In our era of accelerating global capitalism, where constant
upheaval of every kind—political, social, economic, cultural, environmental—is
the rule, the search for a social system that brings prosperity with justice has
never been sought by as many people. The history of anarchism, whose roots go
back to mid-19th century France and Russia, is based on “utopia,” the
ideal of mutual aid and voluntary cooperation in lieu of control by the state
or private concentrations of power.
Perhaps better known for the means, or perhaps failures, in achieving its goals
rather than the ends desired, anarchist philosophy nonetheless lies at the heart
of numerous activist organizations and causes (left and right) worldwide and has
shaped our popular and political culture in countless ways. Today, both terms
of internal structure and external goals, much is indebted to the anarchist imagination.
Yet for a broader public, the spectrum of anarchist ideals remains outside the
confines of common understanding, ignored as outmoded, equated with failed Marxism/Communism,
thought to be the dangerous (terrorist) passion of the underclass or simply the
nihilism of the young.
But the continuing inquiry by writers, historians, artists, activists and filmmakers
into the subject in our globalist age suggests that its relevance to the present
continues. We hope this series offers insight into the revolutionary desire for
a better world.
thanks to series curator pietro ferrua, founder of the international center for
research on anarchism. additional thanks to: marienne enckell, lausanne; aleandre
samis, rio dejaniero, nick sheehan, victoria, b.c.
MAY 1 WED 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
MANUFACTURING CONSENT:
NOAM CHOMSKY
AND THE MEDIA
CANADA 1993
DIRECTORS: MARK ACHBAR, PETER WINTONICK Funny, provocative and surprisingly accessible,
MAUNFACTURING CONSENT explores the celebrated political life and ideas of Noam
Chomsky, world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. Through
a dynamic collage of new and original footage, biography, archival gems and outrageous
illustrations, the film highlights Chomsky's probing analysis of mass media (“thought
control in a democratic society”) and its pervasive impact on our culture.
His compelling observations of the ever- expanding “web of deceit” encourages
personal responsibility and an “intellectual self-defense” in the struggle
for a just society and responsible global behavior. "An invigorating introduction
to one of the least soporific of American minds."— THE NEW YORK TIMES.
“Watch out for this film…It can make you think.”—Ralph Nader.
(153 mins.)
MAY 2 THU 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
KAFKA
US 1991
DIRECTOR: STEVEN SODERBERG “Post WW I Prague. After the disappearance of
a colleague, Franz Kafka (Jeremy Irons), an aspiring writer and toiling clerk,
is torn between a diffident policeman (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and an angry revolutionary
(Theresa Russell). Slowly, but inexorably, he is drawn into the deadly political
machinations of the times, and an experiment in social engineering more nightmarish
than even his own imaginings. At night, leprous, lobotomized creatures skulk in
the shadows, while anarchists conspire and the authorities dispatch body snatchers
from the castle high above the cobblestone streets. “Though it took a hammering
from US critics, it is, however, an intriguing, idiosyncratic and highly entertaining
movie—a biopic that conflates elements of the author’s life and writing
into a fiction much bigger than life.” —TIME OUT FILM GUIDE. (98 mins.)
MAY 3 FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE - visiting artists
THE FREE VOICE OF LABOR: THE JEWISH ANARCHISTS
US 1980
DIRECTORS: STEVEN FISCHLER, joel
SUCHER
FREE VOICE OF LABOR takes its name from the newspaper of the American Jewish Anarchists
who, at the height of their movement (1880-1920), held demonstrations and lectures,
wrote songs and poetry, and organized alternative schools in the name of the anarchist
ideal, "ultimate human justice." Largely consisting of working class
immigrants employed in sweatshops, they were instrumental in founding and building
the then-fledgling clothing workers' unions, such as the International Ladies'
Garment Workers and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union in addition to creating
cooperative housing projects. Sucher and Fischler’s film reflects their deep
compassion and respect for the now elderly anarchists who paved the way for a
new generation of radicals during the 1960s and 1970s.
(60 mins.)
WITH
ANARCHISM IN AMERICA
US 1982
DIRECTORS: STEVEN FISCHLER, JOEL SUCHER Fischer and Sucher’s fascinating
survey of anarchist history and thought in America examines the philosophy as
both a foreign ideology brought to the United States by such immigrants as Emma
Goldman and Sacco and Vanzetti, and as a native philosophy stemming from 19th
century individualism. Featuring rare archival footage and on-camera interviews,
the relationship of anarchist hinging on the anti-nuclear movement, Vietnam war
protests and other social issues comes into insightful focus. (75 mins.)
