Emptiness Crossing Us & The Power of the People

900 State Street,Salem OR 97301

12 February, 2022

Description

Emptiness Cross Us and The Power of the People Emptiness Crossing Us Crossed by greed, two hundred and seventy-two people were buried by tailings from the Vale mining company in Brumadinho (MG), Brazil. The emptiness that now crosses those who try to carry on will never be filled. This tribute film is dedicated to the victims of the irresponsible mining tragedy that continues to take its toll with blood and devastation. The Power of the People This film features the experiences of Jobos Bay residents in southeastern Puerto Rico. Community members strive to live good lives, while resisting the ongoing toxic assault caused by power plants and other extractivist industries that poison human and more-than-human bodies in this beautiful region and ecosystem. The Jobos Bay area residents featured in this film record and amplify their voices by literally taking power into their own hands, confronting environmental racism and injustice. The Power of the People (El poder del pueblo) documents grave problems and urgent alternatives in the form of solar community projects that transform both electric and people power. As a methodological intervention and a form of refusal, film production team members challenge (neo)colonial filmmaking and research that often targets their communities via the extraction of images, stories, and testimonies. The Power of the People is by and for the Jobos Bay community and was made with support from longtime coalitional partners in the US Puerto Rican diaspora. These collective energies radically reimagine community documentary work and join with other people and places throughout the world struggling for self-determined environmental, climate, and energy justice.