Wednesday September 12
Pre-festival screening of ¡Las Sandinistas! (Nicaragua/U.S. 2018, 100 minutes)
https://www.lassandinistas.com/
Canadian premiere! 6:50 pm ByTowne Cinema, 325 Rideau St.
Separate admission required. All seats $10.
Recipient of a special jury award at the South By Southwest Film Festival, ¡LAS SANDINISTAS! recalls a watershed moment in history when a group of Nicaraguan women shattered barriers to lead rebel troops in battle and reshape their country with landmark social reforms during 1979’s Sandinista Revolution and the ensuing U.S.-backed Contra War—only to face renewed marginalization by their male peers once the wars ended. Now, 35 years later, amid the worst levels of violence against women in Nicaraguan history, these same women take to the streets to lead the popular movements for equality and democracy once again.
Thursday Sept. 20
Opening Night Theme: Women’s Voices for Justice
5:00pm Doors open for reception and festival fair
6:00pm Women’s Stories of Empowerment (31 minutes)
Presented in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Speaker: Alejandra Vargas Garcia, Senior Program Officer IDRC
M’resh Means Beautiful
Zipporah, a 22 year old single mother, juggles child care responsibilities and the challenge to make ends meet in one of Nairobi’s poorest slums.
A Good Proposal
Munni, a teenage mother in rural Bangladesh, recounts her illicit childhood marriage, while her 12 year old sister fights to delay marriage and follow her dreams of becoming an engineer.
The Village Edge
Shazia, who lives in rural Pakistan, reflects on the limits to her mobility and how this affects her economic opportunities as a stitcher.
6:45 Break, 30 minutes
7:15pm Naila and the Uprising (Palestine/U.S. 2017, 76 minutes)
https://www.justvision.org/nailaandtheuprising
Presented in partnership with the Nobel Women’s Initiative
Followed by a moderated conversation with Suhad Babaa, executive producer and executive director of Just Vision
When a nation-wide uprising breaks out in 1987, a woman in Gaza must make a choice between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of women in a movement that puts Palestinians on the map. Naila and the Uprising chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh whose story weaves through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history.
9:00pm Break 30 minutes.
9:30pm The Judge (U.S. 2017, 81 minutes) https://www.thejudgefilm.com/
With a tagline of “Women, Equality, Justice”, Emmy award-winning director and producer Erika Cohn follows trailblazing Palestinian Judge Kholoud, the first female judge appointed to a religious court in the Middle East. The Judge illuminates how colonial occupation has illuminated the legal and cultural worlds of the contemporary Islamic world, while reflecting a universal struggle for women’s control over their bodies, economic welfare, custodial rights, and marital status.
Friday Sept. 21
Theme: Our Neighborhoods
5:30pm Doors open
6:15pm Earthrise (U.S. 2018, 30 minutes) http://www.earthrisefilm.com/
Canadian premiere of American Film Institute Docs Festival audience award winner!
The story of the iconic first image of the Earth from space captured by Apollo 8 astronauts a half century ago in 1968 and the powerful impact of this planetary perspective transcending man-made boundaries.
6:45pm Break 30 minutes
7:15pm Not in My Neighborhood (South Africa/Brazil/U.S. 2017, 86 minutes)
https://www.facebook.com/NIMNTheFilm/ https://vimeo.com/237044326
As battle lines are drawn in the trauma of forced removals in housing around the world, award-winning South African filmmaker Kurt Orderson explores community resistance movements. Following the film join him in a stimulating discussion with local housing support groups, fighting for the dispossessed. Sponsored by Media Resource Associates (MRA).
An insightful look into the lives of those who are struggling against the negative impacts of gentrification, urban renewal, architectural apartheid and spatial violence, Not in My Neighborhood opens an international dialogue by exploring the parallels of contemporary urban environments in three seemingly disparate cities: São Paulo, Cape Town and New York.
9:00pm Break 30 minutes
9:30pm Your Last Walk in the Mosque (Canada/France/Belgium 2018, 49 minutes)
https://issuu.com/mokhtarfilmfestival/docs/yourlastwalk_dp_en
A searching examination of the aftermath of the tragic January 2017 shootings in a Quebec City mosque that killed six male worshippers and injured nineteen others. What has been the impact on Muslim Canadians and the wider community? What should be the response to such murderous hate crimes?
