Doctober

Mike and I have been enjoying a number of films this month at the Doctober documentary film festival at the Pickford in Bellingham.  It has enriched my life to see the stories of past and present people and places struggling, celebrating, seeking grace, justice and trying to do it right.  We have seen horrible injustice and exploitation.   What I think it great about the documentary form is that you see things so clearly (if the filmmaker is skilled) and in a theater the big screen draws you into the world of the subject.  For me, it is so much more powerful than viewing the films at home.

The Pickford Film Center does a great job of curating films for Doctober.  We committed ourselves to choosing films to see and to making time in our lives to do that.  I think the purposeful act of making space to see nine films together in one month takes patience, practice, and commitment to the process.  We sit down as soon as the schedule comes out, study the offerings and our calendars and choose ones we can both agree on seeing.  It works out well.  Both of us see films the other might not have chosen alone.  It is a balance.  There is a balance between our choices and preferences and in the things we choose not to do in our activity-rich community.  The rewards are worth it.

What we have seen so far:

We Come as Friends - A film that portrays the startling truth about the exploitation of South Sudan.
The Birth of Sake - A lovely film about a craft brewery in Japan and the lives of the men who leave their homes for six months each year to live together to create handmade sake.
For Grace - The story of resilience and drive and the opening of a very high end restaurant in Chicago named Grace and how the concept of grace is infused into food, service and life.
Sembene - A portrait of the Senegalese filmmaker Sembene, who was the first authentic filmmaker from Africa, and how he helped reshape the narrative about life in Africa - what it means to be African and the injustices faced from within the culture and from colonization.
The Great Bear Stakeout - Wow!   The link will take you to Western Wildlife Outreach. Grizzly bears in Katmai National Park in Southwestern Alaska.  I was stunned by the fantastic footage filmed by the BBC crew.  Bellingham resident Chris Morgan who is both a scientist and a film star of sorts (if you watch Nature on PBS) was both in the film and at the Pickford to talk about the film, the bears and the experience of being with these large predators. The crew films the bears through a whole season and we see stories of survival and death that are amazing on the big screen.   A sell out for a theater filled with all ages of folks.
This Changes Everything - Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein combine to produce a must see film about climate change and the existential crisis and how we can use it to change our lives.  It was sold out and the Pickford brought it in for the week because of the demand in our coal-port battle ground.
Bikes vs. Cars - The title explains it all.  The locations where we look at Bike activism include Sao Paolo, Brazil and Los Angeles.  The film was followed by a local panel and every attendee was given a free glass of Cono Sur wine when we arrived, produced by a carbon-neutral footprint winery in Chile who have a bicycle on the label.  It was good wine and a pleasant surprise!  Mike has logged over 4000 miles on his bikes this year so he was delighted to attend.  Right in front of us was a biking friend of his.
Black Panthers - Vanguards of the Revolution.  A timely film that relates to why Black Lives Matter is an important movement.  Some of the things the Panther party stood for are the injustices and oppression we still see in our country and why people are rising up again.  I was surprised and pleased that the 2 pm Saturday showing was sold out.

We are seeing one last film this week bring our count to nine for this year!  The film is Haida Gwai and promises beautiful photography.  I am pleased that our son Ben will be joining us for our last film of the festival.   Our time and energy has been well spent this month.  No regrets.

Thanks for reading.