With thanks to our friends at the Wallingford Neighbors for Peace and Justice - "Friday Night At The Meaningful Movies" - for providing much of this information! You'll find their great listings at www.MeaningfulMovies.org

Friday, December 1, 7:30pm - film followed by panel discussion with Milenko Matanovic (Executive Director, Pomegranate Center, Brice Maryman (Co-director of Open Space Seattle 2100, and a representative from City Repair Seattle
Film: A LOT IN COMMON
Film Specs: 57 min, Rick Bacigalupi, 2003 www.alotincommon.com

Description: Neighbors turn a vacant BART lot into a blooming community garden. Landscape architect/ psychologist Karl Linn inspires the creation of this garden and encourages people to reclaim the commons to build community. A LOT IN COMMON, while telling this modern day story, gives us a historical look at the concept of the Commons and the beginning of lawns as well as a look at the life of visionary landscape architect, Karl Linn. Urban planning visionary Jane Jacobs, PBS reporter/author Ray Suarez, environmentalist Paul Hawken, Urban Habitat co-founder Carl Anthony, landscape architect/psychologist Karl Linn, and British scholar David Crouch lend context and background as the garden story unfolds. A Lot in Common is Emmy award-winning producer/editor Rick Bacigalupi’s first feature-length independent documentary. The American Community Gardening Association has endorsed the project and offers a gardening curriculum. To be followed by the short-length feature, POMEGRANATE (Erin Katz, Celia Beasley, & 911 Media Arts Center, 2004, 10min) This film highlights the mission and methods of the Pomegranate Center, a non-profit community design and development organization started by artist and community organizer, Milenko Matonovic. The Pomegranate Center is dedicated to helping communities create vibrant gathering spaces and revitalize community life. The film features inspirational projects and the practical and educational aspect of developing them.

Sponsors: 911 Media Arts Center and Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network's "Green Film Series"
Cost: $5.00
Location: 911 Media Arts Center, 402 9th Ave. N. (at 9th & Thomas, Denny Re-grade area), Seattle
For more information: Green Film Series

Friday, December 1, 7:00-9:30pm - film followed by community discussion
Film: SOPHIE SCHOLL
Film Specs: 117 min, Marc Rothemund, 2005, www.sophieschollmovie.com

Description: The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in the multi-award winning drama SOPHIE SCHOLL-THE FINAL DAYS. Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film of 2005, SOPHIE SCHOLL stars Julia Jentsch in a luminous performance as the young coed-turned-fearless activist. Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence. In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.

Sponsors: Wallingford Neighbors for Peace & Justice - "Friday Night at the Meaningful Movies"
Cost: Event is FREE and open to the public ... but Donations are kindly accepted
Location: Keystone Church, 5019 Keystone Place N., Seattle (Wallingford neighborhood)
Metro Bus Routes: 16, 26 & 44

Saturday, December 2, 7:00pm - film followed by community discussion with special guests from the Lifelong Aids Alliance.
Film: A CLOSER WALK
Film Specs: 85 min, Robert Bilheimer, 2006 www.acloserwalk.org

Description: Directed, written, and produced by Oscar nominee Robert Bilheimer, narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith, A Closer Walk explores the intricate relationship between health, dignity, and human rights, and shows how the harsh realities of AIDS in the world are an expression of the way the world is.  The film features interviews with prominent individuals from all walks of life including The Dalai Lama, Kofi Annan, and Bono; stories, portraits, and vignettes of children, women, and men living with AIDS on four continents; and breathtaking cinematography by Richard D. Young that celebrates human dignity, even as it bears witness to immense human suffering. Free admission, wheelchair accessible, infant "cry room", refreshments served.  Stay afterwards for discussion and opportunities for taking action.

Sponsors: Love and Justice Film Series: In Honor of World Aids Day
Cost:
Location: Queen Anne United Methodist Church, 1606 5th Ave. West, Seattle
For more information: Contact tonya@qaumc.org

Tuesday-Thursday, December 5-7, 7:00 & 9:15pm (no 9:15 screening Tues) - each screening followed by Q. & A. with the filmmakers.
Film: ENCOUNTER POINT
Film Specs: 89 min, Ronit Avni & Julia Bacha, USA, 2006 www.encounterpoint.com

Description: SEATTLE PREMIERE. How does one of the most divisive and explosive conflicts in world history get resolved? From the creators of CONTROL ROOM comes the story of an Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian brother, all of whom have sacrificed something precious as a result of the conflict. In an inspiring documentary, this group of brave individuals rejects revenge and the endless cycle of violence, thereby risking ostracism from their own communities. The compelling story is one of forgiveness and ultimately one of hope, where progress begins with a single step. Join Julia Bacha for a special workshop, Documentary Filmmaking With a Purpose on Wed Dec 6 at 2pm.

