MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 @ 7:30pm
Concordia University: Henry F. Hall Bldg – Room H-110
1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal QC

Screening by donation, and open to the public.
Film info and trailer available at: http://www.cinemapolitica.org/films/60

A CO-PRESENTATION OF: Cinema Politica (Concordia University), Save Darfur Canada & The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS)

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SYNOPSIS:

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur as seen through the eyes of an American witness who has since returned to the US to take action to stop it.

Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of it’s black African citizens. As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience, including being fired upon, taken hostage, and being unable to intervene to save the lives of young children. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed.

USA / 2007 / 85 min – Eng / no subtitles

An INTERNATIONAL FILM CIRCUIT release of a BREAK THRU FILMS production in association with GLOBAL GRASSROOTS & THREE GENERATIONS.

________________________________________________________________________________

AWARDS

WINNER: SEEDS OF WAR AWARD Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
WINNER: FULL FRAME/WORKING FILM AWARD Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
WINNER: WITNESS Award SilverDocs Film Festival 2007
WINNER: Lena Sharpe / Women in Cinema Persistence of Vision Award / Seattle International Film Festival 2007
WINNER: Adrienne Shelly EXCELLENCE IN FILMMAKING Award /Nantucket Film Festival.

Directors: Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern
Producers: Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells
Editor: Joey Grossfield
Music: Paul Brill
Cinematographers: Jerry Risius, William Rexer, Tim Hetherington, Phil Cox, Annie Sundberg, John Keith Wasson
Producers: Ira Lechner & Eileen Haag, Cristina Ljungberg, The Fledging Fund
Associate Producers: Seth Keal, Jed Alpert, Ted Greenberg
Assistant Editor: Kristin Rodriguez

———————————————-
ps. From Wikipedia on Darfur:

On October 16, 2006, Minority Rights Group (MRG) published a critical report, challenging that the UN and the great powers could have prevented the deepening crisis in Darfur and that few lessons appear to have been drawn from their ineptitude during the Rwandan Genocide. MRG’s executive director, Mark Lattimer, stated that: “this level of crisis, the killings, rape and displacement could have been foreseen and avoided … Darfur would just not be in this situation had the UN systems got its act together after Rwanda: their action was too little too late.” [132] On October 20, 120 genocide survivors of the Holocaust, the Cambodian and Rwandan Genocides, backed by six aid agencies, submitted an open letter to the European Union, calling on them to do more to end the atrocities in Darfur, with a UN peacekeeping force as “the only viable option.” Aegis Trust director, James Smith, stated that while “the African Union has worked very well in Darfur and done what it could, the rest of the world hasn’t supported those efforts the way it should have done with sufficient funds and sufficient equipment.” [133]

Human rights advocates and opponents of the Sudanese government portray China’s role in providing weapons and aircraft as a cynical attempt to obtain oil and gas just as colonial powers once supplied African chieftains with the military means to maintain control as they extracted natural resources.[134][135][136] Political China has offered Sudan support threatening to use its veto on the U.N. Security Council to protect Khartoum from sanctions and has been able to water down every resolution on Darfur in order to protect its interests in Sudan.[137] There has been further evidence of the Sudanese government’s murder of civilians to actually facilitate the extraction of oil. The U.S.-funded Civilian Protection Monitoring Team, which investigates attacks in southern Sudan concluded that “As the Government of Sudan sought to clear the way for oil exploration and to create a cordon sanitaire around the oil fields, vast tracts of the Western Upper Nile Region in southern Sudan became the focus of extensive military operations.”[138] Sarah Wykes, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, an NGO that campaigns for better natural resource governance, says: “Sudan has purchased about $100m in arms from China and has used these weapons against civilians in Darfur.”[135] There are additional concerns that Chinese oil companies are devastating the environment further inhibiting the local population’s ability to survive. This includes the clearing of forests for timber exports that increases vulnerability to erosion, river silting, landslides, flooding and loss of habitat for plant and animal species.[139]

Calls for sustained pressure and possible boycotts of the Olympics have come from French presidential candidate François Bayrou[140], actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, Genocide Intervention Network Representative Ronan Farrow[141], author and Sudan scholar Eric Reeves[142] and The Washington Post editorial board[143]. Sudan divestment efforts have also concentrated on PetroChina, the national petroleum company with extensive investments in Sudan.[144]

On the opposite side of the issue, publicity given to the Darfur conflict has been strongly criticized in the Arab and Muslim world as exaggerated. Statements to this effect in the Arab press take the view that “the (Israeli) lobby prevents any in-depth discussion and diverts the attention from the crimes committed every day in Palestine and Iraq.”[145] and that Western attention to the Darfur crisis is “a cover for what is really being planned and carried out by the Western forces of hegemony and control in our Arab world.” [146] While “in New York, … there are thousands of posters screaming ‘genocide’ and ‘400,000 people dead,” in reality only “200,000 have been killed.” Furthermore, “what has been done” in Darfur is “not genocide,” simply “war crimes.”[147] Another complaint made is that “there is no ethnic cleansing being perpetrated” in Darfur, only “great instability” and “clashes between the Sudanese government, rebel movements and the Janjaweed.” [148]

