Movie Night: K2 and the Invisible Footmen

K2_and_the_Invisible_FootmenSunday December 20th 2015, Movie Night: K2 and the Invisible Footmen. A documentary directed by Iara Lee (2015). With English subtitles. In collaboration with Cultures of Resistance. Door opens at 8pm, event starts at 9pm.

Located on the border between Pakistan and China, K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth. For many climbers, it is an even greater prize than Everest, with limited routes, a steeper ascent, and a harder push to its summit. Nicknamed the ‘Savage Mountain,’ K2’s peak juts unprotected into the atmosphere, regularly exposing climbers and porters to life-threatening weather conditions.

Despite being paid at rates far below those received by international expedition leaders, such porters—whether they provide critical supplies to expedition base camps or take on higher-altitude tasks in support of ascending climbers—do some of the most difficult and dangerous work and these efforts make them worthy of recognition as the true heroes of mountaineering.

In K2 AND THE INVISIBLE FOOTMEN, filmmaker Iara Lee and team chronicle the lives of both Pakistani porters and Nepalese sherpas. The film also follows the first official all-Pakistani climbing team, made up of former porters, who successfully summited in 2014, in celebration of K2 60th anniversary. Amid breathtaking scenery, the film depicts the everyday sacrifices of porters and the courage of those indigenous climbers who choose to return to scale K2 in spite of past tragedies. In their striving to perfect their craft, these mountaineers provide a fresh look into the cultures and national traditions of Pakistan, a country typically portrayed in the foreign media as merely a land of conflict and sectarian strife.

Iara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent, is an activist, filmmaker, and director of the Cultures of Resistance Network. In 2010, she released a feature-length documentary entitled CULTURES OF RESISTANCE, which explores how creative action contributes to conflict prevention and resolution. As an extension of her commitment to the issues explored in the film, she also founded the Cultures of Resistance Network, an organization that promotes global solidarity, supports efforts to secure peace and social justice, and brings together artists and change-makers from around the world.

Iara has also continued to produce and direct documentary films. She recently released two full-length documentaries that are currently screening at film festivals around the world: K2 AND THE INVISIBLE FOOTMEN, shot in stunning northern Pakistan, highlights the everyday sacrifices of the indigenous porters who make possible the ascent of Pakistan’s tallest mountain. LIFE IS WAITING: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara, looks at forty years of Moroccan occupation and the Sahrawi nonviolent struggle for self-determination by a people for whom colonialism has never ended. In 2013, Iara made a short film entitled THE KALASHA AND THE CRESCENT, which chronicles how an indigenous movement in northern Pakistan is responding to the challenges facing their culture. In 2012, she released a documentary called THE SUFFERING GRASSES: when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, which examines the Syrian conflict through the humanity of the civilians who have been killed, abused, and displaced to the squalor of refugee camps.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net

West Sahara movie night: Life is Waiting (2015)

Life_is_Waiting_Referendum_and_Resistance_in_Western_SaharaSunday October 4th 2015, West Sahara movie night. “Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara” directed by Iara Lee (2015, 59 minutes, English subtitles). Following the info and movie night about West Sahara that took place on July 26th, we are very pleased to screen the documentary from Iara Lee. In collaboration with Cultures of Resistance. Door opens at 8pm, event starts at 9pm.

Zondagavond 4 oktober, West-Sahara film avond met ‘Life is Waiting’ van de Braziliaans/Koreaanse regisseur Iara Lee. West-Sahara is een onbekend en verdeeld gebied. Het grootste deel van het land wordt bezet door Marokko. De rest is in handen van de bevrijdingsbeweging Polisario. Een klein uithoekje op een schiereiland staat onder Mauritaanse controle, en daar ligt het vergeten dorpje La Güera.
Na de Marokkaanse invasie sloeg een groot deel van de oorspronkelijke bevolking op de vlucht, naar het oosten, diep de woestijn in. In Algerije zijn de tenten opgezet want daar is men veilig en beschermd tegen Marokkaanse bombardementen. Ook de Saharaanse regering heeft daar zijn hoofdkwartier gebouwd. Na het vredesakkoord van 1991 zou een referendum worden gehouden waarna de vluchtelingen zouden kunnen terugkeren. Maar nog steeds wachten de Saharawi’s op dat referendum.

“Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara” directed by Iara Lee (2015, 59 minutes, English subtitles). http://culturesofresistancefilms.com/western-sahara
Forty years after its people were promised freedom by departing Spanish rulers, the Western Sahara remains Africa’s last colony. While a UN-brokered ceasefire put an end to armed hostilities in the territory in 1991, the Sahrawi people have continued to live under the Moroccan armed forces’ oppressive occupation, and what peace exists in the area is fragile at best. Tens of thousands of Sahrawis have fled to neighboring Algeria, where over 125,000 refugees still live in camps that were intended to be temporary. In spite of these difficulties, a new movement, with youth at its center, is rising to challenge human rights abuses and to demand the long-promised referendum on freedom. Today’s generation of young activists is deploying creative nonviolent resistance for the cause of self-determination. In doing so, they have persevered against a torrent of conflicting forces. While risking torture and disappearance at the hands of Moroccan authorities, they are also pushing back against those who have lost patience with the international community and are ready to launch another guerrilla war.
The new film from director Iara Lee will examine these tensions as it chronicles the everyday violence of life under occupation, giving voice to the aspirations of a desert people for whom colonialism has never ended. Trailer: https://player.vimeo.com/video/123847322

Cultures Of Resistance Network http://culturesofresistance.org/, connects and supports activists, agitators, educators, and artists to build a more just and peaceful world through creative resistance and nonviolent action!

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net