Lexi Cinema London

Hosted by The Tipping Point Film Foundation, Tues, 25 Sept (World Peace Day), 20:30 + Q&A, £7

“His films are landmarks…from Grigsby back to Grierson runs an unbroken tradition in British documentary making: a passionate commitment to the poetry of everyday life.” The Independent

In 1970, in the midst of a drawn out Vietnam War, a young British director Michael Grigsby made a film about three young veterans returning home. I Was a Soldier is an acclaimed classic – the first to depict the ravages of the war on soldiers considered to be home safe and sound. Forty years later,  Grigsby and his co author Rebekah Tolley have made an equally powerful follow up, returning to Texas to see what has become of his three characters. In a visually arresting, contemplative style that suits the dusty small town locales, and creatively merges past and present, we learn just how much their war experience shaped their lives. Still unable to understand what they were fighting for, the scars run deep. Dennis has tried not to be defined by his experience, but is unable to form lasting attachments. It took 38 years for David to receive counselling, while Lamar’s journey back to normality, would prove to be one of the hardest battles of all.

Tues 24 April, 20:00

A Tipping Point Film Fund event – all tickets £7

Four Horsemen is the debut feature from director Ross Ashcroft.  Today’s four horsemen – socially organised violence, debt, iniquity and poverty – govern all of our lives, and the documentary  reveals the fundamental flaws in the economic system which have brought our civilization to the brink of disaster.

Twenty-three leading thinkers (including Noam Chomsky and Joseph Stiglitz) – frustrated at the failure of their respective disciplines – speak out to explain how the world really works.  The film pulls no punches in describing the consequences of continued inaction, but its message is one of hope.  If more people can equip themselves with a better understanding of how the world really works, then the systems and structures that condemn billions to poverty or chronic insecurity can at last be overturned.  Solutions to the multiple crises facing humanity have never been more urgent but, equally, the conditions for change have never been more favourable.

Stay afterwards for a discussion of the issues with the director, Ross Ashcroft.

Mon 6 Feb, 20:30, a Tipping Point Film Fund presentation, followed by a panel discussion

Over the past 20 years we have seen a growing realization that the current model for society and culture is unsustainable. We have been living beyond our means…

Future of Hope is a documentary which follows individuals striving to change the world of consumerism, credit and debt that the Icelandic economy was built upon. Focusing on sustainable developments in farming, commerce, innovation, and energy, we are taken on a journey of struggle, determination and most importantly… hope. From the midnight sun to dark winters lit only by the snow, from geysers to volcanoes, this movie truly explores the magnificent country of Iceland. Future of Hope explains the country’s past, explores its present, and predicts a progressive future for a new and sustainable Iceland.

Tipping Point’s post-film discussion will explore the various themes in the film, including ways to turn the financial crisis into opportunities and how to extend equitable opportunities on a global scale.

The panel will comprise:

Mon, Mar 28th, 19:45,followed by a panel discussion hosted by The Tipping Point Film Fund; and Thurs, Mar 31st, 18:30

“This film is as gripping as any thriller. Aided by some fascinating interviews, Ferguson lays out an awful story.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

The awful story referred to above is that of the factors which brought about the 2008 global financial collapse.  After his Oscar-nominated film  No End in Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq, director Charles Ferguson has been nominated again for Inside Job, a crime film in which the villains of the piece get away with the crime.  Through exhaustive research, and with a host of interviewees including financial insiders, politicians, journalists, academics  - and even the Wall Street Madam who provided the call girls – the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia.  And he then, chillingly, leaves us with the knowledge that the authors of this disaster remain, unchallenged and uncensured, in control today.  This is no Michael Moore showboating documentary but it is just as committed to exposing injustice, and just as effective.

STOP PRESS:  Oscar award-winning Best Feature Documentary

Related articles

• Inside Job: how bankers caused the financial crisis (guardian.co.uk)
• Inside Job: filming the financial crash (independent.co.uk)

Mon, Feb 28th at 20:00, followed by panel discussion hosted by The Tipping Point Film Fund

With so much wealth in the world, how can there be such poverty?  This is the question this film asks, and the answers it comes up with will shock you.  And yet it also suggests that the remedies are in our hands, and the discussion afterwards will invite participation in the 10 point Call to Action campaign.

The End of Poverty? is a daring, thought-provoking and very timely documentary by award-winning filmmaker, Philippe Diaz, revealing that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonisation that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labour. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies — in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries.

The film has been selected for over 25 international film festivals, including the Critics Week at Cannes. Directed by Philippe Diaz, produced by Cinema Libre Studio with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, 104 mins, in English, Spanish, French with English Subtitles.

Monday 29 November (1930) – Book Tickets Now…

Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army plus panel discussion.

The Radio 4 comedian tags along with Palestinian film-maker Leila Sansour as she travels to Israel and the Occupied Territories to team up with members of the International Solidarity Movement (or ISM), as they engage in non-violent direct action to challenge the occupation.

Christmas is almost upon us and the Holy Town of Bethlehem is anything but still. For almost five years now the Israeli Army has been building an enormous concrete wall around and through the city, carving up neighbourhoods and cutting off local Palestinians from generations-owned land and from food and medical supplies. Leila Sansour has been documenting the expansion of the wall and the impact on Bethlehem’s citizens for her new film The Road to Bethlehem, now in final stages of editing.

To highlight the emergency facing Bethlehem’s community this Christmas, Tipping Point Film Fund will be showing Leila’s first feature documentary film – also shot in Bethlehem – Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army, plus a short preview clip of The Road to Bethlehem.

The event, which takes place at 7.30pm on 29 November, will be followed by a panel discussion, asking the question:  As we approach Christmas, and the Israeli ‘separation wall’ continues unabated to encircle the town, what future is there for Bethlehem? The panel, chaired by TPFF, will include Maxim Sansour, brother of the director Leila Sansour. Maxim is a character in her new film, The Road to Bethlehem, supported by TPFF and released next year.