Counting deaths

Accurate numbers of dead have been difficult to estimate, partly because the Sudanese government places formidable obstacles in front of journalists attempting to cover the conflict.[149] In September 2004, the World Health Organization estimated there had been 50,000 deaths in Darfur since the beginning of the conflict, an 18-month period, mostly due to starvation. An updated estimate the following month put the number of deaths for the 6-month period from March to October 2004 due to starvation and disease at 70,000; These figures were criticized, because they only considered short periods and did not include violent deaths. [150] A more recent British Parliamentary Report has estimated that over 300,000 people have died, [151] and others have estimated even more.

In March 2005, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland estimated that 10,000 were dying each month excluding deaths due to ethnic violence. [152] An estimated 2 million people had at that time been displaced from their homes, mostly seeking refuge in camps in Darfur’s major towns. Two hundred thousand had fled to neighboring Chad.

In an April 2005 report, the most comprehensive statistical analysis to date, the Coalition for International Justice estimated that 400,000 people in Darfur had died since the conflict began, a figure most humanitarian and human rights groups now use. [153]

On 28 April 2006, Dr. Eric Reeves argued that “extant data, in aggregate, strongly suggest that total excess mortality in Darfur, over the course of more than three years of deadly conflict, now significantly exceeds 450,000,” but this has not been independently verified. [154]

A 21 September 2006 article by the official UN News Service stated that “UN officials estimate over 400,000 people have lost their lives and some 2 million more have been driven from their homes.”[155] This now appears to be the official UN figure.

2007 International Symposium on Wikis

Wikis at Work in the World:
Open, Organic, Participatory Media for the 21st Century

October 21-23, 2007
Palais des Congres de Montral
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
http://www.wikisym.org/ws2007/

———————————————————————–

Registration is now open for WikiSym 2007, convening October 21 through 23
in chic, sophisticated, metropolitan Montreal, Quebec.

**Deadline for early registration is September 13th**

NO ORDINARY CONFERENCE

WikiSym is the only international scientific conference dedicated to
wikis. It brings together wiki researchers, practitioners, and users. The
goal of the symposium is to explore and extend our growing community. It
has a rigorously reviewed research paper track as well as plenty of space
for practitioner reports, demonstrations, and open discussions. Anyone who
is involved in using, researching, or developing wikis is invited to
WikiSym 2007!

We recognize that the online world is always evolving, and therefore
welcome people interested in other online media consistent with the wiki
philosophy of being open, organic and participatory.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Our headline speakers this year include many of the thought leaders on
wiki. Our keynote speaker will be Jonathan Grudin (Microsoft Research),
one of the world’s leading researchers on Computer Supported Collaborative
Work. Ward Cunningham (AboutUs), inventor of wiki and founding father of
our field, will give the closing talk. Peter Thoeny (StructuredWikis),
creator of TWiki, will give a half day tutorial on wikis in the workplace.

“For those who heard that CZECH DREAM would not be screened tonight at
Cinema Politica, the good news has arrived: the distributors in
Europe caved in to our intense lobby efforts (well, they responded
positively to a few emails) and are now allowing us to screen this
funny and creative political doc.

CZECH DREAM will be screened tonight (Monday, January 30th) at 7:30
PM in room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve.

This is a one-time only Canadian public screening, so now is your
chance to see this new documentary that caused such a stir in the
Czech Republic for free.

More info: http://www.cinemapolitica.org”

überculture is a grassroots, non-profit collective committed to
reclaming culture. We are concerned with the loss of cultural
diversity due to a commercial culture industry based on the self-
interested actions of multinational corporations. Through thorough
research and creative action, we expose and resist the
commodification of society.

http://www.uberculture.org

Expozine 2005
4th Annual Small Press, Comic and Zine Fair
Saturday, November 26th,
from 11 am to 6 pm
5035 St-Dominique (church basement),
between Laurier and St-Joseph

http://www.expozine.ca

Come to EXPOZINE, Montréal’s only small press, comic and zine fair! This
daylong event brings together over 160 creators of all kinds of printed
matter in both English and French.

Expozine was born in 2002 to provide a place where publications outside
the mainstream can reach the reading public. It is also a place where
members of the small press community and local writers and artists can
make new connections with each other. It has been a huge success:
thousands of people have discovered hundreds of publications, and more and
more people take part each year.

Montréal is rich in small press activity, with an internationally renowned
comics scene and a thriving small press and zine community. All of these
are represented at Expozine, and each year more publishers from outside
Montreal participate in the event.

We hope you make the most of this rare opportunity to see all of this
diversity showcased in one place. Browse! Shop! Meet the creators! And
most of all, have fun!

Expozine 2005
4e Salon des fanzines, bandes dessinées et petits éditeurs de Montréal
samedi le 26 novembre
de 11 h à 18 h
5035 St-Dominique (sous-sol d’église)
entre Laurier et St-Joseph

http://www.expozine.ca

EXPOZINE, est le seul salon montréalais de fanzines, de bandes dessinées
et de petits éditeurs! En une seule journée, il regroupe plus de 160
créateurs et créatrices de la chose imprimée, en français et en anglais.
C’est ce qui fait de lui un événement incontournable de la scène
culturelle.

Fondé en 2002, Expozine est né du désir de créer un lieu de rencontre où
les éditeurs, les écrivains et les artistes indépendants peuvent se
rencontrer et se faire connaître des lecteurs. Jusqu’à maintenant
l’événement a connu un énorme succès : des milliers de personnes sont en
effet venus découvrir des centaines de publications alternatives, et ce
nombre croît d’année en année.

Grâce au dynamisme du milieu de la bande dessinée et du fanzine, Montréal
jouit maintenant d’un rayonnement international. Expozine permet au public
de le découvrir et attire un nombre croissant de publications de
l’extérieur de Montréal.

Venez y folâtrer à votre aise, y découvrir des créations uniques et
rencontrer tous ces artistes réunis en un seul et même endroit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch we’re in madcap mode eating too much pizza, schemeing, and making phone calls and maps for www.indyish.com. Indyish is a network of independent artists. It’s a store, and it’s a network for mutual support and communication between makers and customers- so we can do better, cooler projects, and have a venue to put the product of these creative equations out in the public gaze and up for sale.

That’s all I’m going to say for now, as I am sleepy. Check back soon for more updates and excitement.
keep well,
Risa

BENOIT MAUBREY (Berlin)

The Audio Gruppe creates mobile and multi-acoustic sculptures in public spaces.

Benoît Maubrey is the director of DIE AUDIO GRUPPE a Berlin-based art
group that build and perform with electronic clothes (past examples:
AUDIO BALLERINAS, AUDIO GEISHAS, AUDIO STEELWORKERS, BONG BOYS,
VIDEO PEACOCKS…). Basically these are electro-acoustic clothes and
dresses (equipped with amplifiers and loudspeakers) that create
sounds by interacting with their environment. For example the AUDIO
BALLERINAS use — among other electronic instruments– light sensors
that enable them to produce sounds through the interaction of their
movements and the surrounding light (PEEPER choreography). Via
movement sensors they can also trigger electronic sounds that are
subsequently choreographed –or “orchestrated”– into musical
compositions as an “audio ballet ” (YAMAHA choreography). A variety
of other electronic instruments (mini-computers, samplers, contact
microphones, cassette and CD players, and radio receivers) allow them
to work with the sounds, surfaces, and topographies of the space
around them in a variety of solo or group choreographies. Rechargeable
batteries allow them to operate both in- and outdoors.

The Audio Gruppe’s work is essentially site-specific. Often the
electronics is adapted into entirely new “Audio Uniforms” or “sonic
costumes” that reflect local customs, themes, or traditions (AUDIO
GEISHA/Japan, AUDIO CYCLISTS/France, AUDIO HANBOK/Korea)..

http://www.snafu.de/~maubrey/

http://www.audioballerinas.com

Monday, Nov. 14st, 2005
7:30pm – 9:30pm
York Amphitheatre, Concordia University
Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex EV 1-615
1515 rue St Catherine W.

For further information please contact Selena Liss

Email: slis@videotron.ca

Phone: 514-848-2424 ext 5645

The day after, on Tuesday November 15, Benoit Maubrey will do a
demonstration at the Topological Media Lab. Please contact Prof. Sha
Xin Wei beforehand if you would like to
attend.

BEING OSAMA (introduced by co-director Tim Schwab)
Being Osama is an intimate exploration of six men with highly diverse backgrounds, interests and personalities, united by their first names and their experiences as Arabs living in Canada in the post-9/11 world. Shot against the cultural backdrop of Montreal, the film follows the six Osamas from the time of the American invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 to the anti-WTO demonstrations in late July of the same year. Touching on subjects as diverse as Arab names, rock-n-roll, religion, Middle East politics, weddings, funerals and the meaning of identity, Being Osama is a sensitive and thoughtful portrait of six unique individuals and of the new Canada in which they live.

2004/Canada/45min

SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL
In 100 days – between April 6 and July 16, 1994 – an estimated 800,000 men, women and children were brutally killed in the obscure African country of Rwanda. The victims – many horrifically hacked to death with machetes – were Tutsi, and moderate Hutus who supported them.

