Margaret Mead Film Festival Winnipeg
The Margaret Mead Traveling Film Festival returned to Winnipeg January 13-14, 2012
@ the Cinematheque Theatre
FREE of CHARGE
Films- Schedule
- Trailers
- Speakers
- Location
- About
- Sponsors
- Photos - 2012
- Contact
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Films
- The six feature length documentaries making up this year's traveling festival are all in English, or are subtitled in English
Because We Were Born
Jean-Pierre Duret, Andrea Santana
2008 · 90 min
Brazil
At a truck stop in Brazil’s arid northeastern state of Pernambuco, Nego and Cocada live by their wits, picking up odd jobs to earn one or two measly reais. Alternately despairing and hopeful, these young boys on the brink of manhood carry around their small dreams, spun from the imperfect examples of the grownups that surround them.French filmmaker Duret and Brazilian filmmaker Santana show us the world through the eyes of Nego and Cocado, as their neighbors make do with next to nothing and the transient truckers seem to have it all. Whether scavenging leftover food from restaurant plates, sleeping in a benevolent driver’s cab, or doing chores at home after a long day’s hustle, they turn to each other for comfort and company and wonder what no one of such a tender age should have to wonder: what will become of me?
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In the Garden of Sounds
Nicola Bellucci
2010 · 85 min
Italy, Switzerland
Tucked into a small Swiss hamlet, Wolfgang Fasser’s studio is filled with cymbals, drums, and other noisemakers, including a therapeutic table built on a bed of musical strings. A former physical therapist who became blind at age 22 from the genetic disease retinitus pigmentosa, he now works with developmentally disabled children, using music and natural sounds to reach through each child’s particular physical and mental barrier. Whether capturing birdsong in the early dawn, calming a restless patient, or attending to the townspeople’s various complaints at the local market, Fasser moves through the world fluidly and purposefully, beyond his own sensory limitations while helping others transcend theirs. In the end, his profound appreciation for the subtleties of sound draws attention to the paucity of perception for which most of us settle._________________________________________________
A Mountain Musical
Eva Eckert
2008 · 52 min
Austria
A man tears out his wife’s hair. A young poacher is shot down by his father. A pig is violently butchered. For the people of the rural and industrial communities that surround Erzberg, a mountain in the Austrian Alps that has been mined for its iron ore since Roman times, these lyrics comprise the stories of their lives. Far from the sanitized image associated with Tyrolean folk singers, these hard-working, hard-drinking people from the heart of Bavaria recount in their crisp, rippling yodel the grim and gay details of their lives with equal gusto. With a fine art photographer’s eye for composition and the patience of a paid-by-the-hour psychiatrist, Austrian filmmaker Eva Eckert circles Erzberg coaxing the old-timers into performing these songs. The resulting film is both an ethnomusicology and a humorous but no-less-moving portrait of an all-but-vanished Alpine culture.
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Shooting with Mursi
Olisarali Olibui, Ben Young
2009 · 57 min
Ethiopia
Deep in the heart of Ethiopia’s fertile Omo Valley, the Mursi are a nomadic people ruled by consensus and the wisdom of elders. Uprooting seasonally in order to graze their cattle and avoid the rainy season, they now find themselves encircled by three national parks, none of which they are allowed to enter. As roads that will crisscross their land are being built to facilitate tourism and recreational game hunting, the Mursi and their culture face extinction. A leader in his age group, the English-speaking Olisarali Olibui takes a digital camera among his tribe, capturing a candid portrayal of his people and their customs as they face the modern world and unwanted change that seems inevitable.
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There Once Was an Island
Briar March
2010 · 80 min
Papua New Guinea
The Takuu live in a Polynesian paradise. Among the towering palms, crystal blue waters, and white-sand beaches of an atoll off the shores of Papua New Guinea, the people of Nukutoa carry on without electricity and free from notions of private ownership. But the rising South Pacific is eroding their shores, threatening their taro crops and shoreline huts, forcing them to accept federal subsidies to survive. When the government offers to relocate the islanders to the mainland before the sea water overtakes them, the Takuu request instead that environmental scientists investigate a way to save their home. Told from the perspective of three main characters, There Once Was an Island bears witness to the local effects of global climate change on a culture deeply rooted to its geography. Combining thoughtful interviews with spectacular outdoor cinematography, New Zealand documentarian Briar March creates a heartbreaking portrait of a people who must choose either to move away or die with their island.
