| Documentary Film Series
April 17, 2012
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Scientist-broadcaster David Suzuki stands at a lectern before a capacity crowd, wearing an open-necked shirt with a native-Canadian design below the right shoulder.
The electric-guitar soundtrack that leads the camera across the Vancouver skyline and into the packed auditorium could easily be grist for those who view Suzuki as environmentalism's rock star and for those who would rather turn acclaim into personal attacks.
Suzuki is about to give a "Legacy Lecture' at the University of British Columbia's Chan Centre, his summation of his life in environmentalism. His speech begins, unfurling through the film into possibly the most convincing and fascinating argument yet heard on every person's right to a clean Earth.
It's a speech easily on par with the greatest orations of the last 50 years. Suzuki, in his soft-spoken way, gently crescendos into wonderfully expansive ideas, such as the mathematical hypothesis by American astronomer Harlow Shapley that every man through the ages - from Jesus to Joan of Arc to you and me - ultimately breathes the same air, specifically atoms of argon gas, which our bodies don't store and which we release through our breath widely to all other living things.
"So, air is more than just a physical component of the biosphere. Air is a sacred element," Suzuki says with wonder. This is part of his argument that all living things are bound together by scientific laws and the elements, just as every particle since the Big Bang holds a minute pull on every other particle.
It's a scientific explanation for the physical force "that some people call love," Suzuki adds, in his calmly authoritative voice, "and that attraction is built into the very fabric of the cosmos."
Where the film excels is in the way Gunnarsson expertly injects scenes of Suzuki travelling to important locations in his life and allows him to tell his own story. Early on, he visits a memorial of an internment camp like the one his family and other Japanese-Canadians were sent to in the British Columbia interior during the Second World War.
The documentary then follows Suzuki to Leamington, Ont., where he developed his love of fishing and exploring swamps, at first due to the alienation he felt growing up as the only non-white kid in a small town. Another revelatory turn is the ethical crisis Suzuki had in his early scientific career, when he came to deplore applications of science that in so many ways destroy nature.
Continuing the theme of life's interconnectedness, Suzuki visits a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, explaining that physical matter never actually disappears, even with the blast of an atomic bomb. Those who died from the bomb are not only still with us spiritually, their atoms are still in the water, in the air, on the land. It's an incredible thought.
And as with all great speeches, this one is ultimately not just about the speaker, but the lasting power of the ideas he conveys.
 | | FORCE OF NATURE - THE DAVID SUZUKI MOVIE Trailer |
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Coming Soon
 | | Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History |
 | | Bully - Weinstein Company Movie (2012) HD |
 | | JUNE: For The Bible Tells Me So - |
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Sustaining Donations needed and appreciated
The Film Series Coordinating Committee pays for film rights when ordering films. Our programs come with public performance rights, which is the right to show the film in public provided no admission fee is charged. Reduced rates are offered to grass roots groups and others with small audiences and smaller budgets. A good portion of the price is returned to the producer in royalties, helping them to recoup production costs or invest in a new project. Films with public rights cost from $30.00 to $200. This cost is offset by contributions from Holy Redeemer by the Sea, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Outer Banks, and individual donors like you. Visit our website to learn more about the upcoming film as well as what else we have to offer.
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Tuesday
April 17 2012
7:00
Kelly's Restaurant
Come Early and OrderAppetizers or Dinner. |
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The Outer Banks Peace and Justice Interfaith Coalition Takes Stand Against Amendment One in the May 8 Election. *
Since the beginning of the year, the national spotlight has shone brightly on recent legislative attacks on North Carolina voting rights, public education, workers, women, and public safeguards for the poor, minorities, and other oppressed populations, but it has shone brightest of all on an overreaching constitutional amendment on the May 8 ballot, now known as Amendment One, that, in the process of discriminating against gay and lesbian families, would potentially dismantle protections for all unmarried couples in North Carolina and their children.
Last week Amendment One even drew the ire of the President of the United States, who voiced his opposition to the ballot measure, representing the first time Barack Obama has weighed in on a state referendum touching gay issues since the 2008 campaign trail. With his statement, the president joined a chorus of unlikely Amendment One opponents, from conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, who was one of the first to say she will vote against the amendment, to N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, who called the legislation a "trick" and reminded the state that "none of us should ever want to deny any other person of constitutional protections."
The far-reaching consequences of Amendment One to children and families in the Tar Heel State.
Increased momentum within the state itself to be the first in the South to reject a broadly worded effort to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of its citizens, robbing them of health care, domestic violence protections, and child custody and visitation.
In recent weeks North Carolina appears to be heeding the call to vote against this type of poorly worded referendum, with North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue recently telling appreciative Charlotte crowds, "I'll do everything I can to defeat it." The governor's voice joins that of the state's Libertarian Party, which just last week released a statement opposing Amendment One, citing, among other harms, the amendment's economic impact and its effect on "people all over the state."
And lest there be bleating from proponents of Amendment One that any national voices represent unwelcome outside interference in state matters, let's not forget that the forces of the Washington, D.C.-based hate group, the Family Research Council, have been infiltrating North Carolina for the past eight years that this amendment has been a possibility, with anti-gay behemoths like the National Organization for Marriage a mere month away from releasing their "gathering storm" propaganda on the people of my state.
This unequivocal support among respected North Carolina leaders also coincides with a dramatic drop in public appetite for legislation like Amendment One, with the latest nonpartisan Elon University poll, released March 9, revealing that a majority of North Carolinians are themselves opposed or strongly opposed to Amendment One, including a particularly dramatic increase in the category of "strong opposition" to this type of amendment, with 34 percent now voicing strong opposition, up from just 21.8 percent in February 2011.
Today, Amendment One bashing appears to be becoming a badge of honor in a state known as the progressive voice of the South. And so as this growing statewide and national chorus of anti-Amendment-One sentiment sings loudly, we stand more confident than ever in the rising harmony among voters -- to vote against Amendment One -- on May
* Advisory Committee Vote
Article adapted from Huffington Post Article by Jen Jones
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Peace and Justice Interfaith Coalition
In July, 2008, The Coalition decided to focus on a film series featuring award winning peace and social justice documentaries. The film series works towards broad public communication and engagement with the community and other nonprofits in the area.
Visit our website to learn more about the upcoming film as well as what else we have to offer.
Advisory Committee
Eileen Behrens.
Howard Behrens. Rev Pat Haresch Jan MartinNancy Proctor
John Wander
Patty Wander
You and the Coalition.
Our films are available to other nonprofits and educational groups. Please contact nancy@obxcommonground.org for more information.
We are looking for a cosponsor for two films we are planning in the fall.
Miss Representation, The film explores how the media's misrepresentations of women have led to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence. We continue to negotiate for a discount. $500.-- is way beyond what we can do. There is an Education Version that must be ordered by a school - cost is $99.00
Cape Spin in the Outer Banks. Reel Power of Working Films is interesting is providing funding the Coalition to show this new documentary that tackles the root causes of society's inability to produce a large-scale solution to the global energy crisis it created, framing the events of the Cape Wind project as a microcosm of America's struggle toward sustainability and energy independence. We are looking for other groups that would be interested in cosponsoring this event.
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