The Truth Lies in Rostock and Despite the Sun at ASA14 Decennial: Anthropology and Enlightenment conference

asa14_longScreening of the documentaries The Truth Lies in Rostock and Despite the Sun are schedule for the ASA14 Decennial: Anthropology and Enlightenment conference running on Saturday 21 June and Sunday 22 June in the city of Edinburgh.

Both films, Despite the Sun (1986), an investigation into the year-long dispute, which shook the print industry, and The Truth Lies in Rostock (1993), one of the rare documents about the riots in Rostock-Lichtenhagen in August 1992, will be shown on Saturday 21 as part of the film programme ‘The truth of memory and the fiction of history: the politics of representation at the interface of anthropology, art and film making’. Furthermore, there will be a third screening of Spectres (2011), a film essay by Sven Augustijnen that explains one of the darkest pages in the colonial history of the Belgian Congo, around 1960.

This film session focuses on recent anthropological works that have argued that standard anthropological accounts can be inadequate to engage with contemporary socio-economic and political transformations. In questioning standard ethnographic practices, anthropologists have started to explore the relationship between facts and fictions, between truth and representation, and between individual and collaborative or collective projects. These new strands at the convergence between art, anthropology, history, film making and literature raise important issues concerning the limits of the production and representation of anthropological knowledge. This session aims to engage with these debates by presenting three films that in different ways respond to many of the wider conference themes.

The screenings will be followed by a talk and discussion with Mark Saunders, film maker and director of Despite the Sun and co-director of The Truth Lies in Rostcok. All film sessions will take place in the Lecture Theatre of the Symposium Hall.

 

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Please sign the petition to save protester from deportation UK

On April 07 2012, Trenton Oldfield undertook a peaceful direct action protest in order to draw attention to the mouth dropping, entirely unnecessary and rapidly increasing inequalities that are occurring as a result of ‘austerity’. The protest took place at the Oxbridge Boat Race; a symbolic representation of ‘the establishment’ that in the three days before the boat race received royal assent for the fire sale of the NHS, introduced the Data and Communications Bill and called on people to ‘shop’ their neighbours if they thought they might protest at the forthcoming Olympics.

 Trenton was protesting ‘elitism’ the idelology that allows, encourages and maintains inequalities and exploitation.

petition

On 07 June 2012, Deepa and Trenton received correspondence from the Home Office suggesting Trenton, who was born in Australia, though lived and worked his adult life in London is ” undesirable, has unacceptable associations and could be considered a threat to national security” and they want to remove him from the UK.

 Trenton has been labelled by Teresa May as ‘not conducive to the public good’.

Trenton Oldfield ‘stuck his head above the parapet’ now he and his young family are facing a disproportionate, extremist and possibly vindictive attack from the current British government which looks hell bent on undermining their lives. This attack is consistent with how protesters, those that dissent are increasingly being criminalised. It has to stop – now. Even Matthew Pinsent, race umpire said in December 2012: “Look, I want to live in a country where protest is possible. However unwelcome it was, I still value the freedom to do that.”

Also, a few weeks ago Facebook took down the Myrdle Court Press page. They were labelled as ‘abusive and or spam’. This is most likely a result of complaints from Cambridge students who were photographed disrespectfully wearing indigenous head wear whilst drunk. For this reason, a new page has been set up – please join here.

View the full article and sign the petition here, to defend the right to protest. Thousands have signed already.
Or see the full article from the Guardian.

If you would like to attend the tribunal to support Deepa, Trenton & their daughter please join them on Monday 09th Decemember 2013 (meeting outside around 09:15am) at:

Taylor House, Immigration and Asylum Chamber
88 Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4QU.

This petition will be handed over Friday 6 December. Please join at the Home Office at 1pm.

