Author: Fara

The San Francisco Chapter of UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) will host a fundraiser to support the work of Ninel (Neli) Babcinschi, an advocate and defender of trafficked victims in Moldova. Participants will hear from Kate Transchel, professor of Russian at California State University at Chico, and an expert in human trafficking in eastern Europe. She has just returned from 3 months in Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova, interviewing victims of trafficking. Ms. Transchel is advocating on behalf of Neli Babcinschi, a Moldovan lawyer in immediate danger of persecution because of her work to free victims of trafficking. Come hear her story and support her work. Also, UNIFEM will screen the film Call + Response, and will hear directly from the director about the making of the documentary. This event is co-sponsored by the Department on the Status of Women.

BROKEN WINDOWS: In early December 2008, after Republic Windows and Doors abruptly told its workers that it was shutting down the operations, 240 members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) occupied the plant. The executives of the company claimed that the Bank of America had canceled Republic’s line of credit, making it impossible to stay in business—or even pay employees the severance and vacation pay they had earned.

::b media collective:: is a Portland based video art collective that stands in solidarity with local and global people’s movements through the socialization, documentation, creation, and exchange of media between communities in the global north and south.

The screening will include:
B MEDIA SHORTS 2010
Ranging in length from 2-10 minutes, these shorts feature street footage, interviews, mashup and experimental techniques, reconfiguring journalistic stories from critical news stories from 2010.

The ART AND RESISTANCE Film Series is a collection of short documentaries focused on different artists and collectives around the Americas using culture as a tool for radical social transformation. From street musicians and hip-hop artists in Venezuela, to graffiti artists in Mexico, the documentaries focus on how people are actively using their creativity to challenge the status quo and empower their communities.

Tiuna el Fuerte: Revolutionizing the Revolution
TIUNA EL FUERTE: REVOLUCIONANDO LA REVOLUCIÓN
Venezuela, 25 mins
Tiuna el Fuerte is a “nucleous of endogenous cultural development” that uses music and culture to empower youth in the barrio of El Valle in Caracas, Venezuela. Situated on an old cement parking lot transformed into a community constructed cultural center, Tiuna el Fuerte now hosts a hip-hop school, youth orchestra, media lab, mobile community radio, and serves as an example for reclaimed space for the community. The project exemplifies the concept of local development of the people, for the people, by the people that finds its roots in modern day Venezuela.