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Plug & Pray
Judith Malek-Mahdavi, Jens Schanze
2009 · 91 min
Germany, Italy, Japan, United States
Fifty years ago, computers in their current form were the stuff of science fiction. Today, we rely upon them to control the electric grid, fly planes, store our collective knowledge, fight our wars, communicate with friends, and teach our children. The next generation of technology researchers envision robots as the future. From adult-sized, flesh-toned babysitters to nano-robots that circulate in our cells improving our DNA, robots will be good for us. At least that’s the assumption of scientists in labs in Boston, Genoa, Tokyo, and Hamburg as they move relentlessly forward with their cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence, among them the American inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, now spending millions on a way to ‘backup our brains.’ Biology, as they see it, is flawed and only risks improvement as it merges with these sophisticated machines. In Plug & Pray, one man comes forward to doubt the wisdom of the goal. Joseph Weizenbaum, whose work in A.I. begat the technology used in cruise missiles, urges us to reconsider our wholehearted embrace of technology before robots become as ubiquitous as iPods.
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No Shelter from the Storm: Housing and Tuberculosis in Lac BrochetMatthew Singer2010 · 10 minCanada
First Nations people in Manitoba have suffered from tuberculosis (TB) epidemics for hundreds of years. Researchers from the University of Manitoba have been investigating the genetic, environmental and cultural factors that influence the high prevalence of TB in First Nations communities. This video documents a community's struggle with housing and TB. Scientists and researchers often remove themselves from the reality of diseases such as tuberculosis and its impact on individuals, families and communities but this film reminds us that people’s experiences with disease is as much social and emotional as it is biological and genetic. This film is a response to the community’s wishes to share their stories as part of the healing process.
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Schedule
- January 13th and 14th, 2012
FRIDAY
7PM Shooting with Mursi 57 min ETHIOPIA
8PM Panel Discussion on Globalization and Tourism
9PM Plug and Pray 91 min GERMANY/ITALY/JAPAN/USA
SATURDAY
1PM Because We Were Born 90 min BRAZIL
3PM No Shelter from the Storm: Housing and Tuberculosis in Lac Brochet 10 min CANADA Followed by Q&A with filmmaker
4PM In the Garden of Sounds 85 min ITALY/SWITZERLAND
7PM There Once Was an Island 80 min PAPUA NEW GUINEA
8:30 Panel Discussion on Climate Change
10PM A Mountain Musical 52 min AUSTRIA
Find details about panel speakers on our SPEAKERS page
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Trailers
- The six feature length documentaries making up this year's traveling festival are all in English, or are subtitled in English
Because We Were Born
French Trailer (Puisque Nous Sommes Nés)
Puisque Nous Sommes Nés, bande annonce by pierregriseFor more information on Puisque Nous Sommes Nés (in french), visit here
For an english review of Because We Were Born, visit here, or to read an english description, visit our 'Films' page.
In the Garden of Sounds
In the Garden of Sounds trailer on Trailer Addict
To read more about In the Garden of Sounds visit our 'Films' page, or read about it on IMDB.
A Mountain Musical
To Read about A Mountain Musical, visit our 'Films' page.
Shooting with Mursi
For more information on Shooting with Mursi visit our 'Films' page or visit here.
There Once Was an Island
Trailer for There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho from On The Level Productions on Vimeo.
To read more about the film visit our 'Films' page, or visit here.
Plug and Pray
For More information on Plug and Pray visit our 'Films' page, or here.
