A CELEBRATED film about Scottish workers who refused to work on Chilean plane parts due to the atrocities committed by the Pinochet dictatorship is just as important now as when it was first released.
That’s the opinion of Paul MacDonald-Taylor, head of film at Inverness’s Eden Court, which is running a season of films chosen as a contrast to the right-wing rhetoric currently engulfing the UK.
Cinema Against Fascism asks what freedom means in an age of rising hate, division and authoritarianism and how communities around the world are shaping more just and hopeful futures. As part of the season, the venue has also launched an open call to poets for a special funded commission.
The landmark classics and contemporary documentaries include Nae Pasaran which tells the remarkable true story of Scottish workers who stood in solidarity with the Chilean people suffering under the dictator General Augusto Pinochet (below).
“The message of that film is still important, if not more important, than when it was made, as it is about people coming together to express solidarity for a common good in opposition to a right-wing dictatorship,” said MacDonald-Taylor.
Running from now until the end of November, the film season explores themes of resistance, justice, migration, identity and solidarity before and after the Second World War.
Some screenings will be accompanied by special introductions and guest speakers at events designed to spark conversations about the challenges of freedom past and present.
“This season lands at a time when the far right is on the rise throughout Europe and the US, powered by social media and outspoken minority views which have disproportionately loud platforms,” said MacDonald-Taylor.
“With Cinema Against Fascism, we are exploring the rise of fascism from its roots before the Second World War to the present day and the ways in which freedom has been taken. We will also celebrate the people around the world who are fighting to have their voices heard.”
As part of the season, this week sees the first screening in Scotland of Mr Nobody Against Putin, a daring investigation into democracy with a brave teacher going undercover to film the militarisation of his pupils.
There is also acclaimed international works such as Under The Flags The Sun, exploring dictatorship in Paraguay; The Zone Of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-winning portrait of domestic life at Auschwitz, and Still We Rise, an Australian documentary looking at a year of incendiary protest and revolutionary change for Aboriginal activists.
The season is divided into three strands, with the first part looking at the rise of fascism, the second dealing with the aftermath of the Second World War and the formation of organisations like the UN and EU in an attempt to bring countries together in peace.
The third section looks at the new rise of the right and people around the world still fighting for their freedoms.
“The right is rising, but we did not want to focus on that – we wanted to focus on the people fighting against it,” said MacDonald-Taylor.
“We are trying to cover as many different freedoms as we can, just to get people to talk about it and realise what’s happening.
“We want to showcase a lot of different voices because, at the moment, the person who shouts the loudest is heard most by the press and these are the people we are trying to push back against with this season.”
He added: “It is so easy for untruths to be spread around, and there is nothing pushing back on it – even the Government does not seem to want to say ‘this is untrue, these are lies to spread fear’.
“In the films, you can see people fighting back against it, and that is what’s important.
“Our logo is a peace dove with a strip of film, and that’s our message – we are peaceful and want to move forward to a peaceful future and not the future that might be forced upon us because of the loud voices in the world.”
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