows the complexities of life in the chaos of a city of ten million people and the way the members of the orchestra and choir overcome huge obstacles for an opportunity to play classical music together," she comments.
"This film shares the joy of music being played by ordinary people, not being played perfectly, but with tremendous heart. The cinematography is superb, too."
Other film picks are Louder Than a Bomb (about a slam poetry competition in Chicago), and the closing night films SpOil and Happy.
A festival pass for Friday and Saturday is $30, Friday evening costs $12 and Saturday costs $20 ($3 for youth).
Tickets are available at the Sid Williams Theatre box office, at 250-338-2430 or at www.sidwilliamstheatre.com. See www.worldcommunity.ca and click on the film fest link for descriptions and links to trailers of the films.
鈥� World Community Film Festival
