The Tokyo Peace Film Festival finished its
sixth run this past weekend with great success, screening eleven films and hosting
a series of panel discussions over a three-day period to an audience of over
1300 attendees.
This year’s festival focused in particular
on the regions of Tibet and Palestine, including films such as the powerful
1998 documentary exploring Tibetan occupation, Windhorse,
the poignant story of a formerly jailed Tibetan monk’s triumph of the spirit in
Fire Under the Snow
from by a young female Japanese director living in New York City; and Rainbow,
which documents the tragic effects of a siege by the Israeli army against a
Palestinian community in 2004.
The festival also screened several films
that highlight the economic basis for many of the world’s present ills and
suggest more humane alternatives, such as Ende’s Last Words and One Man, One Cow, One Planet,
as well as additional films exploring the human cost of militarism, such as
Winter Soldier featuring interviews with Iraqi veterans speaking out against the war (site in
Japanese only) and Agent Orange: A Personal Requiem,
which explores the lingering pain from the Vietnam War.
Interested in exploring the linkages
between seemingly disparate historical events, this year’s festival also
featured several speakers who pointed out the commonalities existing with
regard to the occupations of Palestine and Tibet. Clearly delineating the inner
workings of today’s global economy, they also offered ideas regarding what we
as ordinary citizens can do in order to help create a fairer system.
One of the festival’s featured speakers,
Tanaka Yu,
an activist who consistently speaks out regarding the connections between a
militarized economy and continuing environmental destruction, pointed out in the
festival brochure that “the problem in Tibet cannot be solved if we regard the
issue merely as one of human rights. To get to the actual origin of the
conflict, we must go beyond this to the deeper existing issue of mineral and
oil resources in the region.” By then working to support alternative energy
sources, he explained, “we can create a system whereby those who end up
procuring such resources will not be able to profit from them.”
Speaking onstage during the festival,
Tanaka continued by explaining that “the economy of war, which relies on the
exploitation of natural resources, depends on us as consumers. Every time we
use Windows software or buy coffee from Starbucks, for example, we are in
effect supporting corporations that are contributing money to the Israeli
government. By deciding how we spend our money, however, we do have the power
to make a change.”
The festival also featured a lively space
in the lobby of the venue for various NGOs and citizens groups promoting peace
and sustainability to display literature and sell goods, including the
International Film Festival on Organic Farming, the "Beyond National Egoism” Network,
the music-based volunteer collective Peace Not War Japan,
award-winning photojournalism magazine Days Japan, and several groups supporting Tibetan and
Palestinian rights.
A video including highlights from the
festival is available here,
and several recent postings with photos are available on festival organizer Kikuchi Yumi’s blog in Japanese.
Additional sponsors (Japanese websites
only):
Tennen Jutaku (Natural Homes)
--Kimberly Hughes
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