Films

Each year the Geneva Forum on Social Change profiles films that demonstrate the power of documentary media to promote positive social change.

This year, our theme is Social Media. So naturally, the question has been asked: Are films still relevant? We think they are. In the same way that curling up with your favourite paperback fiction novel will never become outdated, films too will always have a place in society. They are unique in the way they entertain, inspire, generate dialogue and in many cases, promote social change.

However, in 2011 a new era of social media videos is emerging – not to replace traditional films and documentaries, but to complement them – to inspire change and promote social issues globally, quickly and effectively. Individuals, citizen journalist and activists are creating social media videos. International Organisations and NGOs are developing them to raise awareness. Even big business is getting involved.

Our forum in 2011 will bring you both.

FRIDAY NIGHT SCREENING – #18DaysInEgypt

 

#18DaysinEgypt – a crowdsourced documentary

 

“You witnessed it, you recorded it, now tag it”

Follow them on: 

Jigar Mehta and his project team are still working on this crowdsourced documentary to tell the story of the Egyptian revolution with the same tools that helped share it with the world in realtime.
“We want #18DaysInEgypt to be a crowd-sourced interactive documentary of the events in Egypt from #Jan25 to #Feb11.”

On Friday night at the Geneva Forum on Social Change, come and see a preview of what’s to come and hear from Documentary Filmmaker and Journalist, Jigar Mehta on the power of new media.

SATURDAY NIGHT 6:30 pm – Special screening of multi-award winning ITVS film Waste Land

Waste Land

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Transformative Power of Art Revealed in the World’s Largest Garbage Dump

“The moment when one thing turns into another is the most beautiful moment. A combination of sounds turns into music. And that applies to everything.” — Vik Muniz

Filmed over nearly three years, Lucy Walker’s  Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his home country of Brazil, and to Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest garbage dump located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There Muniz photographs an eclectic band of catadores — pickers of recyclable materials — and works with them to “paint” their portraits using garbage. The resulting collaboration with these inspiring characters provides profoundly moving evidence of the transformative power of art and its impact on the human spirit.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people live in Jardim Gramacho, while 15,000 derive their income from activities related to it; some are from families who have been working there for three generations. Muniz was surprised to meet the community of people who scavenge the recyclable refuse of Rio to make a living. “I was expecting to see people who were beaten and broken, but they were survivors,” he says. He collaborates with a number ofcatadores on large-scale portraits of themselves, including Irma, a cook who sells food in the dump; Zumbi, the resident intellectual who has held on to every book he has scavenged; and 18-year-old Suelem, who first arrived there when she was seven.

Upon finishing the series of portraits, Muniz takes one of them to auction at the esteemed Philllipe de Pury auction house in London, where it sells for over $50,000. One hundred percent of the profits are returned to the Garbage Pickers Association of Jardim Gramacho, whose young, charismatic president Tiao finds his life changed forever.

For more information go to the film’s page on the ITVS website here

UNICEF’s OneMinutesJr. – SATURDAY NIGHT 6 pm

The OneminutesJr.’s purpose is to encourage young people to articulate their ideas and concerns about their communities, environment and their views of life and to restitute the basic right of freedom of expression to those who are marginalized or underprivileged. Kids between the ages of 12 and 20 from all over the world were given the opportunity to express their dreams, fascinations, anxieties and viewpoints through sixty-second videos. Initiated in November 2002, the project grew into a network of activities including the interactive OneminutesJr website, yearly festival competitions, workshop series, video broadcasting on European public TV channels and the inclusion of OneminutesJr videos in festivals and events worldwide. The link between artistic excellency and political support is facilitated by a unique and supportive partnership between the project initiators: the European Cultural Foundation, the United Nations Children´s Fund, UNICEF; and the One Minutes Foundation – a video network supported by the Sandberg Institute.

OneMinutesJr bridges the gap between the media, the arts and young people.