Monday 14 March 2011

women on screen

stratos has finally become available on freeview, and i'm loving it. not only the access to al-jazeera programmes, but the documentaries, and the films. tonight i was totally blown away by the interview with the palestian comedian maysoon zayid. i can't find a clip of it online, but as soon as it's available, i'll put it up.


sent to me by email today was a link to the site "every mother counts", a site devoted to improving maternal health care, so that quality care is accessible to all mothers. i'd really recommend reading the various barriers to adequate health care detailed on the site, including lack of health workers, lack of equipment, lack of transporation, lack of access to family planning, lack of emergency care, and lack of post-partum care.

also on the site is information about a film by christy turlington burns called "no woman, no cry", a documentary sharing the stories of women at risk:




finally, i received by email from the director of "the shape of water", details of her next project. kum-kum bhavani is now working on a documentary called "nothing like chocolate":

NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE portrays the intimate story of anarchist chocolate-maker, Mott Green. Mott operates an unusual chocolate factory that turns out delicious creations unknown to a world saturated with industrially produced cocoa, much of it produced by trafficked and enslaved child labour in West Africa. With a rich blend of ingredients missing in the large-scale production of corporate chocolate, Mott utilizes solar power, employee shareholding and small-scale antique equipment to make delicious, organic, and socially conscious chocolate. Each step in the production process, from cocoa pod to candy bar, involves ethical and sustainable methods aimed at empowering the community of farmers involved. An anarchist chocolatier, with his tiny chocolate company challenging the global model of large-scale chocolate production, and undermining the exploitation of child labour...

2011 marks the 10th anniversary of a voluntary protocol agreed to by chocolate manufacturers, including Hersheys and Mars, that all their chocolate would be made without exploited child labour in a very short period. Releasing NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE in 2011, perhaps at Sundance, will both show people are making delicious, slave-free chocolate, and put pressure on the large corporations to stick to their word.

kum-kum is seeking funding for this project, and if you are interested in further details, you can find them here.

1 comment:

Carol said...

Yes, I've long been a fan of Triangle, and am loving the upgrade to better reception and more programmes available on Stratos. (I usually try to give them $20.00 when they do their yearly donation drive, because they are providing public service TV without something like the licence fee that the BBC gets).

I also like the Beatson interviews - saw the Labour and National candidates interviewed together before the by-election, and caught the last part of an interview with Phil Goff yesterday.

I also saw a great programme by and for women "Let's Talk":
http://www.tritv.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132:lets-talk&catid=35:local&Itemid=55

It had Sue Bradford talking on the Welfare Working Group, and a woman from The Women's Bookshop (Fridays 7pm).

I usually watch a bit of AJ(English) and France 24 most mornings. I understand AJ aims to do as many documentaries as possible that foreground women.