FILM: THE MEDIUM MAY BE MIXED BUT THE MESSAGE ISN'T

Three amazing films showing just what's happening in a variety of ways - is this going to be a habit?

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: The Corporation
If, like us, you spend our life banging your head against a brick wall wishing the world would wake up and realise that corporations are always going to be part of the problem, then you'll be rejoicing at the release of the new documentary film 'The Corporation'. Through interviews with CEOs, corporate spies, commodities traders, PR people, whistleblowers and critics, the film presents a pretty damning indictment of corporate capitalism and everything it stands for, and diagnoses the corporation as a psychopath. The film goes on UK release on 29th October, and Corporate Watch is keen to organise talks and discussions after screenings and to inform cinema goers about groups they can get involved with locally, so if you'd like to get involved, get in touch: claire@corporatewatch.orgAslo look out for 'SUBVERTISE! Exposing the Corporation' - an exhibition of subverts and corporate critical art in 9 cinemas around the county, timed to coincide with the release of the film. SUBVERTISE! takes inspiration from protest movements, street art and corporate critical campaigns all over the world.

HUMOUR! PREVIEW: THE YES-MEN
The film 'The Yes-Men' is one of the funniest, bitterest commentaries around - and that's if you've only read the background. It follows a couple of anti-corporate activist-pranksters as they impersonate World Trade Organization spokesmen on TV and at business conferences around the world.

The story follows Andy and Mike from their beginnings with GWBush.com, and on to their tasteless parody of the WTO's website. Some visitors don’t notice the site is a fake, and send speaking invitations meant for the real WTO. Mike and Andy play along with the ruse and soon find themselves attending important functions as WTO representatives. At one meeting, the Yes-Men unveil the WTO's latest weapon - a giant, golden phallus (no, really) with which they claim to be able to monitor and control workers at long distances. This (no, really) goes down a treat with their white-collar audience. Although there is one complaint - from a woman delegate who points out that 'women can be managers too'. Corporate Watch couldn't have made it up.

Last week, 'The Yes Men' opened in three theaters in New York and
LA. With little advertising, it outperformed every other debut film in per-theater visits, with the sole exception of the hugely promoted "Motorcycle Diaries." Look out for a UK release, and hopefully, soon.

FILM PREVIEW: LIFE AND DEBT
‘The movie offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I’ve ever seen on a movie or television screen’ New York Times

Jamaica - a tropical, beautiful island, rich in milk and… banana’s, BUT unfortunately at best, a prime example of the impact of economic globalisation on a developing country. This startling and award-winning feature-length documentary provides a shocking insight into a Jamaica that we do not normally see as a tourist. ‘Life and Debt’ portrays a troubled nation, robbed of its natural resources and dependent, like a small child, on the West.

When Jamaica became independent in 1962, after 400 years of British colonisation, it needed help to build its economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank stepped in to provide loans, but imposed strict economic policies that have proved detrimental in the long run. Since 1977, Jamaica has become poorer. It has created a political and social divide, destroyed its own agriculture and industrial infrastructure, and allowed imports to become cheaper than home produced products. It has set up Free Trade Zones and abolished laws and regulations that go against normal human rights, effectively creating a second-hand form of slavery for thousands of its people. Increased unemployment, sweeping corruption, higher illiteracy, increased violence, prohibitive food costs and dilapidated hospitals characterise only part of the present day economic crisis. To cap that, a staggering $4.5 billion debt is now owed, and there is no hope of this being paid back, if the country is not allowed the opportunity to work for itself.

In LIFE AND DEBT, the people of Jamaica speak eloquently for themselves; they are broken and have lost hope in their government, whom they feel have betrayed them by the stroke of a pen, and see no solution to their bleak existence. Employing a clever mix of conventional and unorthodox documentary-style interview and narration, the film is overlaid with poetry from the book, ‘A Small Place’ by acclaimed author Jamaica Kincaid, with an added twist of reggae music intertwined throughout.

LIFE AND DEBT will be released on DVD in the UK on November 1 by Drakes Avenue Pictures. For further information about the release please contact: Caroline Henshaw at Verve Pictures

Tel: 020 7436 8120 or 07733 008748
Email: caroline@vervepics.com