EZRA

Savona, giovedì 13 novembre ore 20,45:

Ezra di Newton I. Aduaka, Nigeria/Francia/Austria - 2007, 103’
Ospite della serata: il regista Newton I. Aduaka

Ezra non ha ancora vent'anni, dietro di sé un'infanzia perduta. Rapito da piccolo dai ribelli del Blood Brotherhood, è stato addestrato alla guerra, drogato ed indottrinato, spinto a compiere crimini orribili. E' diventato un bambino soldato. In un continuo gioco di rimandi tra passato e presente, ricostruiamo la sua storia: l'attacco al suo villaggio, il massacro dei genitori di cui Ezra non ricorda nulla, l'incontro con la sorella sopravvissuta. Oggi Ezra si trova dinnanzi ad un tribunale, la sua mente ha rimosso il passato. E' una vittima o un criminale di guerra? Il film

"Ezra" è nato da un grande lavoro di ricerca che il regista ha condotto in Sierra Leone insieme a Alain Michel Blanc (autore di "Vai e vivrai"). Ha incontrato tanti bambini, psichiatri, educatori, avvocati del tribunale speciale delle Nazioni Unite, ma ciò che più l'ha toccato è ciò che alcuni bambini hanno dovuto vivere e che sempre resterà nella loro memoria. La sensibilità del regista, unita ai suoi vissuti infantili, ed alla sua attenzione sociale, gli hanno permesso di realizzare un film che mette a fuoco uno tra i grandi problemi che nel mondo toccano i bambini ed i diritti negati, senza cadere nel patetico o in una semplice separazione tra bene e male. Il film cerca di prendere in considerazione la complessità della problematica ed entra in profondità nella disperazione della guerra e dei bambini che, quasi inconsapevoli, ne prendono parte attivamente, in un modo che purtroppo segnerà profondamente tutta la loro esistenza. Il film ha partecipato a diversi importanti festival e vinto numerosi premi.

http://www.nuovofilmstudio.it/schedaafrica.html

NEWTON I. ADUAKA
Nasce a Ogidi (Nigeria) nel 1966, si trasferisce a Lagos con la famiglia nel 1970, in seguito alla guerra
civile del Biafra. Nel 1985 si trasferisce a Londra, dove nel 1990 si diploma alla London Film School, e
nel 1997 fonda la Granite FilmWorks. Comincia intanto a realizzare cortometraggi, premiati in molti
importanti Festival. Nel 2001 debutta alla regia di un lungometraggio con “Rage” il primo film
totalmente indipendente realizzato da un regista africano ad uscire nelle sale cinematografiche di tutta la
Gran Bretagna. Vince il riconoscimento Carlton's Multicultural Achievement Award for Film.
Nel 2002 realizza il corto “Funeral”, selezionato al Festival di Cannes.
Destinato nei sogni paterni a divenire scienziato, è tuttavia stato attratto dal mondo artistico, si è infatti
da sempre dedicato alla musica, prima di essere sedotto dal mondo del cinema. Egli detesta la violenza e
le logiche menzognere che nel mondo la legittimano. “Bambino della guerra”, come egli stesso si
definisce, è nato in Biafra, paese che è esistito sulle carte geografiche solo per tre anni poi è stato
dimenticato.
Nei suoi film racconta dell’amicizia, la morte, la violenza, l’intimidazione, la negazione del sogno, lo
sfruttamento dell’ignoranza, l’ideologia come strumento di manipolazione, dimostrando sempre una
grande umanità ed una grande tensione verso le problematiche sociali, con lo sguardo sottile ed
intelligente di chi conosce i giochi perversi di un mondo che segue gli interessi di alcuni e che
attribuisce alle vite delle persone valori diversi.
“Questi bambini hanno conosciuto l’inferno per dei giochi economici …. tutto ciò mi tocca profondamente, ed è questo che

ha nutrito “Ezra”. Il resto è cinema…..” dice N.Aduaka in un’intervista.

Filmografia
1990 - Voices behind the Wall, cortometraggio
1994 - Carnival of silence, cm
1997 - On the edge, cm
1999 - Rage, lungometraggio
2002 - Funeral, cm
Film che rappresenta il tema del cinema e della mondializzazione. E’ stato uno dei nove registi al
mondo selezionato dalla commissione Society of Film Directors France, Cahiers du Cinema and the
Directors' Fortnight.
2004 - L’expert, cm
Bon voyage, cm
Sale Nègre, cm
2004 - Aicha, cm
2007 - Ezra, lm
Tutti i suoi film sono stati vincitori di numerosi importanti premi.
INGRESSO GRATUITO

