3 June, 2010British unions and Oxfam launch contest for short films as part of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, as interest builds in the fourth annual Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival taking place on June 15.
GENEVA: Film has not only proved to be an efficient communication medium, but also an excellent organizing and mobilizing tool. More and more film festivals and film competitions surrounding social, economic and environmental issues are taking place. In line with this trend, a broad civil society campaign in Britain, backed by 24 unions and led by the Trade Union Congress and the charity Oxfam launched a short film competition, which will be judged by Sienna Miller and Richard Curtis.
The Robin Hood Tax campaign is calling for "a tiny tax on banks that would give billions to tackle poverty and climate change" and contestants are encouraged to submit videos that focus on everything from malaria, HIV, climate change, education and gender equality. The top prize will be a masterclass with Richard Curtis and camera equipment is also up for grabs. There will be a separate category for under 18's, judged by Harry Potter star Tom Felton. For more information visit the official website at www.robinhoodtax.org/competition
Taking place on June15, at the Theatre Grutli in the heart of Geneva, the fourth edition of the Labour Film Shorts Festival features 15 films in both English and French. Among other issues, the current financial crisis takes centre stage in this year's line-up, primarily focusing on the voices of workers and their unions.
The main feature presentation, Like a Bird in a Cage, begins with the resistance of Emine Arslan, a Turkish female textile worker fired from the Desa Safaköy factory as a result of her union activities. Directors Güliz Sağlam and Feryal Saygılıgil document the subsequent resistance of the women workers at Desa. The documentary reveals the working conditions of women, the experience they gain through organizing, the advantages of their resistance, their relationship with the union and their hopes and expectations.
Another film being featured is the chilling documentary on the atrocities conducted by Zimbabwean government in defiance of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) treaty. of the film documents torture, vandalism and violence on Zimbabwean farm owners and farm workers in the face of the land reform programme issued by the President Mugabe.
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