What I'll be Doing Thursday Night

GLOBAL MILITARISM: GLOBAL PEACE?
A DOCUMENTARY FILM/ DISCUSSION SERIES

The third film in the Global Militarism: Global Peace? documentary film/discussion series for the Fall semester 2010 is scheduled for 6 p. m. Thursday, November 18, CLASS Lecture Hall, UOG Campus. This series is co-sponsored by the Division of Social Work and the Communication Program at the University of Guam in cooperation with the Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice and WeAreGuahan.
Each film in this series explores the dynamics of global militarism and its impacts in different parts of the world. Each screening is followed by commentary by three panelists and facilitated discussion. This event is free and open to the public. UOG and GCC faculty and high school teachers are encouraged to offer this film event as an extra credit option.

The featured film on November 18 is Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai'i by Hawaiian filmmaker Anne Keala Kelly. Kelly is a native journalist and filmmaker who has reported on politics, culture, the environment and indigenous peoples. This film features interviews with Hawaiian activists and academics and chronicles the realities faced by the Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) in their own homeland. From the military exercises and bombings at Makua and Pohakuloa and the desecration of burial sites at Hokulia and Wal-mart, to Maoli homelessness --- in stark contrast to the widespread construction of upscale gated communities --- and the resistance to the Akaka bill, Kelly's film weaves a context of understanding of how the US overthrow and continuing occupation of the sovereign kingdom of Hawaii affect every aspect of native Hawaiian life. Noho Hewa was more than six years in production and in 2008 won the Hawai'i International Film Festival Award for Best Documentary. It was also awarded a special jury prize at the 2010 Festival International Du Film Documentaire Oceanien (FIFO) in Tahiti.

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The three panelists for this event are:

Therese Arroyo-Matanane, a filmmaker whose latest work on the impending military buildup aired to a nationwide audience of 2 million viewers on the weekly news program Now on PBS. Entitled, " The Marines are Landing," the American public was introduced the plans the military has for Guam and the impact it will have socially, culturally and economically. She and her partners at GreenLight Media Productions prepare to launch their own television channel with live and recorded television programs about life in Guam, health, lifestyles, food, entertainment and culture.

Sam C. Walker is the Institutional Researcher for the UOG Center for Island Sustainability. Born and raised in east Africa, Sam Walker learned the value of sustainability from an early age. He has lived in Yemen, Israel and the West Bank before coming to Guam four years ago. He views inclusive justice as an integral part of building and maintaining the social and cultural fabric of communities. He holds two Master degrees, in education and history and the other in archaeology and heritage. He was actively involved in archaeology and various projects including research with the American Center for Oriental Research in Jordan and has been involved in numerous sustainability projects.

Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an activist, artist, and instructor in History at the University of Guam and blogs at No Rest for the Awake - Minagahet Chamorro. He writes a weekly column for the Marianas Variety titled "When the Moon Waxes," where he frequently discusses issues of Chamorro language, decolonization, peace and war, and how cute his two kids are.

For more information, please contact the event coordinators, Dr. Vivian Dames (vdames_uog@yahoo.com) or Patricia Blas (trishblas@yahoo.com).

 

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