The Inside Scoop: Stories by Global Activists

I have been reading Anodea Judith’s book Waking the Global Heart: Humanity’s Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love, this week. It is a thoroughly original look at human/cultural evolution that blends history, mythology, psychology and chakra energy systems to explain the collapse of our institutions and material world, and provide insight for developing a new story for humanity that is life-affirming. She argues that since humans are now capable of influencing the trajectory of evolution, we are faced with a tremendous responsibility which is calling forth a maturity of the heart so that each of us can choose how, or whether, to take part in the creation of a more livable world.

Many people are already engaged in creating a more livable world and their stories are being told more, and more. While each of these stories centers on personal experience with human or environmental misery, I offer them up as hopeful antidote to the doom and gloom so prevalent these days, because of the courage, creativity and action they portray.  May you too find ways to share your concern and your gifts with the global community

 More than good intentions: how a new economics is helping to solve global poverty, by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel.

 And still peace did not come: a memoir of reconciliation, by Agnes Kamara-Umunna and Emily Holland.

 Rat island : predators in paradise and the world’s greatest wildlife rescue, by William Stolzenburg.

 It happened on the way to war : a marine’s path to peace,  by Rye Barcott.

 How sportsmen saved the world : the unsung conservation efforts of hunters and anglers, by  E. Donnall Thomas Jr.

 When Johnny and Jane come marching home: how all of us can help veterans, by Paula J. Caplan

Short and Bittersweet

 Finding it hard to find time to read these days? In that case, I’ve got a tiny dose of tiny bittersweet novels for you. They’re small enough to nearly read in one sitting. And so compelling that you’ll want to.  — Laura T.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway  (235 pgs)
During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville       (203 pgs)
As Matt and his pregnant wife Marissa await their first child, Marissa develops an obsession with the antique cradle she used as a child. But her absentee mother took it when she abandoned the family years ago. At Marissa’s insistence, Matt sets off on a quest to track the cradle down. The journey quickly becomes less about the cradle and more about the journey itself as Matt contemplates his impending fatherhood.

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger    (250 pgs)
When Lady Duff Gordan journeys to Egypt to seek relief from her tuberculosis symptoms, her maid Sally accompanies her. Duff Gordan was a real life figure who wrote of her experiences in Egypt in the 1800s. Pullinger imagines the life of the maid, about whom little is known. Once in Egypt, Sally experiences freedoms she never knew in London and finds herself happier than she ever dreamed possible. But those freedoms can’t last forever, and the price she has to pay may prove too high.

More Winning World Cinema

The Portland International Film Fest is still going strong. Don’t miss your chance to see amazing films from around the world, now through Feb 21st.

 

And after the film fest is over, don’t miss out on these movies from previous festivals:
 

Avenue Montaigne (France)
A diverse set of strangers from all walks of life are transformed by their interactions in a chic bistro.

Beaufort (Israel)
Based on the book by Ron Leshem, a group of young soldiers struggles to protect a fortress in Lebanon that is sacred to both Israelis and Arabs.
Border Cafe aka Transit Cafe (Iran)

Flouting tradition, a recent widow takes over the running of her dead husband’s truck stop cafe.
Days of Glory (Algeria)
Four Algerian men who enlist in the French army during WWII find themselves fighting discrimination from their fellow soldiers in addition to Nazi oppression.
Fido (Canada)
A fifty-style “boy and his dog” movie. Only the pet in this case is a six-foot-tall rotting zombie who eats the next-door neighbor.

A World of Films

If you’re a fan of foreign films, you’re in for a treat this month. The Portland International Film Festival is scheduled for February 5-21. PIFF will include scores of feature films, documentaries, and shorts from 44 countries. The festival will also include 28 films that are Oscar submissions in the Best Foreign Language Film category. With so many selections, there’s something for everyone.

If you can’t make it to the festival, or just can’t get enough foreign films, You can still enjoy many of the films from previous festivals on DVD. Here are a few of my favorites:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Romania)
Two college roommates find their plans spinning out of control as they try to obtain a black market abortion.
Amazing Grace (Great Britain)
Portrays politician William Wilberforce’s efforts to abolish the British slave trade and John Newton’s writing of the famous hymn.
Away From Her (Canada)
A man deals with putting his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife of 40 years into a care facility, heartbreakingly acted by Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent.
The Band’s Visit (Israel)
When a policemans band on route from Egypt to Israel for a cross-cultural exchange concert gets on the wrong bus, they end up stuck in a small town overnight.  What follows is a charming night of  confessions and quiet connections with the townsfolk .
Bothersome Man (Norway)
A man finds himself in a city where everything seemed oddly disjointed and people seem divorced from their emotions. So when he finds a crack in a wall through which light and music seep, he decides to find a way through.
Into Great Silence (Germany)
The director lived in a monastery in the French Alps for sixth months to make this documentary. The result is an intimate, meditative immersion in the monks’ everyday lives.
Men At Work (Iran)
What happens when four immovable men meet an irresistible object? A comic tale of four friends who become obsessed with dislodging a rock spire gradually disintegrates into a tale of recrimination and betrayal.
Mongol (Kazakhstan/Mongolia)
A sprawling epic, lushly filmed, chronicling the early life of the man who would become known as Genghis Khan.
Offside (Iran)
Because women are banned from sporting events, the girls who want to watch a soccer game have to sneak in, disguised as boys. When they’re caught and rounded up, the girls find themselves spending the exciting game listening only to the distant cheers, guarded by bored soldiers who wish they too were at the game.
The Page Turner (France)
After having her childhood dream of being a concert pianist crushed by a famous pianist, 10 years later Melanie insinuates herself into the pianist’s family to wreak her revenge.
Ten Canoes (Australia- Aboriginal)
Based on an Aboriginal myth, and alternating between color and black-and-white, Ten Canoes tells an age-old story of forbidden love, betrayal, and revenge.
Where’s Molly (US- documentary)
When he was six years old, Jeff Daly’s younger sister was taken away and his family refused to talk about it. It took him 47 years to learn the truth that she’d spent most of her life in the Fairview Home for the mentally ill in Salem Oregon.
XXY (Argentina)
Puberty is hard enough for most teenagers, but 15-year-old Alex is a special case. Born with the sex organs of both males and females, and raised as a girl, Alex must now choose how to live from now on.

Song Sung Blue

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway 2008 (235 pgs)

During the siege of Sarajevo, a man watches from his window as 22 of his friends and neighbors are killed by a single shell while waiting in line for bread. He quietly puts on his tux, picks up his cello, and plays in the wreckage for 22 days. From there, the narrative shifts between three other survivors in the war zone, one of them a sniper charged with keeping the cellist alive during his “concerts.” A moving novel without veering towards maudlin or sappy. It’s a haunting look at how hope sustains people during war and how sometimes survival means creating your own hope.