By Conrad Barnett
SYDNEY — Wild Spaces, an environmental film festival, is about to open here. The festival will present a collection of films dealing with environmental and social issues. It features documentaries and animations from around the world as well as guest speakers.
As the campaign against the Jabiluka uranium mine escalates, the inclusion of David Bradbury's Jabiluka and a number of films dealing with nuclear issues is timely.
Secret Ecology is a documentary about the abandoned fleet of Russian nuclear submarines and environmentalist Alexander Nikitin, who is facing the death penalty for exposing this disaster waiting to happen. The Bells of Chernobyl is about life for those who still inhabit the contaminated lands around the infamous power station.
The festival has many offerings that highlight international struggles. Bargi Dam deals with the building of 3000 dams (including what will be the world's second largest dam) on the Narmada River in India and the campaign by local villagers to stop it. Earth Report: Tee'd Off reports on the environmental impact of the proliferation of golf courses around the world.
Young Wives' Tale and A World of Difference — two in a series of four films about the denial of women's right to education and reproductive health care — will be shown for the first time in Australia.
Bougainville: Our Island Fight will be preceded by a talk by its maker, Wayne Coles-Janess. The film gives an insight into the Bougainville war of independence against the Australian-backed PNG forces.
Toxic Pizza follows the life of a Ukrainian steel factory worker, showing the impact of the steel plant on his and his family's health.
The festival does not ignore local issues: Nyawa, Kulila, Wanga — Look, Listen, Speak is a documentary about the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme operating in the Pilbara; Badgerys Creek Airport Day of Action is a short film on the March 15 protest against Sydney's proposed second international airport; Our One Nation is a short doco about the time Pauline went to Newcastle; and Stand Upon the Mountain tells of the campaign by the residents of the Blue Mountains to keep fast food giant McDonald's out of their "city within a national park".
The work of a number of alternative media groups will be highlighted. News Unlimited will present news stories on Hinchinbrook, Daintree and the Great Western Tiers. Melbourne's Access News will present a variety of stories it has broadcast on community television Channel 31. Undercurrents #8 is a collection of stories on issues ranging from the UK arms trade to Indonesia to the British government's spying on environment activists.
A feature of the festival will be animations. These include: Wind der Stiller Wird (The Wind Subsides) is about the process of evolution and the way humans can destroy or save; Mountain Trees and Soil is an experimental "sketch" about a patch of nature; and Affluenza is a comic piece about the social disease of consumerism.
Guest speakers will include Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum, Lee Rhiannon from Aid/Watch, and Chris Doran from the Wilderness Society.
The Wild Spaces festival screens at the Australian Museum from Friday, June 19, until Sunday, June 21. Food will be available after many sessions. For bookings call the Australian Museum Society on (02) 9320 6225 or Wild Spaces at (02) 4787 5530.