What Are We Doing Here?

What Are We Doing Here?

How to view: Free on Vimeo

Director/Producer: Brandon, Nicholas, Daniel and Tim Klein
Produced 2012 | Country: USA
Run Time: 1hr25min | Language: English

Synopsis: WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? explores why the charity given to Africa over the last five decades has been largely ineffective and often harmful. The film tells the story of Brandon, Nicholas, Daniel and Tim Klein who travel across Africa in an attempt to understand one of the great problems of our time; the failure to end poverty.

In the film, the Klein family travel 15,000 miles via public transportation from Cairo to Cape Town. They cross war torn and famine-ridden regions where aid workers, politicians, and inspiring individuals tell about the incredibly complex and often misunderstood issues that affect hundreds of millions of people across the continent.

Daring to ask the questions no one else will, the filmmakers invite the world to rethink the fight against poverty in Africa.  Could our good intentions be causing more harm than good?  Have humanitarian interventions prolonged suffering? Who is actually benefiting from our good intentions? These questions and many more are addressed for the first time ever in this groundbreaking feature length film.  If you ever wanted to know what happened to the $10 dollars you donated to charity last year, look no further.  This film will change the way you look at charity in Africa forever.

Recommendation: I watched the first 20 minutes, and the film looks like a great learning opportunity.

The Last Farm in Lowell

The Last Farm in Lowell 

How to view: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_last_farm_in_lowell

Director: | Producer: Andrew Szava-Kovats

Produced | Country: USA

Run Time: 1 hour | Language: English 

Synopsis: Director Andrew Szava-Kovats presents a portrait of Rollie's Farm in Lowell, Massachusetts, where the Parron family has been growing fresh produce and more for over 50 years. Family owned since 1953, Rollie's Farm has eschewed the corporate trend, and thanks to the supportive locals they've always managed to stay in business. But that's not to say that it's been all smooth sailing for the Parron's; a conversation with Rollie and his elderly parents reveal just how close they came to losing the farm due to taxation issues in the mid-1970s. 

As always, however, they managed to bounce back, and today their farm is the pride of the entire community

Opinion: 

Recommendation:

The Farm Sanctuary

The Farm Sanctuary

How to view: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_farm_sanctuary

Director: | Producer: Fly Up Media

Produced | Country: USA

Run Time: 6mins | Language: English

Synopsis: The Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, they have worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the factory farming industry through research and investigations, legal and legislative actions, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and shelter efforts.

Maryann Hedaa, the head of Saint Ignatius School, sent the fifth grade boys to learn documentary filmmaking while visiting The Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glens, NY. She hoped to teach her students about farm factories and abused animals while also exposing her students to filmmaking as a creative outlet. Since the completion of the film, student groups from Saint Ignatius continue to travel to The Farm Sanctuary to learn about practices of farm factories.

Opinion: Adorable! More about fifth graders sleeping over at a farm than the work on the Farm Sanctuary!

Gold Fever

TITLE:  Gold Fever

Viewer (optional): not yet viewed

How to view:  www.goldfevermovie.com  Register to view, price varies depending on audience size.  

Director: | Producer:
Produced in USA | Country: Subect is Guatemala
Run Time:  83 minutes or 55 minute condensed version  | Language:  English

Synopsis:  Tells story of Gold mine in San Miguel, Guatemala, land takeover and resistance of the indigenous people who live there.  Features commentary from David Korten, Charlie Clements, Noam Chomsky, and other notables. 

Opinion:  Has won numerous awards.  The website features Oxfam's petition re Marlin Mine.  Looks like a very good fit for Oxfam's work on oil, gas, and mining.  

Recommendation:

Bajo Aguán: The Clamor for Land

Bajo Aguán: The Clamor for Land 

How to view: http://www.albasud.org/video/en/22/bajo-aguan-grito-por-la-tierra-english-version

Viewer: Zhenxi 

Director: | Producer: Alba sud and Rel-UITA with the support of the The World Rainforest Movement (WRM), Food First International, The Coordination of Popular Organizations of the Aguán (COPA), Radio Universidad (UCA Nicaragua) anb Comitè de Empresa de Serveis Funeraris de Barcelona
Produced | Country: Honduras

Run Time: 30 minutes  
Language: (Spanish with English subtitles)

Synopsis: a film about one of the most violent regions in Honduras since the 2009 coup, where the country’s largest and wealthiest landowner, Miguel Facussé, has used extreme levels of violence to re-press peasant communities in order to expand his massive oil palm plantations. Since the coup, over 80 Aguán peasants and activists fighting for the right to land been murdered.

Opinion:
The film documented the struggle people in Bajo Aguan are facing by letting the people speak for themselves. It starts with an introduction to the military regime and follows up with the reality of farmer's lives after the resettlement. 
The film highlighted the cruelty and injustice in the region through people's narration. Through the interviews with the local activists, survivors and government officials, we get a holistic idea of the impacts the violence has caused. 

Good with documentation, but no suggestive actions. See hope but mostly depressing.

 Recommendation:

Good for motivational purpose. It leaves a powerful impression. However, the documentary does not link Oxfam's campaigns as the solutions to the problem. 

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Food Flight

Viewer: Brittany Collins

How to view: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/food_flight

About:
Directors: Beth Biederman and Sarah Lazarovic | Producer:
Produced: 2008 | Country:
Run time: 5 minutes | Language: English

Synopsis: A filmmaker's exploration of where her food comes from.

Opinion: This short film seems very in line with the idea behind Sunday Dinners.  Text appears on screen with answers to the question, "Where do you think your food comes from?"  Answers range from honest to humorous.  Might be a good template for volunteers who host Sunday Dinners to create their own video summaries of their Dinners.

Recommendation:

La Via Campesina in Movement... Food Sovereignty Now!

La Via Campesina in Movement



Viewer: Zhenxi


How to view: http://vimeo.com/27473286; downloadable version available

Director: | Producer: La Via Campesina

Run Time: | Language: 20 min/ English

Synopsis: La Via Campesina is a social movement started in 1993 that advocates for small-scale farming and local consumption. This video shows the reality of the food production and the organization's effort in the movement.

Opinion: Not directly relevant to GROW campaign but good to learn about the movement.