Films at the Balsillie School, 17-18 June 2015

Received via e-mail:

Hello everyone,

Please find attached an announcement for films that will be shown at the Balsillie School for International Affairs this week in classroom 1-42.

Both films are by filmmaker Amit Breuer, who will be attending the second of the viewings. I will facilitate a discussion following each of the films.

If you’re interested in documentary filmmaking and the Israel-Palestine conflict, feel free to attend. Both events are free and open to the university community.

With all the very best,
Jasmin

Balsillie School for International Affairs (BSIA) presents:

Open to students, faculty, and the university community

Exile: A Myth Unearthed

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42

Discussion following film facilitated by Jasmin Habib (University of Waterloo)

NFB + Amythos Description: The exile of the Jews following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD has played a central role in the Christian and Jewish traditions. But what if it never happened? That is one of the provocative questions raised by Exile: A Myth Unearthed. The film travels from Sepphoris to Masada, Jerusalem, and the catacombs of Rome, featuring interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout, we also return to a group of tourists who hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada – an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence. The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The possibility that many Jews – such as those of Sepphoris – simply remained where they lived raises uncomfortable questions. Re-thinking exile might overturn long-held historical and cultural ideas. But it may also point to a richer, more diverse past than we had ever imagined. [Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Serge Gordey & Christine Camdessus (Alegria Productions), Colette Loumède (National Film Board of Canada), Ilan Ziv (TAMI)]

Checkpoint

with Introduction by Amit Breuer (Amythos Films)

Thursday, June 18, 2015 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42

Q+A following the film facilitated by Jasmin Habib

AMYTHOS Description: The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli Military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. When travelling from one village or city to another to go to work, to visit relatives, or to get medical treatment, they must pass through Israeli checkpoints. These checkpoints, essentially the first points of contact between the two people, have an enormous significance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Edna & Elinor Kowarsky (Eden Productions).

Awards include: VPRO Joris Ivens Award, 2003, IDFA, The Netherlands; Best International Documentary Feature Award, 2004, Hot Docs, Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto; The Golden Gate Award, 2004, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, USA; Special Documentary Award, 2004, DOKFEST Munich Documentary Festival, Germany; Cinematography Award, 2004, Tel Aviv Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Israel; Special Jury Mention, 2004, First Prize for Innovative Photography; Documentary Madrid, Spain; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Newport International Film Festival, USA; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Calgary International Film Festival, Canada; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Docupolis Festival, Barcelona, Spain; Winner of The Golden Rib Award, 2004, Zagreb Int’l Film Festival, Croatia; European Film Academy Documentary PRIX ARTE Award (2004).

These films form a part of the workshop on “Israeli Emigres, Human Rights, and the Israel-Palestine Conflict” organised by Jasmin Habib, University of Waterloo and Rhoda Howard Hassman, Canada Research Chair, Human Rights, Wilfrid Laurier University and sponsored by the Balsillie School for International Affairs.

WISE Film Screening: Pandora’s Promise – Tuesday, 11 March 2014, 7:30pm

The University of Waterloo’s Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy is hosting a film night on Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 7:30pm to show Pandora’s Promise: Changing the conversation about the myths and science behind nuclear power. From their Web site:

PANDORA’S PROMISE
A Robert Stone film
Official Selection – Sundance Film Festival

Location: RCH 302, University of Waterloo [map]

You are invited to a special screening of Pandora’s Promise.
There will be a short introduction by Dr. Peter Poruks, Ph.D., Manager of Regulatory Affairs, the Canadian Nuclear Association, who will also be available for questions following the screening.

This screening is open to all students and the public.

Impact Partners, in association with Vulcan Productions and CNN Films, presents PANDORA’S PROMISE, the groundbreaking new film by Academy-Award®-nominated director Robert Stone. The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we’ve got nuclear power wrong? An audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, PANDORA’S PROMISE asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty. In his controversial new film, Stone tells the intensely personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process. Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavy weights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger. Undaunted and fearlessly independent, PANDORA’S PROMISE is a landmark work that is forever changing the conversation about the myths and science behind this deeply emotional and polarizing issue.

Visit the Eventbrite page for free registration.

Tools for Change Movie Night: Home

Through visually stunning footage from over fifty countries, all shot from an aerial perspective, Yann Arthus–Bertrand shows us a view most of us have never seen. He shares with us his sense of awe about our planet and his concern for its health. With this film, Arthus-Bertrand hopes to provide a stepping-stone to further the call to action to take care of our HOME.

Who: TransitionKW
What: Home (2009)
When: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT) (iCal)
Where: REEP House for Sustainable Living, 20 Mill Street, Kitchener, Ontario (map)
Registration: Eventbrite