Notes from Dunblane: Lessons from a School Shooting (U.S. 2018, 22 minutes)
http://www.lessonsfromaschoolshooting.com/
Two Catholic pastors coping with massacres of schoolchildren—in 1996 in Scotland, and 2012 in Newton, Connecticut—share their experiences on the impact of mass shootings and the case for radical gun policy reform.
Saturday Sept. 22
Afternoon Theme: Art for Life!
1:00pm Doors open
1:30pm Wapikoni mobile Indigenous shorts program (30 minutes) http://www.wapikoni.ca/films/en
Idle No More; Kuujjuaq; Mommy Goes Race; Protect Our Future Daughters; Nuhe nenë boghílníh: Protecting our Homeland; Qilliqtu (Shiny Object)
2:00pm Shorts program by the Council on Aging of Ottawa and Canterbury High School (11 minutes)
“Because of One Person” Allene’s story, a hopeful message of aging, resilience and overcoming issues many older adults face
“Growing Old Gracefully” Lynda’s story, which highlights the importance of friendhip, honouring our heritage and the joy of music
“Retirement & Aging” Terry, 77, interviewed by Kelsey, 17, an engaging and insightful conversation between generations
2:15pm Blue Roses (Canada 2018, 59 minutes) World premiere!
Followed by a discussion with local filmmakers Ed Kucerak and Danielle Rolfe
Getting end of life care is a challenge for people living in rooming houses and who often face poverty, mental illness and addictions. These individuals are often invisible to the people who typically provide palliative care. This is the story of how one community found strength in its members to bring care to those suffering in silence.
3:15pm Break 30 minutes
3:45pm I Am Rohingya: A Genocide in Four Acts (Canada 2018, 85 minutes)
https://www.iamrohingyafilm.com/
This powerful documentary chronicles the journey of fourteen Rohingya youth who take to the stage in order to depict their families’ harrowing escape from Burma (Myanmar). Their art becomes a courageous act of resistance, demonstrating that they will not be silenced or erased.
Followed by a panel discussion on the Rohingya refugee crisis and Canada’s response with Rebecca Wolsak, Burma program manager Inter-Pares, and Brittany Lambert, Women’s Rights Policy and Advocacy Specialist, Oxfam.
Doors stay open after end of afternoon program
Closing Night Theme: Women on the Frontlines
6:30pm Festival fair continued
7:00pm Women of the Venezuelan Chaos (France/Venezuela 2017, 83 mins)
https://www.femmesduchaosvenezuelien.com/
Embodying strength and stoicism, five Venezuelan women from diverse backgrounds each draw a portrait of their country as it suffers under the worst crisis in its history amid extreme food and medicine shortages, a broken justice system, and widespread fear. Speaking truth to power, these women remain resilient and resourceful despite the immense challenges they face.
8:45pm Break 30 minutes
9:15pm Time for Ilhan (U.S. 2018, 89 minutes)
https://www.timeforilhanfilm.com/
On November 8, 2016, a young, hijab-wearing mother-of-three named Ilhan Omar made history, becoming the first Somali Muslim woman to be elected to state office in America. At a time of populist polarization and resistance in Trump’s America, this absorbing inside look at Ilhan’s challenge to the political establishment offers an inspiring, stereotype-busting portrait of a rising political role model.
Thursday September 27
Post-festival screening of Anote’s Ark (Canada 2018, 77 minutes) http://www.anotesark.com/) 6:45pm Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St.
(Separate admission required. $10 general; $6 Mayfair members and seniors)
What happens when your nation is swallowed by the sea? With the harsh realities of climate change looming, the low-lying Pacific nation Kiribati must find a new solution for the survival of its people. Facing that former president Anote Tong has become a global activist for climate justice. Anote’s Ark captures the next evolution in the shifting dynamics of climate change—one where borders, technology, and global treaties are urgent, challenging daily life as we know it.
Followed by a panel discussion with Ben Powless, Mohawk Indigenous rights and environmental justice activist, and Dale Marshall, National Program Manager, Environmental Defense.
Co-presentation with the Group of 78 Annual Policy Conference Meeting the Climate Challenge https://group78.org/