SINCE a certain referendum took place a year ago next week, Scotland is widely held to be in the grip of a new political renaissance, with levels of engagement higher than ever before.
What better time and place, then, for the return of the Take One Action Film Festival. With 12 Scottish premieres and two UK premieres, Take One Action is a chance for filmmakers from across the world to highlight injustice and generally get your dander up. If that sounds suspiciously like homework, it is not. These are all remarkable documentaries, years in the making, that set out to fascinate as well as inform, and there are post-film discussions where you can raise your own points. Here are The Herald’s top three picks.
The season stars with the Scottish premiere of The Price We Pay (four stars), Harold Crooks’s masterly dissection of the global financial system that allows the wealthiest companies to hide their gains from the taxman. Among the first class talking heads are the economist Thomas Piketty. Filmhouse, Edinburgh,September 16 and 18; GFT, September 17.
Democrats (four stars), being the story of the writing of a new constitution, had the capacity to be as dry as paper. But this constitution was for Zimbabwe, home to Mugabe dominance and no easy place for oppositions to thrive. Director Camilla Nielsson spent three years making what is a gripping portrait of politics in the raw, and she will be at the screenings with updates. GFT, September 24; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, September 25.
With a narration by Forest Whitaker and executive produced by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Food Chains (three stars) is out to make its points about the plight of migrant farm workers in as palatable a way as possible. Though heavily centred on America, the points could apply elsewhere. GFT, September 19; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, September 22. Post-film discussion with guests including the Sunday Herald’s Joanna Blythman.
Full programme: takeoneaction.org.uk
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