Sponsors: Northwest Film Forum
Cost: $8.50
Location: Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue (between Pike & Pine, Capitol Hill), Seattle
Metro Bus Routes: 10, 11
For more information: 206-267-5380, www.nwfilmforum.org

Wednesday, December 6, 7:00pm & 9:30pm - Followed by discussion. *Must be 21 years for 9:30 PM screening.*
Film: CUBA MIA: Portrait of an All-Women's Orchestra
Film Specs: 85 min, Cecilia Domeyko, Cuba, 2005

Description: Ten talented and beautiful musicians, playing the harmonies of Cuban soul, demonstrate the power of music to cross boundaries.  This story of the musicians of the all-woman Camerata Romeu is filled with dazzling faces and fiery performances that astonish and delight.  By turns funny, angry, lyrical and moving, CUBA MIA takes us behind the scenes as ten dedicated musicians juggle a fierce rehearsal schedule with boyfriends, girlfriends, grandparents and children, offering a slice of Cuban life seldom seen on the world's screens. This award-winning (CINE Golden Eagle, Chicago Film Festival, World Music Festival) was directed by Cecilia Domeyko, creator of dozens of films capturing the Latina/o experience in the US and Latin America. "If you liked Buena Vista Social Club, you'll love CUBA MIA!"

Sponsors: Sponsored by "Look at the World Through Women's Eyes" Movie & Discussion Series and the US Women & Cuba Coalition; Co-sponsored by Seattle NOW Chapter, Aradia Women's Health Center, Moms Acting Up, Cedar Rivers Clinics, King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence,  Amnesty International of WA State's Stop the Violence Against Women Campaign, and Reclaim the Media.
Cost: $5.00 Donation
Location: Central Cinema, 21st Ave & E Union, Seattle (Central District)
Metro Bus Routes: 2, 48
Contact info: 206.720.0522, www.central-cinema.com

Thursday, December 7, 7:15pm - Doors open at 6:45pm for fair trade shopping and refreshments.
Film: ARGENTINA - HOPE IN HARD TIMES
Film Specs: 74 min, Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin, 2005

Description: Enjoy a unique opportunity to buy shoes and shirts made in Argentina's worker-owned factories as well as fair trade chocolate, tea, and coffee. And Join filmmakers Young and Dworkin for the screening of their award-winning film,
ARGENTINA - HOPE IN HARD TIMES. The stories of a failed economy and distrusted politicians, of heartache and hard times, a resurgence of grassroots democracy and an irrepressible spirit of community, are told in colorful, resonant detail. Plus -10 minute sneak preview: "Argentine Co-ops 4 Years Later" Fair trade products available before and after the film.

Sponsors: Traditions Café and World Folk Art, Community Alliance for Global Justice, and Moving Images
Cost: Donations requested for film screening.
Location: 911 Media Arts Center, 402 9th Ave. N. (at 9th & Thomas, Denny Re-grade area), Seattle

 


Friday, December 8, 7:00-9:30pm - film followed by conversation with filmmakers Abdi Sami and Whitney & Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser who have recently returned from Iran.
Film: THE CIRCLE
Film Specs: 91 min, Jafar Panahl, 2000

Description: Banned in Iran, Jafar Panahi's THE CIRCLE is set almost entirely on the busy streets of Tehran--a place where women are restricted by numerous laws, including a repressive dress code. The beginning of the film focuses on two women who have been given temporary leave from prison and have no intension of returning. The film shifts from one woman to another as this eye-opening tale circles back on itself. Their world is one of constant surveillance, bureaucracy and age-old inequalities. But this stifling world cannot extinguish the spirit, strength and courage of the circle of women. Iranian cinema at its best and most politically aware. Including a facilitated discussion on Iran with Abdi Sami. Abdi is a graduate of University of Southern California film school. He has worked in the film industry for over twenty years and has consulted with a number of non profits and NGOs. "Shattering! Panahi weaves a sinuous spell that knocks you flat by the final scene." - Jan Stuart, Newsday.

Sponsors: Wallingford Neighbors for Peace & Justice - "Friday Night at the Meaningful Movies"
Cost: Event is FREE and open to the public ... but Donations are kindly accepted
Location: Keystone Church, 5019 Keystone Place N., Seattle (Wallingford neighborhood)
Metro Bus Routes: 16, 26 & 44

Sunday, December 10, 6:30pm
Film: STREETWISE
92 min, Martin Bell, USA, 1984

Description: Ballard Peace Activists present a film and discussion forum to explore the needs of the homeless in Ballard. Anne Riley, Assistant Director of the Ballard Senior Center will present the results of a survey to determine the feasibility of locating a homeless shelter in Ballard. The evening will also include a presentation of the compelling, Oscar-nominated documentary film "STREETWISE," a portrait of Seattle teenagers eeking out their collective homeless existence.

Sponsors: Ballard Peace Activists and "Ballard Movie Night"
Cost: Admission is free. Food donationas for the Ballard Food Bank are requested.
Location: Trinity United Methodist Church, NW 65th and 23rd NW, Seattle (Ballard)
For more information: call (206) 784-2085 or email ballard@snowcoalition.org

Wednesday December 13, 7:00pm - following a community potluck
Film: BARAKA ("Blessing")
Film Specs: 96 min, Ron Fricke, 1992 www.spiritofbaraka.com

Description: One of the most incredibly beautiful and profound films ever made, this classic is a work of art intended to be a journey of rediscovery that plunges into nature, into history, into the human spirit and finally into the realm of the
infinite. With the theme of human diversity and our impact on the environment, Baraka is a documentary filmed on
six continents, providing a spiritual experience that enables the viewer to see the world in a totally different way.

Sponsors: Whidbey Institute's "Reflective Reels" Film Series
Cost: Donations welcome
Location: Whidbey Institute, Thomas Berry Hall, Whidbey Island
Additional info: (360) 341–1884,
Full series info: http://www.whidbeyinstitute.org/Reflective_Reels_Fall06.pdf