Acclaimed Spanish film Even the Rain to be shown in Lanarkshire - Sat 15 Sep

An acclaimed Spanish film is the focus of an event to promote discussion around social and economic justice in Lanarkshire.

 

Take One Action Film Festivals and UNISON South Lanarkshire Present EVEN THE RAIN, a free community screening at the Blantyre Miners Welfare Community Cinema on Saturday 15^th September at 6.45pm.

The event seeks to use the dramatic events depicted in the film to highlight themes relevant to Scotland today. Stephen Smellie of UNISON explained,

“The movie is, first of all, a great film and anyone who likes good films will have a great night out. We are pleased to be able to use the Community Cinema provided by the Miner’s Welfare whose purpose is to provide entertainment at a reasonable cost for local people.

However the film also provokes thought about issues such as who has the right to control a nation’s resources? Should water supply be controlled for profit? Can working people resist big companies, bankers and governments in order to take greater control over their lives?

Scotland’s public water supply is seen by some as an opportunity to make money for a few rather than as an essential resource for us all. The fight to keep our water in public hands is ongoing.” 

Nominated for 13 goyas (Spain's Oscars), Iciar Bollain’s dramatic rollercoaster penned by Take One Action patron Paul Laverty (Looking for Eric) stars Gael García Bernal as Sebastian, a filmmaker caught up in Bolivia's mass protests of spring 2000 against the government’s decision to privatise the national water company. As Sebastian vainly tries to tell the story of Columbus' colonisation of the new world, his cast and crew get drawn into a contemporary version of events, blurring the boundaries between past and present, fiction and reality. In fact, the cost of water in Bolivia had gone up by three hundred per cent. But although Bollain’s story is finally one of the triumph of the people, the privatisation of basic public services remains at the centre of a powerful debate about poverty and development across the globe.

There will be a post-film discussion with Stephen Smellie from UNISON Scotland, Mark Langdon, Chairman of GMAC (Glasgow Media Access Centre) and other guests.

In addition the acclaimed Edinburgh-based Valentina and Voces del Sur will be playing songs of exile, love and social change, inspired by tango and folk music traditions from Latin America.

Tickets are free and can be reserved by contacting South Lanarkshire UNISON at unison@southlanarkshire.gov.uk  or phone 01698454690.

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For further information regarding the Blantyre event contact Stephen Smellie on 01698 454690 or 077 400 96864.

For more information regarding the Take One Action and Even The Rain contact Emma Pattinson on 0131 553 6335 or 0780 582 7888

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