Skip to content

Agassiz film series explores global social justice

War, ethics and grass roots at core of three documentaries

The Agassiz Social Justice Film Festival returns this fall for its fifth year. This year’s line-up will feature provocative and inspiring topics on three consecutive Thursday nights.

On Oct. 25 the film Liberia ‘77 shows how despite time, war, distance and culture, photography connects us all. When Canadian brothers Jeff and Andrew Topham return to the war torn West African country of their childhood to re-shoot their father’s photos from the ‘70s, they find a nation whose own photographic history was destroyed by war.

Suddenly the tattered envelope of Topham family photos they were carrying took on an unimagined significance. Their images offered a rare proof of a once peaceful and prosperous country – and hope for a brighter future. Jeff Topham, who now lives in Vancouver, will be present to show his film and explain his plan to assist the National Museum in Monrovia in the country’s rebuilding process.

On Nov. 1, the film “Where’s My Goat?” takes us from Newfoundland to Zambia. Filmmaker, Christopher Richardson buys goats for third world families as thank you gifts for clients. But some clients question the existence of their goats. So Christopher decides to track down his goat and discover for himself if ethical gifts are the positive life changers for the developing world that they are advertised to be.

Members of the Agassiz group Teryia will have a display of their project to assist village women in Mali to purchase a grinder to process shea butter for market.

The third film, The People’s Crisis will be shown by LINK (Liberty in North Korea) representatives followed by discussion on Nov. 8. It will feature analysis and insight into the little-known grass roots changes that are happening inside North Korea.

The festival is sponsored by All Saints Anglican and Agassiz United Churches

All three films will be shown at 7 p.m. at Agassiz United Church, 6860 Lougheed Hwy.

Refreshments are provided and admission is by donation.

For more information, phone 604-796-9705 or 604-796-2680.