Rassegna di cinema africano IV edizione

Stand with the people of Congo

Dear friends, The people of Democratic Congo are being terrorised - they need protection urgently, Europe could help but our leaders are delaying.
The people of Congo need our help. In recent weeks over 200,000 people have been driven from their homes, and murder and rape are rife. The United Nations peacekeeping mission to Congo has not intervened to protect civilians. As this email is sent, families are running for their lives, stuck between the brutal violence of both the rebels and the Congolese army, without food or shelter - their only refuges are crowded camps which now face epidemics of disease. This is a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions. But, European foreign ministers meeting earlier this week said it's too early to act.
Europe can deploy a well-equipped protection force to be on the ground in two weeks - no one else can get such a capable presence in that fast. If Europe sent a neutral force to the region and helped put real pressure on Congo and neighbouring countries with UN and African officials, this humanitarian crisis could be addressed and a lasting peace made possible. This tough crisis will not be solved militarily but civilians desperately need protection now, and proper European engagement could help tackle the root causes.
The lesson of Rwanda was to step in before it's too late -- Europe's politicians seem to have forgotten that. The people of eastern Congo need us now. Send a message to your leader and forward this message to friends and family-- we'll also place our message in newspapers around Europe. The situation is deteriorating by the day. The more messages that the European leaders receive this week, the more they will feel that their citizens and people around the world expect them to respond land protect the Congolese people. Follow this link to send your message now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/
The recent clashes between General Nkunda's militias and the Congolese army are the latest in a place where the population has been attacked and terrorised for years by armed groups. Over five million people have been killed. It's been termed 'Africa's world war', with Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia all getting involved. The fighting is fed by a lethal war economy based on the extraction of minerals such as coltan, cobalt, diamonds and gold, to which we're all connected through the worldwide market.
Allegations abound of Angolan and Zimbabwean troops fighting alongside the Congolese army - Congolese army soldiers committing atrocities and working with militias including the Rwandan Hutu Forces, some of whose leaders were responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide -- and the Rwandan army supporting General Nkunda to muscle the Congolese government to fulfill its commitment to demobilise these same Hutu militias. So it is no surprise that African-only diplomacy is faltering.
The United Nations mission (MONUC) is in Congo to keep the peace between this web of armed groups, but recently it has made clear statements that it cannot protect civilians. We have heard reliably that MONUC are desperate for a rapid EU bridging force to do what they can't and start restoring international legitimacy, which has been lost through overstretch and perceptions of taking sides -- UN troops have fought alongside the Congolese army and are even accused of sheltering pro-government militias.
To have a credible and effective force the United Nations mission will soon have to be reformed and redeployed. In the longer term, the international community needs to be a strong and honest broker to ensure implementation of peace agreements and confront the underlying issues feeding this war. If Europe sends a short-term, neutral force to the region now to protect civilians, it can start to change the terms of this brutal game -- providing a basis both to defend the defenceless and to apply political leverage to all sides. Click below to send a message asking your own country's leader to support action now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/
We cannot let the best chance to stop the terror in Congo slip by as European leaders turn their backs. Congo needs concerted engagement now. Europe is providing millions in aid to Congo and Rwanda to ensure reconstruction and development, but without a more forceful and permanent push, there will be no peace to keep.
Let's flood European leaders with requests for firm action. Sign the petition and please send it to your friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/european_action_on_congo/
With hope,
Paul, Alice, Pascal, Ricken, Ben, Paula, Brett, Graziela, Iain and Milena - the Avaaz.org team
PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far, see:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2
PSS: Here are links to sources for this alert:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5126970.ece
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=18960
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/congo-kiwanja-un-goma-ango
la-laurent-nkunda-war-crimes-fighting
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/congos-tragedy-the-w
ar-the-world-has-forgotten-14023616.html
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=18996
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2008/081107_Mulet.doc.htm

ABOUT AVAAZ Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Sydney and Geneva.

Blogs and democracy are in danger in Italy!

Well, I don't know if this is happening in other countries too, but here in Italy the Government - continuing a job started by the previous one - is going on with approving a law that will limit democracy by shutting up blogs freedom. Yes: they want oblige people who want to have a blog to be subscribers of the Register of Communication Operators, as if blogs were newspapers or belonging to the Editorial business. It's ridicoulous!!! And who want a blog should also pay a tax!!! Isn't that... just astonishing?

Internet is a free place, a true Democratic Instrument. They can't put their hands on it!!! We must avoid that. I signal some link where everybody can sign a petition to stop this law. Please sign it!! It's very important. If Italy approves a law like this, how many other countries will feel authorized to do the same there after?

http://www.petitiononline.com/noDDL/petition.html

or also:

http://www.firmiamo.it/salviamointernet

where you'll find many others where to sign.

Spread the message as more as you can!!!

Thanks.

