Award-winning Canadian filmmakers Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein will be the featured guests March 8 at The Independents, a monthly series of screenings and discussions on independent Canadian cinema, presented by York University's Department of Film & Video.
Lewis will screen and discuss his critically-acclaimed feature documentary The Take (2003), produced with his wife, well-known author and activist Naomi Klein. Shot in Argentina, The Take is about the economic collapse of this Latin American country in 2001, where the prosperous middle class found itself in the midst of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. In the face of this disaster, 30 unemployed auto-parts workers in suburban Buenos Aires walked into their idle factory, rolled out sleeping mats and refused to leave. Re-starting the silent machines, the workers re-opened the factory and turned a profit, too.
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Director/producer Lewis and writer/producer Klein take viewers through a revolutionary movement as it unfolds, focusing on the lives of ordinary visionaries as they reclaim their work, their dignity and their democracy, while raising questions about globalization, government and human nature.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best International Documentary at the American Film Institute Festival, The Take draws viewers into a far-off situation with immediate emotional impact, and leaves them feeling hopeful and inspired.
The Take captivated many critics across North America:
" . . . The Take will have you on your feet singing We Shall Overcome . . . " (The Winnipeg Free Press)
" . . .a stirring, idealistic documentary. . ." (The New York Times)
"An eye-opening, possibility-widening documentary! If Michael Moore could calm down just a little and maintain a watchful distance, The Take suggests the kind of film he'd make." (New York Newsday)
" . . . revealing documentary which plays like a time-lapse portrait of history-in-the-making. . ." (Maclean's)
Avi Lewis is one of Canada's most controversial and eloquent media personalities who has recently emerged as an acclaimed documentary filmmaker as well.
Right: Avi Lewis
As the host and producer of "counterSpin" on CBC Newsworld, he presided over more than 500 nationally-televised debates spanning three years, while criss-crossing the country, hosting huge public forums in small communities and big cities alike. Previously, he hosted City TV's "The New Music", where he interviewed hundreds of celebrities, including David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and The Rolling Stones.
Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist and author of the international bestseller No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Her articles have been widely published, including in The Guardian (United Kingdom), The New York Times, The Nation (New York) and Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris).
York University film & video Professor Seth Feldman will host the screening and moderate the discussion following. He is author and broadcaster of more than 20 radio documentary series and has done extensive arts commentary for the CBC.
Right: Naomi Klein
The event will take place today at 7pm in the Nat Taylor Cinema, N102 Ross Bldg., Keele campus. Admission is free. For more information call ext. 22174. The Independents is presented in association with York’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.