DOXA program | sat may 25

RADICAL WISDOM: STORIES OF RESISTANCE FROM AROUND THE WORLD
A group of pensioners, a slam poet and a student radio station may not have a lot in common at first glance, but the films presented in this program offer a wide-ranging look at what pushes people into a life of radical politics. Whether inspired by the economic desperation of pensioners in Argentina, the cultural and physical violence done to black Americans, or the suppression of media under the Milosevic regime, the forms of resistance documented in these three videos have the potential to start some interesting conversations about what "being political" means here in Canada.

Community Sponsors: Seniors Network BC & Women Elders in Action (WE ACT)

Four Hundred and Fifty (450 / Cuatrocientos Cincuenta)
Director: Dario Doria (Argentina, 2001, 50 min, video)

After working and contributing to Argentina's obligatory pension system their entire lives, the retired workers of Argentina were barely surviving on only a fraction of their once constitutionally guaranteed pension. Their retirement fund decimated by financial mismanagement and years of international debt repayments, the pensioners of 450 and hundreds of others were left with no option but to take to the streets. Every Wednesday for over a decade, senior citizen activists have protested before the Argentine Congress demanding their promised 450 pesos a month on behalf of thousands of other pensioners. That these protesters are often met with brutally violent police suppression may shock and disturb some; that they continue in their struggle to achieve the dignity and respect they've earned will serve as an inspiration to many.

When the Smoke Clearz
Director: Stephen Marshall (USA, 2001, 5 min, video)

Faced with escalating representations of violent black culture, Grand Slam Champion spoken-word artist Taalam Acey teamed up with Guerilla News Network to produce this radical anti-music video. Built around Acey's densely poetic piece about the repercussions of "gangsta rap," When the Smoke Clearz is very GNN - in short, visually seductive, thought-provoking, must-see media.

Eclipse of Radio B-92
Directors: Mark Ellam & Aleksandra Dulic (Canada, 2001, 45 min, video)

Radio B92 started as a small student radio station in 1989. Its extraordinary transformation during the next dozen years into a national independent radio network, television and film production centre, record label, publishing company and Belgrade's first internet service provider, is just part of the riveting story told in The Eclipse of Radio B92. B92's mix of alternative music, independent cultural programming and critical journalism quickly made it a favourite of the people of Belgrade and a target of the Yugoslavian government. They would be shut down twice before becoming so influential that in April 1999, shortly after NATO air-strikes on Yugoslavia began, the government decided to hijack the station to produce pro-Milosevic propaganda. But a good idea never dies; soon pirate radio station B'2'92 began broadcasting, and when it, too, was shut down, Radio B92 re-emerged as a website broadcaster, hosted by a Dutch media company. The Eclipse of Radio B92 serves as a timely reminder that dissent can blossom anywhere, under the most adverse conditions.

Running time: 100 minutes

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