Eugenio Fortuna

Winter is coming...

Hi, I'm very happy to start contributing to this blog, there are lots and lots of things to say... but since I was invited to post some news only yesterday, I still have to organize a lot of stuff I'll write abou (or try to!).
I might start with one of those "small-big" news that can make people a little happier knowing that it's a tip to save energy (and money!) this coming winter, and therefore a tip to contribute to preserve our planet (and partly our wallet!).
I went to a friend house for dinner last night and my attention got captured by "squares" of metallic kind of paper or material behind all radiators. I asked him what that meant.
It's about covering the wall behind the radiators of houses with thermo-reflective material: in fact, normally a lot of radiators' heat gets absorbed by the wall. Putting this thermo-reflective material between the wall and the radiator causes that heat that would normally be absorbed by the wall to be reflected back inti the house, optimizing radiators performance and saving energy waste. He told me he saves up to 30% of energy this way!
... :)
I know it's not a real "news", but to me this blog is also sharing interesting and useful information like this... if they talked about this tip on television, can you imagine how many people would do it and how much energy we would all prevent from waste??

Is water still a public good?

Hi everybody,

my name's Zoe and I've lived in Italy in the last 4 years.

Few days ago I got a mail from a friend telling me about a conference in which they discussed the privatization of MANY companies working with public water. The news is not "new" in itself, what's new is that it just happened that a small village near Latina, not far from Rome, has just seen the cost of its water going up by 300% in a couple of days time because of this privatization. Everybody is furious about it. This is a concrete example of what's gonna happen her in Italy, where life is already too expensive for the majority of people - considering their salaries are among the lowest in Europe, never renewed in years and years - and now they're gonna ask more money even for water!!!

But what should make Italian people even more furious is that the present Government is doing this without people knowing about it... NOT A WORD. Right now all media are focused on the students protest. Which they must do. That's definetly another hot matter.
... but what's gonna happen in few months if this water issue is not made known of in time?

I guess these are signs that the predicted wars for the "blue gold" have started already... maybe by some more protests right here, in Italy.

Pilgrimage to the heart of Africa

A friend from Congo, who is the general coordinator of Malaki ma Kongo cultural association (for more information please visit http://www.malakimakongo.net/), his name is Masengo ma Mbongolo, invites us all to see his reportage of an unusual pilgrimage they made to Africa.

The video you find below is in French. It is the first of 10, since the entire documentary lasts 50 minutes and was therefore divided in pieces to upload them better on the net. You'll find the following parts of the documentary film on: http://www.malakimakongo.net/pelerinage%202008%20reportage%20video.htm

(Volunteer translation in English - for those of you who might be interested in approaching this very interesting association that promotes African cultural roots for development and cultural exchange- would be warmly welcome by Malaki ma Kongo!)

Some extra news in English about this pilgrimage are available on Malaki ma Kongo site at: http://www.malakimakongo.net/pilgrimage.htm

(in the picture on top right: Ne Vunda, of the ancient Kongo Kingdom. He was the first black ambassador who was sent to the Vatican, in 1608)

Pelerinage au coeur de l'Afrique_2008_p. 1
Caricato da malakimakongoitalia

Sun in Virgo

Sun in Virgo is a blog where it's possible to find and share unpublished / "difficult to find" news from around the world.
You'll start finding/sharing here interesting information that rarely or not at all appear on regular mass media as television and newspaper, but not only:

Sun in Virgo is a kind of "news report" made by everyday people, what they see going on around them with their own eyes. A kind of collective unpublished voice on what's going on in the world.

You don't need to be a journalist to post in here. Tell us what's going on in your country, stuff that you judge being worthy to be known.
Sun in Virgo is all people direct voices, a chance to tell the world what you find interesting, worthy and sometimes even duteful to be told in public.
Some examples? They might range from all those big and small POSITIVE news (none or very little information is ever dedicated to them, like for example the discoveries of new environmental friendly energies) to cultural events that you want to signal, or interesting happenings up to other events that media aren't aware of or sometimes avoid. Sun in Virgo could in fact become also a "news hunting" instrument for all those "good-willing" and passionate journalists seeking for other stuff.

Here instead are the contents/links etc. that WILL NOT be published (and we'd appreciate not to receive), as you all know already, but that we must remember to those who sometimes forget..: racist, violent, pornografic, injurious, offending, etc. etc. stuff. Please: don't try to post anything like that in here.

Finally, some of you might wonder "Why a name as Sun in Virgo?". The answer is... simply because - as you've guessed - its creator was born under the astrological sign of Virgo! So we thought that this could be an omen to give this blog those neutral, observational, accurate and communicative characteristics that in the past time Occidental Astrology decided to reunite under the symbol of Virgo.

Well, may the blog start....