270, Sept 2007

Toronto, Canada - WACC is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for its upcoming international communications conference, Congress 2008. These include Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the former Director of UNIFEM, Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng, a women’s rights advocate from Uganda, Doreen Spence, an indigenous woman from the Cree Nation in northern Canada and Fr. Marcelo Rezende Guimarães, a Brazilian priest and a member of the Amnesty International.

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer will address issues of media and gender justice. Heyzer, from Singapore, has received several awards for her leadership in promoting gender equality including the Woman of Distinction Award from the UN-NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Dag Hammarksjold medal. In July 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok with the rank of Under-Secretary-General.

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Ruth Ochieng will address the theme “ Power, conflict, and peace: Telling the story.” Ochieng is an internationally-recognized advocate for women’s rights, known for her extensive research on communication rights and women in armed conflict situations in the global south.

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Doreen Spence

will address the theme “ Communication Rights” in examining the role of the media in building peaceful, viable communities. She serves as a human rights advocate for indigenous peoples worldwide through her work with international organizations such as the United Nations and the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples.

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Marcelo Rezende Guimarães, a Brazilian priest, will address the theme of “New communication and information technologies”.The author of A New World Is Possible, published by WACC, serves as an adviser to peace projects and is a member of Amnesty International.

Cape Town, South Africa - The venues for Congress 2008 programme events have been confirmed following a site visit by WACC’s General Secretary and members of staff responsible for organizing the global communicators event. The conference is scheduled to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from October 6 to 10, 2008. Read more

Edinburgh, Scotland - The WACC-SIGNIS joint award for a film dealing with human rights has gone to A Massacre Foretold, by Scottish director Nick Higgins. The award was presented by Peter Malone (SIGNIS) and Philip Lee (WACC) during the conference on ‘Peacemaking in the World of Film: From conflict to reconciliation’ which took place at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 19-22 July 2007.

The film recounts the massacre on 22 December 1997 of 45 Mayan men, women and children by an armed force in the village of Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico. Paramilitaries murdered innocent villagers while a Mexican army unit stationed not far away turned a blind eye.

From the beginning of 1995, the Mexican Army and Government-backed forces were carrying out a low-intensity war against Mayan sympathisers of the Zapatista movement. Towns and villages that supported the aims of the Zapatistas faced harassment, the rape of women, beatings, murders and the theft of grain and farm tools. Repression escalated throughout 1997, culminating in the Acteal massacre.

Nick Higgins told conference participants about his ten-year long struggle to win the trust of villagers and to put together the documentary. Learning that footage had been taken by a local camera-man just before the massacre, he tried to discover what became of it. Eventually he tracked down both the camera-man and a box kept in the corner of the man’s house containing unused ‘rushes’ that he incorporated into the film.

In recent years SIGNIS has been focussing on ‘Media for a culture of peace’. WACC is also in the final year of planning for its Congress on ‘Communication is peace: Building viable communities’, which takes place 6-10 October 2008. Under the circumstances, A Massacre Foretold is a fitting recipient of the award.

The day after the massacre, Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, issued a statement condemning it. He called it a true crime against humanity, underlining the fact that the victimised group had ‘specifically made known to the four winds and for a long time now its commitment to civil, peaceful, non-violent means to achieve their goals, even while living and working in the heart of an area where violence dominates.’

A Massacre Foretold premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2007. Nick Higgins is hoping it will be screened on network and cable television worldwide. He also plans to show it in Mexico at the scene of the crime. For further information see: www.massacreforetold.com

Montreal, Canada -September Dawn was the first film to be screened in competition at the Festival des Films du Monde, held in Montreal, Canada, 23 August to 3 September 2007. Directed by Christopher Cain (USA), the film recounts the murder on 11 September 1857 of a God-fearing and peaceful group of men, women and children travelling from Arkansas and Missouri to seek a new life in California.

This true story is told from the point of view of fanatical Mormons run out of Missouri a decade earlier, and in the context of rumours that US President Buchanan is about to depose Brigham Young, their leader and Territorial Governor. Church members are told that shedding innocent blood is no crime when they are, in fact, helping believers to atone for their sins and enter heaven.

As film critic Ted Fry commented in The Seattle Times (24 August 2007), ‘This well-documented incident has always been a thorn in the side of the Mormon church, especially intimations that Brigham Young… ordered the killings. The movie does a fine job of staging and executing horrifying scenes that depict the established facts of the event. It also takes the clear position that Young… did give the command, however oblique, for “blood atonement” of the “Gentile” settlers crossing Mormon territory.’

Unfortunately, September Dawn was not on the viewing list for participants attending the ‘Talk Film, Talk Faith’ seminar organized by Interfilm and supported by WACC. Resonating with today’s concerns about religious fundamentalisms the world over, the film would have offered a useful starting point for discussions that began with a history of motion picture ratings led by Jim Wall, former editor in chief of The Christian Century. The seminar continued with an exploration of the notion of cinema as a ‘sanctuary’ where people can dialogue with themselves (and others) about human and spiritual questions affecting their lives.

Seminar participants gathered 24-27 August 2007 to see six of the 20 films in competition at the festival, to learn about the work of ecumenical juries at such events, and to discuss what they have seen in the broader context of religious faith and society. They were unanimous in their praise for the film Ben X (Belgium-Netherlands, 2007) directed by Nic Balthazar.

Described as ‘the compelling and moving story of a young man and his special friendship towards a girl he becomes acquainted with in his favourite online game’, Ben X captivated viewers with its extraordinary storyline, the panache of the director’s debut feature film, and its wonderful dénouement. At its first screening it received a standing ovation. In an exercise that mimicked the work of the Ecumenical Jury, seminar participants did not hesitate to award it ‘their’ prize.

‘Talk Film, Talk Faith’ will be held again in August 2008. It is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to take part in the excitement of seeing new films and to discuss how directors tackle the great themes of life.

Report by Philip Lee, WACC, facilitator for the 2007 ‘Talk Faith, Talk Film’ seminar.

Toronto, Canada - New staff have joined WACC since relocation of majority of its operations from London, UK to Toronto, Canada last year. The new staff, drawn from different countries and with vast experiences in communication and related fields, have come on board to reinvigorate WACC’s programming and other services.

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