See our blog homepage for more information and videos.
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Spectacle’s work shown at Airspace Gallery Exhibition

Material from the Silwood Project will be shown during the Small Change Exhibition at the Airspace Gallery, as well as some of Spectacle’s work with Brussels partner Plus-tôt Te laat.

small change flyer_web

Small Change focuses on change and place making in the city, seen both as a physical and imagined entity. The project comprises a group exhibition featuring existing and new work by four artists, a public intervention and a talk. Alongside artists, collectives from the UK and beyond contribute to the exhibition with audiovisual material that documents their engagement with the public realm. The exhibition is a response to the book Small Change by architect Nabeel Hamdi and its main idea that small-scale actions have the power to bring about positive change in urban communities. Acknowledging creative practice and collectivism as agents of change, the exhibition invites artists and collectives whose practice addresses issues of place and social change. The artists will realize new work, alongside showing existing sculptures, drawings and video’s. Audiovisual material from collectively-run projects that aim to making meaningful contributions to their environments, will open up the gallery space to various localities and concerns.

Small Change is curated by Sevie Tsampalla and the participating artists are: Jane Lawson, Noor Nuyten, Lauren O’Grady and Claire Weetman with contributions by collectives: Buddleia / public works, Network Nomadic Architecture, Plus-tôt Te laat, Quartier Midi and Spectacle.

Spectacle’s following Silwood video’s will be shown:

Work in progress. 13:49
Moving on 1:43
Time to move on 1:45
My walk home 3:36
Watercolours 2:34

The exhibition is running from the 8th of November till the 7th of December. Enough time to give it a visit. The opening hours are: Thu-Sat 11pm-5pm and Tue-Wed by appointment. Find out how to get there.

See our Spectacle Catalogue for buying video’s from the Silwood Project.
See our Blog Homepage for more information and videos.
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.

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Kilner House showing at the Made Possible by Squatting exhibition

Our 1981 documentary Kilner House has been selected for the Made Possible by Squatting exhibition held in a squatted building.

Kilner House in Kennington was occupied as part of the Squat against Sales campaign against the first Greater London Council house sales.

Keywebland

The exhibition will run from 9th-16th of September at 15 Dock Street E1 8JN. During this time stories and histories will be collected into an on-line archive.  There are over 30 pieces going into the exhibition from interactive mapping of London squat history, to puppet performances, to some great documentary films, installations and pop-up books!

There will also be a rota to have people in the space at all times.

Made Possible by Squatting seeks submissions for an on-line archive that collectively celebrates how squatting has positively affected the lives of individuals & communities in London.

See our interviews with anti-squat company Camelot who lobbied in Netherlands, France and UK for squatting to be made a criminal offence.

See our Spectacle Catalogue for buying Kilner House.
See our blog homepage for more information and videos.
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.

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Rooting for the Home Team

President Blatter and FIFA, can we count on you?

Today is a big day for football, aka soccer. National teams across the globe are competing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Thousands of people in Brazil are also wondering today, “will my community still exist when the World Cup comes to town?” We sure hope so. And that is why we are posing this question to FIFA and its president Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, “can we count on you to prevent this displacement?” With so much influence in the process and a mission of social responsibility and having positive impacts on society, we know FIFA can prepare for the Cup without destroying communities and moving residents out of site.

Please join us in posing this question via twitter! Here are some sample tweets to get started: 

Communities in Brazil are at risk of displacement ahead of #WorldCup. @SeppBlatter can we count on u to prevent this? bit.ly/R4HOME

Communities in Brazil are at risk of displacement ahead of #WorldCup. @FIFAcom can we count on u to prevent this? bit.ly/R4HOME

Brazil communities at risk of displacement ahead of #WorldCup. @SeppBlatter @FIFAcom can we count on u to prevent this? bit.ly/R4HOME

.@SeppBlatter Pls work with Gov’t of Brazil to prevent displacement ahead of 2014 #FIFA #WorldCup bit.ly/R4HOME #hometeambrazil

.@FIFAcom Pls work with Gov’t of Brazil to prevent displacement ahead of 2014 #FIFA #WorldCup bit.ly/R4HOME #hometeambrazil

Be sure to follow @Rooting4Home and #hometeambrazil for updates!