No Shelter from the Storm: Housing and Tuberculosis in Lac Brochet
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Speakers
- Margaret Mead Film Festival - Not just films
Friday
8PM Panel Discussion on Globalization and Tourism
Dr. Michael Campbell from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba (see profile)
Dr. Susan Frohlick from the Anthropology Department at the University of Manitoba (see profile)
Habtamu Wedajo from the Family Centre of Winnipeg (site)
Daniel Asrat, the President of the Ethiopian Society of Winnipeg (site)
Saturday
3PM Q&A with Matthew Singer, Director and Co-writer of No Shelter from the Storm: Housing and Tuberculosis in Lac Brochet (see profile) and Dr. Linda Larcombe (see profile)
8:30 PM Panel Discussion on Climate Change
Dr. Tim Papakyriakou from the Center for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba (see profile)
Anika Terton, Canadian Youth Delegate at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Durban South Africa (see her blog)
Curt Hull, Climate Change Connection (see profile)
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Location
- Cinematheque, 100 Arthur St, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H7, Canada
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About
- The Margaret Mead Film and Video FestivalThe Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival is produced by New York’s American Museum of Natural History. It is the longest-running, premiere showcase for international documentaries in the United States, encompassing a broad spectrum of work, from indigenous community media to experimental nonfiction. The Festival is distinguished by its outstanding selection of titles, which tackle diverse and challenging subjects, representing a range of issues and perspectives.
The Mead showcases the best in non-narrative filmmaking, encompassing a broad spectrum of work including international documentaries, experimental films, animation, hybrid works, and more.
The Traveling Festival
The Traveling Festival features select titles from the Margaret Mead Film Festival. The Mead Festival screens documentaries that increase our understanding of the complexity and diversity of the peoples and cultures that populate our planet. It has evolved with the times while maintaining its important history, growing steadily to reflect the ever-evolving incarnations of storytelling, which remain steeped in the documentary tradition.To keep up to date with the Margaret Mead Festival or to find other hosts of the Traveling Festival visit the American Museum of Natural History site.2012 Winnipeg Festival Host: UMASAUMASA (University of Manitoba Anthropology Students Association) is the representative organization for anthropology students at the University of Manitoba. We are committed to encouraging and assisting anthropology students’ academic and professional progress, on and off campus. This involves promoting students’ research agendas and career development by fostering a supportive environment of peers.UMASA is committed to fostering relationships with other communities on and off campus. By making the Margaret Mead Film Festival accessible free of cost, this is one way in which we intend to carry out this commitment.SponsorsUMASA is volunteer run, and in order to make this event free of charge, this year's festival is being sponsored by numerous contributors on and off campus.If you or your organization wish to help sponsor this year's festival, please contact us through the 'Contact' link on the navigation bar.A full list of sponsors will be included in future materials relating to this year's Margaret Mead Winnipeg Film Festival, and is listed here under 'Sponsors'.Thank you for your support.
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Sponsors
- This festival is returning to Winnipeg this year with the help of many generous sponsors.
If you or your organization wish to help sponsor this festival, please contact us through the 'Contact' button on the navigation bar at the left of the page.
Thank you to the following sponsors:
- University of Manitoba Office of the Dean of Arts
- University of Manitoba Department of Anthropology
- University of Manitoba Graduate Students' Association
- University of Manitoba Department of Religion
- University of Manitoba Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture
- University of Manitoba CH Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources
- University of Manitoba School of Medical Rehabilitation
- University of Manitoba Research Cluster on Power and Resistance in Latin America
- University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities
- University of Manitoba Political Studies Department
- University of Manitoba Psychology Department
- University of Manitoba History Department
- University of Manitoba Department of Native Studies
- University of Manitoba Labour Studies Department
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Photos - 2012
Some photos from the 2012 Festival, held January 13-14
The Festival was held at the Cinematheque Theatre
Wonderful volunteers welcoming people, taking donations for the scholarship funds and answering questions
The theatre holds approximately 100 people
Hilary Gough introducing the festival and the first film Shooting with Mursi
Shooting with Mursi
The Tourism and Globalization panelists: Dr. Michael Campbell, Dr. Susan Frohlick, Habtamu Wedajo, and Daniel Asrat
Evan McKenzie introducing one of the films
David Landry introducing one of the films
Scott Birse and the Climate Change Panel: Curt Hull, Anika Terton, Dr. Tim Papakyriakou
Director Matthew Singer discussing his film No Shelter From the Storm
Dr. Linda Larcombe discussin Tuberculosis in Lac Brochet following a viewing of No Shelter from the Storm
Robert Beardsell introducing one of the films
