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CINEMA FERN
What the MUCK?
by: Fernando Fernandez
I was the first person and first attendee to receive a media pass for the inaugural MUCK (Movies of Uncommon Knowledge) Film Festival that took place at The Royal Cinema in Toronto. When I first opened its doors and met the people who were involved with this festival, I got the sense that everyone’s determination to make this festival take off was shown in their body language. This was going to be unique unlike other film festivals that go on throughout the world. It was a festival that was going to bring about change of the way we think and our perception towards certain issues.
The format of the event was setup so that there was an introductory session with the directors of the films as well as a question and answer period after the film alongside people who were involved in correcting some of the issues that these films present to us today. Dr. Stuart Samuels, the festival director, has outdone himself to find a niche for filmmakers who want to inform, educate and motivate to bring about change and implement solutions to some of the pressing issues that the world faces today. For someone who attended this weekend event, I must say that this was well thought out and this will be a festival that will become an iconic festival in the years to come.
Josh Tickell’s film FUEL was the opening night gala film. Needless to say, they could have not picked a better film to open this festival. Josh Tickell’s stab at the corporate world use of oil and gas and the possible solution of alternative and sustainable renewable energy sources is the focus of the film. The movie is very creative, informative, educational and what Tickell does best in this film is he adds a personal touch to the movie by including his family as well as himself for commentary.
After watching the movie and participating in the question and answer period after the film, I saw that Tickell’s approach to this issue is noteworthy. Tickell is confident and educated about alternative fuels and the whole mess that the world is in because of the consumption of the world’s oil reserves. This does not stop Tickell from giving up in trying to bring about change but his charm and fun approach to this issue is insurmountable which definitely set the tone for the MUCK Film Festival.
FUEL was followed by some great films during the course of the weekend. Pray the Devil Back to Hell was a documentary about the courage of the Muslim and Christian women who worked together in Liberia to bring peace to the country through social activism. The film definitely showed the festivals’ filmgoers that anything is possible especially when even violence is a consequence.
The attendance of the film RIP: Remix the Manifesto was probably the only disappointment during the festival in which I thought was the best film during the weekend. Director Brett Gaylor explores the world of copyright issues and whether or not artists such as GIRL TALK has the right to mash up music together without violating copyright laws. Unfortunately, we live in a world where corporations own the right to everything and hence we are unable to freely express us ourselves artistically. The movie runs so smoothly with a great soundtrack and gets the message across that those who control our past is relatively dictating the way we live our future.
This point also holds true in the movie Generation RX where director Kevin Miller focuses on the frightening control pharmaceutical companies have on our children. It has been decades since the commercial use of drugs on our children has definitely made things worst and according to Kevin Miller who wishes anyone to challenge him on the facts, there is no way that this improves the livelihood of our children. Generation RX was a movie that made me upset at the unethical and morally depriving activities that corporations have been doing under the radar for so long.
What I loved about the MUCK Film Festival is that the movies made me frustrated, irritated and sometimes angry! Not because they were bad movies, or they moved too slow or the content was bad. It was because I was informed about something that punctured the human ethos and for some of these issues, it has taken too long for people to speak up and tell the truth and motivate us to bring about the necessary changes in our society to live a better future.
In addition, not all the filmmakers of the world will be as fortunate as Michael Moore to showcase what they have to say but at the MUCK Film Festival it will be an outlet for them to put their foot down. Someone like myself who needs to be informed about my immediate surroundings and make immediate changes to living a sustainable future needs film festivals like these to wake me up and smell the coffee a little bit. I may have been the first to attend the festival but I definitely don’t want to be the last.
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