Global goodness

11.11.11 What a biggie. And to make it even cooler, are the guys at One Day on Earth. They started last year – gathering a film from every country on earth on the same day – 11.11.10. It was set up in an archive so everyone can view it.

Then came the development of a film, and a shout out to filmmakers worldwide to do the same again on 11.11.11.  Its a document of life, in all of its diversity, so if you’ve got a camera, sign up and take part.

This palindromey ( definitely a word!;))  day  just got even cooler.

Square eyes

With a burgeoning belly I have indeed been watching my fair share of flicks….For what it is worth, here are a few that I absolutely recommend….

The Horse Boy follows a Mum and Dad, who determined to make a difference for their son’s autism, go to Mongolia. It’s a heart-string puller throughout, totally beautiful and the conclusion of the documentary is really quite astounding.

For something altogether more bleak, you must watch Collapse.

Plastic Planet

Keep your eyes peeled for this – its doesn’t seem to be screening here yet, but it got rave reviews overseas and  if the trailer is anything to go by it will be compelling for sure.

 

No Impact Man

If the movie is halfway as interesting as this trailer, than this looks cool. Not sure about release dates anywhere, if you know of any, do holler.

A closer tie with nature

There are some cracker docos lurking about at the moment that take this New Zealand life at an altogether slower pace that I thought I would share with you all.

This Way of Life showed at the last Wellington film festival and is still screening at a couple of theatres about the place. I heard them talking about it on National Radio as it has been shortlisted for best documentary for the Oscars and went to watch the trailer. If it is anything like this it looks absolutely profound.

I just recently watched Land of the Long White Cloud. Its made by Florian Habicht who directed the glorious Kaikohe Demolition a few years back. Land of the Long White Cloud documents the Snapper Classic held on Ninety Mile Beach, purportedly the largest fishing competition in the world. Who knew? The beauty of the doco is that is not about this at all – but about the characters that are New Zealand fisherman. The doco makers  ask a bounty of men in waders about whether they believe in the afterlife, what love is, and where they were when Lady Diana died. The answers are at times deep and other times hilarious – and all times engaging. To get a salt of the ocean measure of the true Kiwi fisherman, I totally recommend it.

I can’t actually find the trailer, but here is a slice of the film for a taster.

What a beautiful place we live in eh?

Icebreaker and The Big Shwop

There is a huge amount of  work that goes in behind the scenes of The Big Shwop. While putting on an awesome eco-fashion event is stacks of fun, before we get to see lots of  wonderful people shwopping clothes – we have to deal with some very pesky pieces of hardware – namely clothes hangers and clothes racks. Clothes hangers are total demons. And clothes racks, well they are quite so crafty but they are perhaps  a little more elusive.

That is where our wonderful friends at Icebreaker fit in. They lent us their beautiful spanky workroom racks for the last shwop, and this time we’ve got our hands on their nice racks again too

Thanks Icebreaker. You guys, and your racks, rock our world.

PS. apologies for the rack puns. I just couldn’t help it.

Heading for some square eyes

Wellingtonians are being treated yet again to the jolly fabulous International Film festival . Starting in just two weeks, I recently poured over the programme, circling and asterisking every second blurb that was flying my way. I love a number of genres, but documentaries have to be near the top for me. I adore them. Within the ‘Framing Reality‘ section this year, there is an extraordinary offering of documentaries focusing on the current fix we are in. I hunted out a couple of trailers to get a taster – and by jingos, now I am HUNGRY for some film!

Wasteland

Wasteland looks beautiful and profound and even watching the trailer makes me wanna cry so  I am so, so there.

Collapse

Quite a lot darker, but looks totally compelling.  After watching Home and feeling entirely distraught for days, I do wonder whether I have the strength to watch this. I do want to though. Mental note: Harden up.

Gasland

I found it oddly reassuring, that the United States has completely unethical practices messing up its own backyard as well as others.

Babies

Thought I had better leave you with something uplifting! The power of the human spirit, of life. And of BABIES! A whole documentary on them! Clucky? Me? No!

Living in the Age of Stupid

Yet another thumbs-up for a film – we are good at doing that!!

The Age of Stupid is set  in the future around a dude who is looking back at what went wrong. Looking back at the times we are living in today.  The dude, the archivist played by Pete Postlethwaite, ruminates on why, when we knew what was happening, we choose to do nothing about it.

Its very compelling and beautiful. The Age of Stupid, takes you on a journey around the world to hear of real stories about people today affected by climate change. Pete Postlethwaite delivers some great thoughts, and for that reason I am trotting off to see it again…. his character laments our decisions, stating that,  ” I just find it surprisingly that after so much effort, the final act of our existence should be suicide.”

Go and see it. Its really cool. Check out the preview……….

Or if you are well interested, check out the doco of its 5 year making here (dont worry it doesn’t ruin a thing!)

I hope it fills multiplexes all over our very stretched world.

- Sarah

Hand made revolution

courtesy of Handmade Nation

On Monday I went along and checked out the documentary, The Handmade Nation, showing at the Paramount.

The documentary showed crafters from around America talking about their craft, how they got into it, their philosophy behind it etc.  They showed a bookbinder, glass bead maker, people who handprinted cool music posters, embroiderers, sewers, knitters and loads of other cool crafty people doing their thing.

Apart from seeing the gorgeous things they were making I loved hearing the way the tallked aobut craft and crafters.  The revolution of craft, craft stems from punk, taking back the power, sticking it to the state, freedom, more fun than drugs (haha that got the biggest laugh from the audience).  I love that stuff.

But by far my favourite was this group of knitters, who, under the cover of darkness, pull up next to a street pole, the whole group of them pile out of the car, quickly attach their knitting to the grey metal pole, effectively covering it in a giant colourful stripey legwarmer and then quickly, scuttle away.

Anarchy through craft, bring it on

-Chrissy

denim blues

I forgot to say how gorgeous our afternoon on Sunday was with the Friends of The Big Shwop…. oh and the feast! Spiced apple cake, homemade ginger bread with blue cheese and pear, delicious choc cake, homemade tarts, mulled wine. It was divine!

Because I am oft a spinner I forgot to pick up my camera and take some pics… lesson learnt!

We talked about the philosophy of The Big Shwop and then soaked our brains in China Blue. Its a powerful human rights doco and if you get the chance to watch it -  do. It follows a 15 year old girl called Jasmine in her job as  a thread cutter in a jeans factory in China. And makes it apparent how very skew-wiffy our relationships are with those who are making our high street clothes.

For me, it made me even more conscious of the price paid for a cheap pair of jeans here in New Zealand. And its not paid by me! Brutal truths.

China Blue - the doco