Amsterdam Oost presents BajesDoc, Reclaim the Screens, 8-11 December 2011. Bajesdoc is a free alternative documentary film festival in Bajesdorp and other autonomous locations in Amsterdam Oost, Joe’s Garage and de Valreep. With dozens of inspiring documentaries related to environment, politics, human-rights, and various social struggles here and over the world, discussions/debates with some of the movie makers will sometimes follow the screenings…Bajesdoc is made possible by a group of international volunteers engaged in alternative neighbourhood initiatives. Documentaries will be screened with english subtitles. Discussions will follow. We’ll provide you drinks and food.
Bajesdoc at Joe’s Garage, friday december 9th:
19:00 Voku
20:00 Red Forest Hotel (Mika Koskinen, Finland, 2011, 87′, english subs.)
21:30 Behind the Mask (Shannon Keith, US, 2006, 72′)
20:00 Red Forest Hotel (Mika Koskinen, Finland, 2011, 87′, english subs.)
In rural China, farmers are intimidated into relinquishing their land for tree plantations. The Finnish-Swedish company Stora Enso is planting water-guzzling eucalyptus trees for a pulp and paper factory that is due to be built. Finnish film maker Mika Koskinen travels to the affected region in Southern China to talk with the farmers, only to find himself in an absurd situation where friendly propaganda officers want to provide “impartial and objective information from the government.”
Meanwhile, the people with whom he wanted to make contact are arrested or “given a holiday.” The film offers some fascinating insights into China’s “new green politics” in a globalized economy. Can companies co-operate with authoritarian states while respecting local people’s rights, or are these problems inherent in the current economic order? Some thought-provoking answers are provided by the ethnic Pumi people, who have guarded the ancient trees of Southern China for centuries.
21:30 Behind the Mask (Shannon Keith, US, 2006, 72′)
The film is about animal rights activists who break into laboratories and other facilities to provide previously unseen footage of the way animals are used. It includes well-known names within the animal rights movement, some of whom have been imprisoned for taking direct action. The story of Jill Phipps, who was killed when she fell under a lorry while protesting against thelive export of animals, is told, with her mother saying, “They call us terrorists but the reality is that over the years four animal rights activists have been killed during protests.”
Bajesdoc:
Th. 8th, De Valreep, 19:00, Polderweg 120, http://valreep.org
Fr. 9th, Joe’s Garage, 19:00, Pretoriusstraat 43, https://joesgarage.nl
Sa. 10th, Bajesdorp, 13:00, H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 12-44, http://bajesdorp.nl
Su. 11th, Bajesdorp, 13:00, H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 12-44, http://bajesdorp.nl
Free entrance, donations welcome.
Contact festival: filmfest-bajesdorp [at] squat [dot] net
Full program on http://bajesdorp.nl
