3 films. 72 hours. $25 CAD. In support of the Calgary Floating Lanterns Peace Ceremony
AUG 6 – 8, 2021
Enjoy watching three films that explore peace-making efforts in the world in three different fronts!
The Peace Film Fest is a fundraising endeavor to keep our summer peace event afloat for years to come. These three award winning films bring us hope and a sense of trust in humanity.
Like any other organization, we are facing difficulty to keeping our peace event alive after more than a year of restrictions that have prohibited us from having the event live, in-person.
Your $25 CAD donation will give you access to these three wonderful films for three days and will help our peace event going. PLUS, with your donation, we will create a lantern with your choice of your name, your loved one’s name, or a special quote/wish for peace.
Don’t forget to leave your EMAIL so we can send you the link to stream the films.
If our in-person live event is a “GO,” please join us at Olympic Plaza, the heart of Downtown Calgary, to launch the lantern by yourself on August 7th (Sa) around 8 pm (MDT). If you cannot come there or our event cannot happen because of the restrictions, you can still watch the live stream of the event on your device. We will launch the lantern on your behalf!
Streaming will be available from Friday, August 6th, 3 am MDT to Monday, August 9th, 3 am MDT
MORE ABOUT THE FILMS:
A BOLD PEACE
In his famous “Cross of Iron” speech in 1953, President Eisenhower critiqued the military-industrial complex while asking, “Is there no other way the world may live?” In Costa Rica today, we glimpse another way to live.
In 1948, Costa Rica dismantled their military establishment and intentionally cultivated security relationships with other nations through treaties, international laws, and international organizations. Free of the burden of military spending, they used the financial savings to invest in their people, creating strong public institutions including public higher education and universal health care. In short, Costa Ricans created a society committed to peace, solidarity, and international law. They have survived with safety and relative prosperity for nearly 70 years without a standing army.
A BOLD PEACE details the events which shook the country to its foundations, culminating in the 1948 civil war and the decision to abolish the military. Over the decades, the Costa Rican model has survived several serious crises, but the current threats may be the most formidable of all.
89 and 57 minutes
SDH Captioning for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing
DAY ONE
Follows a group of teenage refugees from war-torn countries who are enrolled at a unique public school for refugees and immigrants-only in St. Louis, MO, where they are guided through an inspirational program of education, healing and trauma intervention by devoted educators, some of whom have chosen to relocate to the inner city to support their students.
Over the course of a year, we watch the kids progress through layers of grief and loss as they attend school, forge new friendships, and prepare to be mainstreamed into local public high schools. Their triumphs and tribulations all unfold with St. Louis as the backdrop: a rust-belt city that has taken the bold step of welcoming immigrants as a solution for their growing socio-economic problems.
82 minutes
Trailer
THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA
An intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a passionate, 85-year-old survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Her moving story is told through the lens of her growing friendship with a second generation survivor, Mitchie Takeuchi.
Setsuko was miraculously pulled out of a fiery building after the bomb was dropped and unable to save her other 27 classmates who were burned to death alive. That experience shaped her life forever and she endeavored to keep a pledge she made to her friends – that no one should ever again experience the same horrible fate.
The film is a timely exploration of the global dangers of nuclear weapons and provides an insider’s perspective as we see Setsuko campaign with ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons). The culmination of Setsuko’s decades of activism is her acceptance speech at the 2017 Nobel Peace Awards.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
82 minutes
Trailer