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Take One Action announces programme

Fest to open with Anote's Ark.

by Amber Wilkinson

Silence Of Others

The Take One Action! film festival has announced the line-up for its 11th edition, which runs in Edinburgh and Glasgow in September before heading to Aberdeen and Inverness in November.

The festival features 17 feature documentaries, including two European and three UK premieres, alongside two dozen short films.

The festival's executive director Tamara Van Strijthem said: “Take One Action was set up in 2008 to bring people together, nurture conversations and empower audiences to be the change they want to see in the world – starting from Scotland.

"By providing access to crucial, moving stories from all over the globe as well as the information and tools to push for positive social change within their community and beyond, this festival harnesses the transformative power of film to foster a strong sense of connection. We are honoured to be sharing the stories of individuals and communities whose very resilience, tenacity and hope are radical acts of defiance.

"Thanks to our partners, audiences, volunteers, and the filmmakers whose work we champion, the films we screen and the conversations we foster do more than open eyes and minds: they are a direct invitation to reshape our world for the better.”

A key focus this year is women’s empowerment, with the Festival’s Sisters strand presenting rousing portraits of female trailblazers. The festival’s continued commitment to championing women’s empowerment is also reflected in the programme, with 60 per cent of the films on offer having been directed or co-directed by women. Films include Time For Ilhan, charting the story of the first Somali refugee to be elected to the US House of Representatives and closing film Naila And The Uprising, considering nonviolent protest in Palestine from a feminist perspective. The latter screenings in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be attended by Naila Ayesh, who will also deliver the keynote address of the Women Making Change event at the Glasgow Women’s Library on Sunday 23 September.

Naila And The Uprising

Social movements and the struggle for true democracy take centre stage in titles including Sheffield's Grand Juray Award Winner The Silence Of Others, which considered a Spanish campaign to confront the crimes of Franco, and What Is Democracy? explorintg the definition of the concept. Director Almudena Carracedo will attend The Silence Of Others screenings in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Several of the film's including Gabriel Brady's The Island Of The Hungry Ghosts also touch on refugee stories.

The Festival is also embarking on a collaboration with the most boutique venue in Edinburgh, screening two short film programmes in a specially-commissioned, two-seater cinema set-up in the Leith Walk Police Box (2-5pm, Saturdays and Sundays).

The programme also features workshops and masterclasses. All screenings will be followed by conversations with journalists, campaigners, politicians or filmmakers.

The full features line-up is: