Fredericton's Friday Night Docs series set to kick off again

Part of the Cinema Politica project offering free political film screenings and organized by the Montreal-based non-profit überculture, Fredericton's Friday Night Docs series runs at Conserver House at 180 St. John St.. I just noticed that their fall schedule is finally up and that they're kicking things off on September 5 with a viewing of one of my recent favourite documentaries, The World According to Monsanto. It's about as must-see as must-see gets for anybody who eats. That's my take on it, anyway.

Cinema Politica Presents "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

As part of it's weekly Friday Night Docs series, Cinema Politica Fredericton is presenting The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil this Friday, February 8, at 7 pm. From the documentary's official site:

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope.

Global Public Media has an excellent article on the documentary and the changes in Cuba that are examined in it.

Want some context? Here's a short article by Colin J. Campbell, founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, that provides an overview of the peak oil issue, and of its significance.

For even more information about peak oil, check out this two part interview with Richard Heinberg:

The Richard Heinberg Interview Part - 1

The Richard Heinberg Interview Part - 2

Free Popcorn!

There's a non-profit media arts collective in Montreal that calls itself "überculture" that's kick-started a project called Cinema Politica, which they describe on their website as "a cross-Canada grassroots network of political cinema exhibition sites showcasing independent Canadian artists". Filmmaker/journalist Avi Lewis is quoted as calling it "a much-needed head-butt to the corporate movie machine".

For the past few weeks, while zipping around downtown on my bike, I've been seeing these posters up everywhere promoting various socio-political documentaries being screened at Conserver House on St. John St. on Friday evenings. I finally stopped and took note of the contact information and checked out the organizers' web page.

"Fredericton: Friday Night Docs" is the name of the weekly event. Donations are accepted in lieu of an actual admission, free popcorn is provided and after each documentary, discussion of the subject-matter covered is encouraged. I'm particularly excited about a screening of the documentary Earthlings they'll be holding on October 19. For anybody who's interested in viewing this documentary and who may be outside of the Fredericton area, it's available via Google Video. In a nutshell, it's about humanity's complete dependence on -- and disrespect of -- animals, through the "pet" and entertainment industries, through factory farming (and its fur and leather production by-products), as well as through animal testing in the name of science and / or medicine The documentary's official website has much more detailed information about it.