Here are some films you can watch, or better yet screen, that will help spread the word about something important to you. These films have been produced by filmmakers in partnership with organisations, to help support a particular cause or campaign; In watching and sharing them, you’re helping share their stories and hopefully harvest some people-power in the process.
In Our Hands
This surprisingly optimistic film by Black Bark Films and the Landworkers Alliance profiles the inspiring story behind the blood, sweat and tears of the farmers who are outgrowing the industrial food system and a vision for post-Brexit food production that redefines our relationship with food. As potentially face the most significant change to UK food and farming for a generation, In Our Hands offers a unique perspective on a new agricultural landscape, one that will bring back life to the soil, a fair wage to the farmer and a flavour to our tomatoes. On the website there’s a list of memorable facts to help you argue your point at the pub, along with a page dedicated to all the farms/growers featured.
Dispossession
This film by Paul Sng explores the agenda behind the neglect, demolition and regeneration of council estates in the U.K. over the past thirty years. The film reveals how individuals and communities are fighting against the state and private developers, as they try to save their homes from demolition. The film’s website has loads of information, including a frighteningly long list of ongoing campaigns to save public housing estates.
The Divide
This film tells the story of 7 individuals striving for a better life in modern day USA and UK – where the top 0.1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%. This documentary urges us to take a stand against the ego-driven economy which puts profit ahead of principles. Filmmaker Katharine Round has worked with charities and organising striving for fairer pay, and on the website you can find out who some of these are, or there’s a link where you can enquire about hosting your own screening to support/promote the work they’re doing.
Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
This totally wonderful documentary MUST be watched by everyone. Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt movement in Kenya, is one of the most important female environmental and political activists to have lived, and yet so few people are aware of her work [insert feminist grumble]. There’s an excellent Action Guide on the website, with a toolkit for how individuals, community groups and schools can replicate and share the work of the Green Belt Movement by educating people about tree planting and environmental activism.
[more to come, please get in touch if you know of a project you’d like to see featured on this list]
*when it works smallprint. These lists will be regularly updated. If I find a project that I think has a really nice idea behind it, I’ll share it. If I later find out something really icky out about said project, I’ll take it down if I think it’s not worth sharing anymore.