Truth and Power 2: the Ethics of the Documentary Filmmaker

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.

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.