Full Programme Archives - Page 9 of 10

Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club

A journalist with no scruples and two comedians travel to North Korea with a mission – to challenge the conditions of the smile in one of the world’s most notorious regimes. On the pretext of being a small theatre troupe on a cultural exchange visit from Denmark, The Red Chapel was given permission to travel to North Korea with the objective of performing at special events for selected audiences. But in reality the small troupe was comprised of a group who had no such intentions.

Presented in collaboration with Matchbox Cineclub.

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SPIN

Donald Trump’s denunciation of “fake news” has been so effective a rallying cry it would be easy to conclude – and no doubt he’d do little to dissuade you – that his administration had pioneered the concept. Depending on who you ask, the denunciation of “fake news” is either an antidote to propaganda or simply next-level manipulation. Brian Springer’s 1995 documentary, which uses pirated satellite feeds to reveal US media personalities’ contempt for their viewers, puts the concept of fake news and a gaslighting presidency in context. TV outtakes appropriated from network satellite feeds unravel the tightly-spun fabric of television – a system that silences public debate and enforces the exclusion of anyone outside those who manufacture the news.

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Control Room

‘I’m not saying it’s the truth,’ director Jehane Noujaim once said of her award-winning film, ‘it’s our truth.’ Control Room provides insight into the Arabic network Al Jazeera’s presentation of the second Iraq war to their worldwide audience. Noujaim’s film follows the journey of three characters from Al Jazeera and US Central Command through the beginning of the Iraq war, in order to tell the larger story of how truth is gathered, presented, and ultimately created by those who deliver it. Control Room calls into question many of the prevailing images and positions offered up by the US news media, while exposing the institutional bias on both sides.

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Left on Purpose

Midway through the filming of a documentary about his life as an anti war activist, Mayer Vishner declares that his time has passed and that his last political act will be to commit suicide – and he wants it all on camera. Now the director must decide whether to turn off his camera or use it to keep his friend alive. Left on Purpose is an award-winning feature length documentary that confronts the growing issues of aging, isolation and end of life choices through an intense character driven story of the relationship between filmmaker and subject. With humour and heart, it provides a rare cinematic look at what it means to be a friend to someone in pain.

Director Justin Schein will be in attendance to introduce the film and to take part in the panel discussion, Truth & Power 2: The Ethics of the Documentary Filmmaker, which directly follows the screening.

Preceded by Dan Goldes’ Arrested (Again) 4m, a profile of activist Karen Topakian’s unceasing commitment to exercising her first amendment rights.

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We Are Humanity

We Are Humanity is a film about a way of life under threat. An emotionally-driven documentary that takes you on an immersive and revealing journey into the seemingly utopian lives of the Jarawa people. Living on the Andaman Islands of India, the Indian government are attempting to forcibly assimilate them into modern society. The Jarawas are treated like animals in zoo by tourists and Indian scientists attempting to “educate” them.

We Are Humanity deals implicitly with the issues surrounding representing the Other, an Other with no access to a means to represent themselves. Through this film we come to understand not only the destructive effects of global capitalism, but also the complexity and commonality of the human experience.

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Stranger in Paradise

In a classroom in Sicily, just inside the walls of Fortress Europe, recently arrived refugees receive lessons from a teacher who has some rather unbalanced traits. One moment he mercilessly rejects the refugees – the next he embraces them. A plea that borders on the immoral; a welcome charged with a guilt complex; and the compromise between these, made policy. Operating at the intersection of documentary and fiction, Stranger in Paradise is an unflinching film essay investigating the power relations between Europe and refugees.

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Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time

Chauka is the name of a native bird on Manus Island and is also the name of the solitary confinement unit at Manus detention center. The Chauka is a symbol of the island and allows locals to tell the time from the Chauka’s regular singing.

Over a period of several months, Iranian journalist and Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani had access to a phone. In secret, and with help from Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani, Boochani created a film which portrays what he describes as “the coarsening banality and repetition” of indefinite detention.

Scottish Premiere, presented in association with Glasgow Refugee Asylum & Migration Network (GRAMNet)

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No Man Is An Island

The tiny island of Lampedusa rests in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea—a prime gateway for African refugees into Europe and a jumping-off point into greater Italy. For the few who remain on the island, this sanctuary comes at a cost. For Adam, a 16-year-old Ghanaian boy adopted into the family that employs him, the push to assimilate into Italian culture is tempered by sinister undercurrents of racism. Fleeing with many Tunisians during the Arab Spring, 21-year-old Omar has also found an adoptive family, but it’s impossible to ignore his loneliness on the provincial island and his intense yearning for companionship. Both young men walk among the Lampedusiani looking for connection but finding only strangers. Like great poetry, this visually arresting and perceptive double portrait illustrates the ineffable qualities of their experience.

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Critical Forum: Telling True Stories – Developing Human Rights Documentaries

Many human rights documentary films are the result of a productive, creative and collaborative partnership between activists and filmmakers. This year, the Critical Forum at Document becomes a platform for yet untold and potentially powerful cinematic stories by inviting human rights organisations, activists, producers and filmmakers to share their work on the ground and spark collaborations. The forum will feature two parts: a panel with presentations of different film projects at different stages of development, focusing on challenges and collaborations. The second part will allow attendees to participate in a workshop tailored around their own projects and interests, challenges and experiences of working on human rights issues on screen and beyond. Finally, the workshop will end with a general discussion where the audience and the panelists will have the chance to give feedback and advice and inspire future projects and collaborations.

Free but ticketed.

Presented in collaboration with Glasgow Human Rights Network.

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SUPERLUX Masterclass with Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Ameenah Ayub Allen

Join artist Andrea Luka Zimmerman and producer Ameenah Ayub Allen for a SUPERLUX Masterclass that surveys the process of making the film Erase and Forget.

This SUPERLUX Masterclass will focus on questions around the circulation of engaged artists’ documentary, the complexity of working with fair use material within film culture and the possibilities and difficulties that arise when choosing to work outside of mainstream funding structures.

Free to SUPERLUX members. Booking through LUX Scotland website.

SUPERLUX, LUX Scotland’s membership scheme, is a national initiative that supports artists and arts professionals to develop more sustainable practices through professional development, networking, skills development and training. It is available to all Scotland-based artists, researchers and organisers, and is free to join.

Established in December 2015 with the generous support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, SUPERLUX currently has a core membership of over 500 members from across Scotland.

SUPERLUX is free to join and open to all: http://membership.luxscotland.org.uk

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Full Programme

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Kim Jong-il’s Comedy Club

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SPIN

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Control Room

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Left on Purpose

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We Are Humanity

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Stranger in Paradise

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Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time

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No Man Is An Island

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Critical Forum: Telling True Stories – Developing Human Rights Documentaries

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SUPERLUX Masterclass with Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Ameenah Ayub Allen

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