MAY 4 SAT 2 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE - visiting artists
CANANEA
MEXICO 1977
DIRECTOR: MARCELA FERNANDEZ VIOLANTE CANANEA recalls the first of a series of
strikes against the regime of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz in 1906, which culminated
in the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Organized by the Mexican Liberal Party, (founded
by anarchists in1901) in conjunction with the Western Federation of Miners, the
story charts the heroic efforts to throw off Yoke of economic and political oppression
of the landowner who ruled the ruled the country. Featuring a cast of leading
actors and the beautiful cinematography of the legendary Gabiela Figueroa, this
work by Mexico’s leading woman director is a stirring tribute to the anarchist
struggle. (90 mins.)
Followed by a panel discussion with visiting directors led by Pietro Ferrua, series
curator.
MAY 4 SAT 8 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE - visiting artists
REBELLION IN PATAGONIA
ARGENTINA 1974
DIRECTOR: HECTOR OLIVERA One of the classics of Latin American cinema, REBELLION
IN PATAGONIA recounts a brutal chapter in Argentine history: the military’s
bloody suppression of a series of agrarian strikes in southern Argentina in the
1920s. Set within a richly detailed social context and mounted as a colorful action
drama, Olivera’s story pits the anarcho-syndicalist leaders of the workers
movement against the ruthless commanders who realize too late that they are merely
the tool of the wealthy landowners. “A superbly thoughtful and ironic film…has
a marvelous sweep and historical consciousness.”—THE NEW YORKER. (109
mins.)
MAY 5 SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE EAGLE with TWO HEADS
FRANCE 1948
DIRECTOR: JEAN COCTEAU “The structure is similar to that of BEAUTY AND THE
BEAST but with inversions—this time it is the queen (Edwige Feuillere) who
is awakened from her trance by the revolutionary poet (Jean Marais), who has come
to assassinate her. And, while the Beast addressed Beauty with only a few simple
words, here the Queen dunks her Angel of death in a torrent of language. This
is a sweepingly romantic picture - a beautiful trifle.”—Pauline Kael.
“Loosely based on the murky events surrounding the assassination of the Empress
Elizabeth of Austria, the story unfolds in a mythical Balkan kingdom where poisoned
necklaces, two-way mirrors and fanatically loyal minions vie with secret police
and invisible forces of evil - notably ‘The Archduchess,’ who, from
her unidentified ‘Capital’ does her best to eliminate the beautiful
queen.” —Robert Beers, MOMA (93 mins.)
MAY 9 THU 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE MYSTERY OF OBERWALD
ITALY 1980
DIRECTOR: MICHANGELO ANTONIONI “Adapted from Cocteau's THE TWO HEADED WOMAN
and shot in video transferred to film, this is the story of a queen (Monica Vitti),
her king, an anarchist poet, and treachery and murder in an unidentified kingdom.
Antonioni has detached Cocteau's story from its historical context. “Basically,
I placed myself before the subject in a detached and respectful attitude....Cocteau
[is] brilliant [but] far from modern literary tastes. Yet a certain feeling of
our times does run through the text.... Words like anarchist, opposition, power,
Head of Police, comrade, group, all belong to our everyday vocabulary.... As for
working in television for the first time, you soon realize it is not a game at
all, but a new way of making films....A new way of finally using color as a narrative,
poetic, medium....Television is color."—Pacific Film Archive. (126 mins.)
MAY 10 FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
SACCO AND VANZETTI
US/ITALY 1972
DIRECTOR: GIULIANO MONTALDO The notorious 1920 trial of two Italian immigrants
accused of murder and robbery, though most likely guilty of no more than radical,
anarchist political sentiments, was one of the bleakest chapters in American justice.
The Sacco-Vanzetti case became the focal point of anti-immigrant sentiment in
an era of a rising “Red Scare,” shocking the world with what amounted
to little more than legalized persecution and murder. Despite a sham trial and
wide spread protest, the two were executed after seven years on death row. Paced
and photographed almost like a "spaghetti western,” SACCO AND VANZETTI,
clearly sympathetic to the main characters, has been criticized by some for being
overly pious and dogmatic. Nonetheless, it remains an accurate, valuable retelling
of a shocking miscarriage of justice. (120 mins.)
