Everyday Activist - The Standing Protest (MLJFF 2015)

Posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 07:00 PM

The Standing Protest

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

I quite like short films. It takes talent to convey a message with time constraints. The movie, The Standing Protest, centers on Gezi, a public park in Turkey, that’s going to be demolished for private interests. A number of artists from all disciplines, drama, music and visual art come out the protests to make their views known without violence. Despite their goals of peace, the police had other plans. As seen in many places, the police don’t protect the public, rather they enforce private interests and government agendas; which kind of makes sense given that’s who trained them and signs their cheques. Last year at the MLJFF, a movie called Rhythms of Resistance documented something similar in Brazil, as the police had a special task force designed to “clean up” the slums before the World Cup and now for the 2016 Olympics. These activists also used primarily music and dancing to convey their message instead of violence.

While the movie revolves around the fight for the park, it touches on bigger issues such as democracy in Turkey. The artists featured in the film felt that Turkey was actually a dictatorship that holds regular elections as a front, which made their presence at these various protests all the more important. People have voices and need to use them especially in the face of media blackouts internationally as well as to combat censorship at home. Half of Turkey saw firsthand what went on, but the other half only had the news to rely on for information. Many people were injured, lost their eyesight and even killed during this period of time. The remaining want to make sure their sacrifices weren’t in vain.

We’ve seen the power of cartoons internationally. In Turkey, a magazine made up funny, light hearted cartoons about the protests. One of the more powerful images was of a man who would just stand in the square for hours, doing nothing in order to get around the laws that banned public gatherings, which completely confused the police. It ended when other people decided to join him. You can do an online search for "The Standing Man Turkey" and you’ll come across many articles and a Wikipedia page about Erdem Gündüz.

My favorite story was about a man who painted the steps outside his shop rainbow colors. Soon the government came to paint them grey. With the help of social media and some local politicians, the steps were back to rainbow the next sending a clear message about the lengths people were willing to go, to protect what they felt was theirs. The government didn’t come back to paint it a second time.

If you would like to watch the film, the Canadian premiere of The Standing Protest, it will be screened at lunch time, 12:10 PM on Friday November 20th, 2015, at the Globe Cinema downtown Calgary as part of the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2015, with a running time of 30 minutes.The screening is free and you are allowed to eat lunch in the theatre, but bring cash for the concession if you want some popcorn.

Calgary Showtimes: The Standing Protest >