[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gY8Vmky3Bk[/youtube]
Guest blogs by Morgan Fee.

Only the Young follows three teenagers living in a small desert town in Southern California. An aesthetic triumph, the documentary beautifully achieves its aim of reflecting significance of the personal journey of adolescence.

There is a feeling of instant nostalgia when watching this film that made me constantly aware that the camera has captured something which has already been confined to the past. The abandoned houses and theme parks of the town provide the prefect backdrop to echo this prevailing sense of the fleeting moment.

The film focuses on two best friends: Kevin and Garrison who spend their days skating and dreaming of building a breakaway ‘colony of cool’ in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. Both are wonderfully frank and vulnerable as we witness their explorations of love and aspiration. The two boys are joined by Skye – the one-time girlfriend of Garrison – who shows admirable bravery in the face of difficult personal challenges.

One aspect of the film that made me slightly uncomfortable was the ancillary presence of Christianity in the lives of all three teenagers. I will readily declare my natural suspicion against religious content, but what I found slightly irritating was the clear influence that religion played whilst remaining largely unexplored. I was left wondering why the camera, which has so delicately revealed all manner of yearnings and motivations, remained disinterested with respect to this aspect of the teenagers’ lives.

That aside, the film was incredibly moving, charming, and funny. It reflected the awkwardness, fragility, and beauty about the experience of growing up. I would recommend this to anyone who can recall the bloom of adolescence, or those who need reminding.

4.5 stars

Saturday 13th April 7.45pm
Friday 19th April 9.30pm

If you want a practical demonstration of what institutionalised rape culture looks like, here you go. The Invisible War introduces you to veterans (mostly female but not exclusively) who were raped whilst serving. Their stories are unique but the themes of victim blaming, coverups and impunity for perpetrators are common.

In many of the cases the women were punished for reporting the attacks. Some were charged with adultery when the married party was the perpetrator. One woman is in a five year battle with the Veterans Association to receive coverage for a jaw operation which she needs for the injury cause when she was struck during her attack. She has been on a soft foods diet for that whole time. Some of the women describe how from day dot they were treated like a piece of meat. Others describe how they felt absolute trust and camaraderie, before being raped by one of their brothers-in-arms.

There were moments when the audience was audibly horrified. Like when rape was described as an ‘occupational hazard’ in a federal court judgement.

WHHHAAAAAAATTT??????!!!!!

Or when Dr Kaye Whitley, the former director of SAPRO (Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office) was discussion the work they do. Most of which looks to consist of posters telling men to ‘wait until she’s sober’… wait what? Or videos dripping in machismo telling the boys to be ‘strong’ and ‘stand up’…cause reiterating those valued traits of hegemonic masculinity has worked so well so far… The worst part though is when she is talking about the steps that the women need to take to protect themselves. The interviewer asks what they consist of ‘walking with a buddy’. Right. And…? Um. That’s it.

Excellent.

Aside from the tragically regressive prevention schemes, one of the problems has been the reporting structure. Reports of such violence were meant to go through ones commander. But 25% of women raped, were raped by their commander. But this is at least a slight positive twist to the story. Since the release of this documentary, the power to make decisions on such issues have been removed from commanders. This is just the start, a whole campaign has begun around the documentary. This shows the incredible power documentaries can have.

Troubling and angering and very very powerful. Go with a friend and then go for a wine and a rant after because you’ll need to.

4.5 stars

Friday 12th April 7.15pm

Tuesday 16th April 6.15pm

Thursday 18th April 2.45pm

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/39439601[/vimeo]

You may have seen Hap Cameron on Breakfast back in the day when Paul Henry still was still around to get our days off to a more bigoted start. Back then he had travelled 6 of the 7 continents, and still had Africa to complete to finish his goal of seeing them all before his 30th.

He wanted the last one to be particularly epic and so set about planning his trip which would involve cycling a large part of the continent and running a project with Bicycles for Humanity and the Bicycle Empowerment Network. Bicycles for Humanity is an organisation that collects disused bikes from developing countries and then ships them off, the partner with the Bicycle Empowerment Network in Namibia who receive the bikes and set up workshops in conjunction with local organisations. Locals are trained in bicycle mechanics and maintenance as well as business and management skills. Then they sell the bikes and run a workshop for them. The money is then theirs to invest in other income generating ventures.

Bikes for Africa begins with Hap and his girlfriend Mandy as they’re raise money for a shipping container to send bikes to Namibia. I then follows them as they cycle through Namibia to meet their container in Katima. You see the group throughout their training and watch the project take shape.

Halfway through Hap and Mandy break-up and you are witness to it all. I suppose that’s one of the fascinating things about documentaries is that the process of making them can be quite unexpected. Watching it, I was torn between feeling like it was too much information, and why would I want to see them tearfully parting ways? It all felt a bit self-indulgent. But, I’ve come round to it. Because this documentary is the story of an adventure and that was just a part of it. For Hap, it was clearly a very significant part of it.

It’s all shot on a handycam which Hap is quite upfront about having very little idea bout how to use. So don’t go expecting stunning vistas and incredible cinematography. The flip-side of that is that nothing is prettified. You see Africa as is. Dusty and broken and wild.

On a personal note, I nearly yelped with joy when Hap goes to Serenje, Zambia. It’s a town where I spent pretty much every second weekend in the first half of 2011 whilst volunteering in Central Province. Small world.

What the Bicycle Empowerment Network does is really neat. It’s sustainable and empowering and also really simple. Tick tick tick. Bicycles for Humanity has just set up a chapter in New Zealand so if you live in Auckland (sorry, only here so far though sure it will spread) and have an old bike you don’t need anymore then get in contact or hand it into a Bike Barn shop. You can also donate towards the cost of sending a container over.

You can also go to the other screening of the documentary, which I would highly recommend.

3.5 Stars

Saturday 13th April 1.15pm
Friday 19th April 12.45pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOpC0tYp_Qg[/youtube]

Guest blog by Morgan Fee.

Scarlet Road follows Rachel Wotton: a sex worker who specialises in clients with severe disabilities, some with little or no mobility at all. The film gives precedence to the sexuality these people – a fundamental aspect of human existence but one which is often ignored when it comes to those with disability.

This documentary is incredibly heart-warming and intimate, and the viewer cannot help but share in Rachel’s passion for her clients. The film undermines stereotypes of two marginalised groups: people with disability but also sex workers themselves.

Rachel is someone who runs up against the traditional assumptions of who a sex worker should be. She is independent, articulate, and passionate about rights for sex workers and access to sexual expression for people with disability.

Rachel and her friends, who are also interviewed in the film, give recognition to the needs of those with disability that are so often overlooked. For many of Rachel’s clients, their condition is such that they have never been able to engage in sexual activity before meeting with a sex worker. The documentary is an incredibly touching depiction of a set of people who are able to find some solace in the work of a group which is often met with so much public disapproval.

4 stars

Friday 12th April 11.45
Wednesday 17th April 8.30