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November 23 Grassroots Democracy
7pm • Bloor Cinema • $9
Two Square Miles (USA, 2005 • 53min)
Director: Barbara Ettinger • Producer: Barbara Ettinger, Sven Huseby
CANADIAN PREMIERE
The town of Hudson, New York sits on the banks of the Hudson River in upstate New York and for years has been a sleepy but picturesque little village where New Yorkers might get away for a weekend, especially when the fall leaves are at their finest. Now some of those New Yorkers have done more than just visit — they've come to stay, and their new ideas and ways of thinking are changing the face of this archetypical "small American town". Not everyone is sure that the changes are for the better.
As the newcomers and the old guard continue to bump up against one another's sensibilities, a multinational corporation arrives on the scene and threatens to change the entire landscape — social and physical — for all Hudson residents. Two Square Miles is the story of how the colourful and passionate residents of Hudson come together to save their town from a coal-fired cement plant, breathing life into the exercise of local democracy on the way.
The issues of neighbourhood renewal and gentrification are familiar to local residents associations across Toronto, who have come together to defend their neighbourhoods from all manner of menaces. From the Parkdale Residents Association fighting for trees instead of parking spaces in the west end to the South Riverdalers trying to stop the Portlands Powerplant in the east; Torontonians are getting involved in the public spaces where they live.
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November 23 Grassroots Democracy
7pm • Bloor Cinema • $9
Citizen Z (Canada, 2004 • 11min)
Director: Cavan Young • Producer: Gerry Flahive
DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE
Aside from the requisite playground and ice rinks, Toronto's Dufferin Grove Park is home to an organic farmer's market, weekly family dinners, a theatre troupe and numerous cultural activities. It's a comfortable public space where everyone is welcome. But when city inspectors raid the park on Christmas Eve and discover huge puppets, a baking oven and kitchen sharing the park's dedicated Zamboni building, the flourishing neighbourhood group is threatened with evacuation. Cavan Young's Citizen Z is a tongue-in-cheek look at what happens when a small community, including some wily puppets, takes on city hall in a fight to rewrite the rules.
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campaign director: chris chin
press inquiries / publicity: kali pearson
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