For the Home Team,

KICKOFF!

http://www.rootingforthehometeam.org/

Like  the Facebook page to receive the last updates

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Elephant Amenity Network

Action for a regeneration that benefits local people:

Members of the Elephant Amenity Network have published an open letter to the Chair of the Elephant & Castle Community Forum.

The letter (downloadable here), contains a detailed appraisal and critique of the E&C regeneration plans and consultation process to date.

Like  the Facebook page to receive the last updates

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Mark Saunders talks at INURA 2012

 

 

Check out a recording of Mark Saunders talking at the 2012 conference for International Network for Urban Research and Action (INURA).

In the presentation Mark, describes strategies of running an independent media company with an agenda for social justice and human rights.

He also discusses his methods of participatory media, people involved in a story being behind a camera and how this technique was particularly effective in his film ‘The Truth Lies in Rostock‘. Mark references his other projects as well as the documentary he is currently working on called ‘Bookchin on Bookchin‘. A clip of this film is shown at the end, with Murray Bookchin an American social ecologist, philosopher and anarchist describing his thoughts about society.

http://inura2012tallinn.wordpress.com/programme/

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Free Talha Ahsan – Evening of Music, Comedy and Enlightenment

 

Talha Ahsan was arrested from his house in Tooting on 19th July 2006. Ever since that day he has remained in prison despite never having been charged. For the past six years his friends and family have been protesting tirelessly for his release. Ahsan is now awaiting extradition to the US.

Please join an evening of music, comedy and enlightenment as support for the campaign to free Talha Ahsan.

Date: Saturday September 8th
Venue: Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, E1
Entrance Fee: Minimal (check website)

For more info please visit
http://www.freetalha.org/

For more information on a similar story of injustice, check out the links below which show Shaker Aamer‘s story and fight to be released from Guantánamo.

Here is a link to view Spectacle’s film ‘Shaker Aamer: A Decade of Injustice‘ or you can buy the film here.

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Routes into film direction: live Q&A

Mark Saunders is taking part today between 1-3pm in a live Q&A with a panel of filmmakers to answer questions about working as an independent filmmaker on @GuardianCareers.

Follow the link to ask your questions.

 

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Follow this link to learn more about the training courses offered at Spectacle.

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Bread & Roses film festival screens Battle of Trafalgar – free event

Despite TV documentary Battle of Trafalgar will be screened  Monday 30th April at 7pm during Law & Disorder followed by a panel discussion at the new film festival at Bread & Roses in Clapham. The event  pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of the 1912 strike, led by female textile workers in Massachusetts. Marching for better pay and working conditions, the workers chanted the slogan “We want bread, but we want roses, too!”, a line borrowed from the James Oppenheim poem which became an emblematic catchphrase in the history of socialism.

Bread & Roses celebrates the centennial of this key moment with a selection of films questioning capitalism, and tackling workers rights, social activism and immigration. Family Unite, Unpaid Internships, the Arab Spring and Law & Disorder are some of the daily themes that have been chosen to structure the festival.

Channel 4 commissioned Battle of Trafalgar from Despite TV in 1990 during the poll tax riots; the film documents the mass protest held on Saturday 31 March in central London against Margaret Thatcher’s controversial measure. From the unfair aspect of the tax system to the partiality of mainstream media and the violent policing of the demonstration, the film’s topics specifically resonates in today’s socio-political context, and justify its screening to Bread & Roses’s committed programme.

Bread & Roses festival is organized by Natasha Caruana and Afshin Dehkordi, the two artists behind StudioSTRIKE: a creative space launched in 2010 on the top floor of the last union-owned pub in London, the Bread & Roses – the name inspired the idea for the festival.

The free festival, supported by the BFI and Film London, will run in various venues around Lambeth from April 27th to May 10th. Some of the films presented during these two weeks will include the classic The Grapes of Wrath, the Oscar-nominated documentary If a Tree Falls, and a recent project on the August riots titled My Child The Rioter. The festival will also encompass a live music event, Q&A sessions, and art installations.

To order a DVD of Battle of Trafalgar

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