One man was tasked by the United Nations with ensuring that peace was maintained in Rwanda – Canadian Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire. But unsupported by U.N. headquarters and its Security Council far away in New York, Dallaire and his handful of soldiers were incapable of stopping the genocide.

After ten years of mental torture, reliving the horrors daily and more than once attempting suicide, Roméo Dallaire has poured out his soul in an extraordinary book. Shake Hands With The Devil is a cri de coeur. The General pulls no punches in his condemnation of top UN officials, expedient Belgian policy makers and senior members of the Clinton administration who chose to do nothing as Dallaire pleaded for reinforcements and revised rules of engagement.

Dallaire is convinced that, with a few thousand more troops and a mandate to act pre-emptively, he could have stopped the killings. His impotence, at a time of extreme crisis, preys on his conscience still.

The experienced Canadian documentary production company, White Pine Pictures, secured the documentary rights to General Dallaire’s book and exclusive access to follow him during his first return trip to Rwanda, in April 2004 – the 10th anniversary of the genocide. We were there as he revisited the killing fields that haunt him.

SHAKE HANDS is the most powerful documentary produced about the Rwandan genocide. Unflinching. Gut-wrenching. Challenging. Hard-hitting. This is appointment television for viewers throughout the world who care about human rights and international justice.

SHAKE HANDS is co-presented by the Concordia History Department and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies as part of the Canada and Darfur Conference. Romeo Dollaire will speak the following day of this screening…(info below)

2004/Canada/91min

For more details, visit: http://www.cinemapolitica.org

With a little more effort I can imagine a patron with his or her own nightmare history, and decades of burrowing beneath business, family, and donations to a local cultural center, who does not just want to shape the world with patronage, but who fears an image’s power to erase complexity. Fearing the way an icon can obliterate the grey places of history, the sorrow and goodness and mistakes of all the lives on both sides that remain outside the photos frames.

This sentiment, if it actually is a part of the tangled narratives overlapping around this event, would be understandable but still, I think, misguided. I think for peace to be possible all kinds of truth would need to be told. So much truth that it is in excess of the simplified and sticky stories deployed by power to justify violence. We need heaps of pictures and personal stories to wash over the edges of the isolated, apocalyptic ideologies that stand like towers on either side of this strange old Muslim / Judeo divide.

Hopefully, people with all kinds of memories of the stories that have been lost, and the pictures that go unseen from Israel, Canada, Iran and Palestine will come out into Montreal’s nightlife on November 2nd to communicate, and then to maybe have a free drink with me and listen to the furniture sing.

UPGRADE! :: NOVEMBER ::

This month the Upgrade! ushers in the Fall with the Montréal
launch of FUSE magazine. FUSE is one of Canada’s longest-running
English-language arts and politics publications.
Montréal artist and activist Freda Guttman will discuss her work in the arts as well as its
intersection with activism and technology surrounding the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In particular, drawn from the upcoming
FUSE issue which will be available at the Upgrade, the topic of the
gathering will be the censorship, at the Côte St-Luc Library, of
murdered Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi’s photographs of Palestine.

In this capacity the Upgrade welcomes Kazemi’s son Stephan Hashemi,
who will speak on the issue. We welcome discussion and debate, and
will present an intimate and open atmosphere to pursue dialogue. The
free event begins promptly at 7pm, followed by an open bar after the
presentations with electronic furniture music from curator and dj
tobias c. van Veen.

WEDNESDAY, the 02nd of November, 2005
La Société des arts et technologiques (SAT) – 1195 St. Laurent
19h00 – 22h30 / 7pm – 10:30pm
GRATUIT / FREE
http://theupgrade.sat.qc.ca | http://www.fusemagazine.org

Also this month, the Upgrade, as part of an international and
ever-expanding network, is pleased to present three new additions to
its curatorial team: Anik Fournier, Ruth Burns and Sophie Le-Phat Ho,
three active members and organisers of Montréal’s arts and academic
communities. Stay tuned as the Upgrade gears up for 2006.

- tobias, Sophie, Anik & Ruth
November 2005

== HORAIRE ==

19h00 – doors open / ouverture des portes
19h15 – Introduction à Upgrade & FUSE
19h25 – Stephan Hashemi: Zahra Kazemi exhibit @ Côte St-Luc Library
19h50 – Freda Guttman
20h15 – table-ronde / discussion
musique avec dj tobias c. van Veen
22h30 : Finito

=========

tobias c. van Veen
Concept Engineer, The Upgrade! Montréal
tobias @ sat . qc . ca

Sophie Le-Phat Ho
artivistic @ yahoo . ca

Ruth Burns
ruth . burns @ elf . mcgill . ca.