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Thought-provoking films to stimulate community discussion...

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Gabriola Ferry Schedule

Gabriola Film Festival 2012
Jan. 27th & 28th

The ROXY, Gabriola Island, B.C.

Movie lists for Film Festivals 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Please RESERVE to ensure a seat ... 247-8350

Tsiporah's DVD lending library available

FRIDAY Jan. 27th ... doors open at 7:00 ... movie at 7:30 PM

REPEAT SHOWING ... Saturday 3 PM

$8

BC PREMIERE

movie website

What makes us happy? Is it money? Kids and family? Our work? Friendships? Do we live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being?

Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award nominated “Genghis Blues”, takes us on a journey around the world in an attempt to answer these questions. We will see what places on earth are the happiest and which are the most unhappy.

HAPPY is a full-length documentary with the valuable message that happiness is not dependent on circumstances such as income, but is a skill that can be practiced. According to the new happiness science, Happiness is 50% genetic, 40% intentional, and only 10% circumstance.

The movie came about from a friend of the director who was so compelled by the contradictory correlation between material wealth and happiness, which he saw as a moviemaker in Hollywood ... that he personally funded most of the movie. The rest was done by grassroots networking.

Its not surprising that this uplifting movie has won many audience awards at film festivals.

Since the ROXY has only 50 seats, I am showing HAPPY twice because I imagine that more than 50 Gabriolans might appreciate seeing it.

Therefore, please reserve your spot, Friday evening or Saturday matinee, by calling or emailing me at 247-8350 or tsiporah@island.net

2011 ... USA ... 90 min.

SATURDAY Jan. 28th

Doors open at 12:30 PM ... movie at 1PM

$7

movie website

This story is a TRIBUTE to Wangari Maathai (April 1 1940 - Sept. 25, 2011) a remarkable woman born in rural Kenya, whose infectious determination and unwavering courage in defense of the environment and social justice brought her country closer to democracy, and won her the Nobel Peace Prize.

Raised in the rural highlands of Kenya, educated in the United States in the 1960s civil rights era, and the first female to receive a PhD in East Africa, Maathai discovered her life’s work by reconnecting with the rural women with whom she had grown up. They told her their daily lives had become intolerable: walking long distances for firewood, clean water was scarce, soil was disappearing from the fields, and children were suffering from malnutrition.

In response to this situation, Maathai had the realization to plant trees, which provide new sources of food, fuel, building materials, shade and income to rural communities. This became known as The Green Belt Movement and gave previously impoverished and powerless women a vital political role in their country, reclaiming Kenya from 100 years of deforestation, and ultimately helped to bring down Kenya’s 24-year repressive dictatorship.

Today, 35 million trees later, with over 6000 Green Belt nurseries, this movement has programs teaching women about indigenous foods, AIDS and self-empowerment. In Taking Root, we can feel the warm, powerful and luminous presence of Wangari Maathai, as we learn about her 30-year journey to protect the environment, ensure equality between men and women, defend human rights and promote democracy.

Wangari Maathai is a true environmental hero. Taking Root is for Tree Planters, Environmentalists, Feminists and Politicos who want to be inspired by the power of One Voice.

80 min. ... 2008

REPEAT SHOWING

doors open at 2:30 ... movie at 3 PM

$8

SATURDAY NIGHT ... doors open at 7 ... movie at 7:30

$6

movie website

Every year, thousands of musicians and music lovers from around the globe come to Fez, Morocco for the Festival of World Sacred Music. There, at ancient historic sites, artists of Muslim, Sufi, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and other spiritual paths gather to express the joy of “hearing the heart” through music.

“Music has no religion, no borders, no boundaries. Music is the sound of the soul.”

Sound of the Soul explores the heart of Fez itself: its heritage as an ancient sanctuary for people of different faiths; its mystical Islamic foundations; its evocative medieval settings. This is the ideal location for an unforgettable festival that brings together a unique array of musicians, all connected through their artistry by profound expressions of love and longing.

In a world increasingly polarized by religious conflicts and fundamentalist forces, SOUND OF THE SOUL by Award-winning director Stephen Olsson offers a thought-provoking cinematic journey, reverberating with unity, understanding, and most of all, hope.

“There’s a moment in Sound of the Soul when you stop looking at the subtitles ... it’s no longer about the words or deities or beliefs, but rather the transcendent power of music.”

Come and enjoy a wonderful music video full screen with excellent sound in a comfortable community setting.

70 min. ... 2005

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