12th Annual Urban Issues Film Festival

add to outlook add to google calendar remind me

Friday, November 10th, 2017
2:00 PM to 9:00 PM

As we have in the past, we will be showing a mix of short and longer films. Our theme this year is “Tactical Urbanism/ The Creative City.”

We are making space for having two speakers this year, each with a unique area of expertise, but coming together through civilian action.

Laura Lee Coles is an arts-based researcher, published writer and practicing interdisciplinary artist. Laura Lee’s interest in the interconnected relationships between human, technology and nature drives the inspiration of her interactive, contemplative and site specific video installation practice. She holds a Master of Arts from Simon Fraser University from the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) and is the founder of LocoMotoArt, artists-in-resident with Vancouver Park Board Arts, Culture and Environment in British Columbia, Canada.

Michael Geselbracht is a local sustainable food activist, contributing to the food forest located on the formerly derlict lot on Haliburton Street. Michael Geselbracht is a long time resident of Nanaimo, on Snuneymuxw and Snaw-naw-as territories. Arriving to the area just after birth, Michael has been on a path of understanding and engaging in meaningful ways to the wellbeing of the land and people. Michael has a chronic history of taking action on the ground since he was a child starting with maintaining the path down to the beach at his mom’s house and planting fruit trees at his dad’s. Michael derives much of his inspiration from his observations while bike-riding through town and while venturing through the off beaten paths within the city’s nature spaces. He approaches life with a growing sense of gratitude, and with perspectives derived from Permaculture. He is a director of MyCDC, the MidIsland Community Development Cooperative, and lives with his family in the South End. Michael is currently an elementary teacher at Discover Montessori school. He and his students are stewards at Beaufort Park, restoring its native forest ecosystem, as well as planting out Nanaimo’s Second Public Food Forest there.

We are going to show the documentary, “Citizen Jane” as the closing film, which documents Jane Jacobs in her fight to save historic NYC neighbourhoods from the draconian redevelopment plans of ruthless power broker Robert Moses in the 1960s. As in past years, pizza will be provided at the dinner hour free, along with popcorn and beverages.