MAY 11 SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
LAND AND FREEDOM
BRITAIN 1995
DIRECTOR: KEN LOACH In 1936, Spain was the crucible of a world in turmoil. Reacting
to the brutal civil war that saw the Fascists, under Franco, seize power throughout
the country, idealist from around the world came to join the International Brigades
in the fight against tyranny. Ken Loach’s heartfelt film tells the story
of one man (Ian Hart) drawn into the conflict, an unemployed Communist from Liverpool,
who heads to Barcelona to fight for land and freedom. Full of missionary zeal
and passion, idealism comes face to face with with the realities of war and a
fight beyond the capabilities of under-prepared amateurs. Using the Spanish Civil
War as a backdrop, Loach offers an impassioned examination of utopian dreams bravely
tested in the fields of life. (109 mins.)
MAY 12 SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE INTERNATIONALE
US 2000
DIRECTOR: PETER MILLER Few know that the famous protest song, "The Internationale,"
began its life during the fall of the radical Paris Commune of 1871, when Frenchman
Eugene Pottier wrote it to inspire the struggles of the working class. Adopted
by anarchists, socialists and communists, and later (mis) appropriated by the
Soviets as their national anthem, the song may be the most famous and controversial
in history. Eventually, it became a rallying point for social justice the world
over, including the Chinese students in Tienamen Square. Director Peter Miller’s
serious, but often irreverent, film is an absorbing meditation about socialism,
idealism and the power of music in people’s lives. Among the singers interviewed
are Pete Seeger and Billy Bragg. (30 mins.)
WITH
I. F. STONE’S WEEKLY
US 1974
DIRECTOR: JERRY BRUCK Jerry Bruck’s intelligent and compassionate portrait
of I.F. Stone (1907-1989), the controversial and once blacklisted journalist,
reveals a man of extraordinary integrity. As editor, publisher and sole copy person
of I.F. Stone’s Weekly, which he produced from 1953-1971, he became something
of a national institution in the process of tackling McCarthyism, racial discrimination,
the FBI, the Vietnam War and other issues the mainstream press was afraid to explore
deeply. His voracious research and digging uncovered more corruption in government
than most newspapers found in a century. “In the job of covering a capital,
there are really certain basic assumptions you have to operate on. The first is
that every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed.”—I.F.
STONE (62 mins.)
MAY 14 Tue 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
LIBERA, MY LOVE
ITALY 1973
DIRECTOR: MAURO BOLOGNINI Two decades of Italian life under Benito Mussolini are
seen through the eyes of Libera (Claudia Cardinale), daughter of an anarchist
father and mother of an anarchist son. After he (Adolfo Celi) is exiled to an
island off the coast of Italy for his anti-Mussolini politics, Libera is increasingly
incensed by the fascist government and takes numerous personal actions, which
ultimately sent her into internment too. With the outbreak of World War II, the
resistance becomes much more organized and bold and Libera, acting out of strong
personal idealism, continues her vendetta against the government with a vengeance.
The symbol of thousands of anarchist individuals and families who would not compromise
their values under the Mussolini dictatorship, LIBERA tells a poignant story of
the price of conviction. (110 mins.)
MAY 17 FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
REPENTANCE
USSR 1984/87
DIRECTOR: TENGnIZ ABULADZE When Varlam Aravidze (a composite figure representing
Stalin, Beria, chief of Stalins’ secret police, Hitler…), mayor of a
small Georgian (where Stalin was from) town, dies he is buried with full pomp.
But Guliko, a local cake decorator who had been persecuted by him, continually
digs up the body, a metaphorical act which haunts and embarrass his son Abel,
a high official in a new age. She is determined to keep alive Aravidze's memory—not
as a benevolent dictator, but as a vicious tyrant under whom her family suffered.
During her trial, we see the imprisonment and death of her artist father, the
family's destitution and the truth of the “cult of personality.’ Abuladze's
visually poetic film is a darkly humorous, Kafkaesque ode to the memory of a generation
of horrors. Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival and the Soviet submission
for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. (150 mins.)
MAY 18 SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
LA CECILIA
ITALY/FRANCE 1976
DIRECTOR: JEAN-LOUIS COMOLLI Comolli’s thought-provoking film is based on
the story of a group of Italian anarchists who set up a colony in Brazil in the
1890’s. Basing his screenplay on the accounts of the participants, LA CECILIA
provides an objective, realistic depiction of the forces at play in living anarchistically
and the obstacles encountered in creating a sustainable culture. Ultimately, the
commune, which was given official charter by the idealistic Emperor of Brazil,
lasted three years, failing for a variety of political and human reasons, all
instructive in the search for alternative social systems. A fine cast and intelligent
script make the characters in this provocative, real fairy tale compelling to
consider.
(113 mins.)
