The Frontline Club began its June documentary programme on Monday 1 with a retrospective look at various forms of non-violent protests in the cross-media documentary, Everyday Rebellion. The film was directed by the Riahi brothers and Arman Riahi was present for a lively Q&A after the screening.

To summarise, Everyday Rebellion is a tribute to civil disobedience in its various forms, from Tahrir Square to Occupy Wall Street. It is a record of some of the creative ways in which individuals have challenged oppressive norms, be it the authoritarian regime in Syria or mass unemployment and austerity policies in Spain. As the subjects of the film challenge the status quo, so too is the documentary film’s aesthetic style non-conformist. The Riahi brothers filmed over two years, and collected more than 14,000 hours of material from over seven countries. The result is a juxtaposition of talking head interviews, observational narratives and amateur mobile phone footage.

Riahi explained that the film was partly inspired by the brothers’ Iranian identity and their parents’ direct experience of curtailed freedoms. The film features a number of Iranian citizens who enact small, habitual acts of resistance. A woman paints her toenails red, for example.

Riahi said:  “On the outside everyone is living how the regime wants and behind the curtain people are living western lives.”

He continued: “We began with Iran and quickly history happened; very soon the Arab Spring came… To be honest it was too fast for us. It was a time where every week something was happening.”

Apart from celebrating non-violent resistance, Riahi readily admitted that the film was intended to actively inspire protest in, crucially, “non-violent ways.”

Riahi spoke about the ways in which the film had been used since its release. “At some point we got a message from the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong – they asked to screen the film on the main square of the Umbrella Movement, where it was shown at least six times.”

Apart from sharing tactics for voicing dissent, the film highlights the importance of camaraderie among civilian protesters. By focusing on the similarities between various protest movements, the film instills a sense of transnational, cross-cultural power in the protester.

“The project is about inspiration and empowerment; we wanted to give people the feeling that there are people like them,” explained Riahi.

Great to see @EricaChenoweth in Arman Riahi's film #EverydayRebellion @frontlineclub documenting powerful #nonviolent movements @nvconflict

— Natasha Dyer (@nrlcadyer) June 1, 2015

A number of audience members questioned whether non-violent tactics are effective in defeating groups such as ISIS, or in challenging complex capitalist systems.

Riahi’s response brought into light the disparity between tactics and results: “Solutions don’t come overnight.”

Evidently the result of overthrowing a leader, as was the case in Egypt, is often the disheartening discovery that their system is deeply entrenched. As Riahi said: “If you change a system, only then do you see that beneath the system there is another system.”

The film nevertheless offered one tangible example of how non-violent resistance can lead to change: a court hearing in the 1980s, in which victims spoke out against atrocities committed by the Islamic Republic against their family members.

Accountability was a key theme pushed by many of the film’s protagonists: including Serbian political activist Srdja Popovic; Femen activist Inna Shevchenko; Yes Men activist Jacques Servin; and Reverend Billy. This lead to an audience observation that those able to occupy public spaces are often from a middle class background, and can therefore afford to act on their beliefs. Riahi agreed that this was often the case initially.

The role of the Internet in helping spread protest to civil society was an important point in the discussion. While not undermining its centrality, Riahi said of social media tools: “It’s not a substitution for going to the streets and being there when things need to be done.”

Riahi also criticised the failure of mainstream media to cover non-violent protest, mainly, he reasoned, because “it does not sell as much as the guns and blood.”

Riahi concluded: “We knew this project was more than a film, because we knew of the restrictions in film and cinema.”

The cross-media platform continues to tell stories and showcase non-violent protest across the globe; visit the Everyday Rebellion website to find out more.

Everyday Rebellion is a cross-media documentary about creative forms of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience worldwide.

What does the Occupy movement in New York have in common with the Spanish Indignados protests or the Arab Spring? Is there a connection between the struggle of the Iranian democracy movement and the nonviolent uprising in Syria, and what is the link between the Ukrainian topless activists of Femen and an Islamic society like Egypt? And to top it off, what do Serbia and Turkey have to do with all of this?

The reasons for the various people’s uprisings in these countries may be diverse, but the creative nonviolent tactics they use in their struggles are strongly connected. So are the dedicated activists who share these strategies, new ideas and established methods. Everyday Rebellion is a story about the richness of peaceful protest, acted out everyday by passionate people from Spain, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, the USA, the UK and Serbia.

These methods are inventive, funny and unrelenting. And the activists who use them believe that creative nonviolent protest will triumph over violence in the effort to challenge dictatorships and the crushing power of global corporations. Everyday Rebellion is a tribute to the creativity of nonviolent resistance, and to a modern and rapidly-changing society in which new and inventive forms of protest are conceived every day.

Directed by Arman T. Riahi & Arash T. Riahi
Duration: 118′
Year: 2014
www.everydayrebellion.net

When Israeli activists arrive to protest the takeover of the East Jerusalem half of Mohammed El Kurd’s home, the Palestinian teenager comes of age in the face of continuous tension and unexpected cooperation in his backyard.

My Neighbourhood goes beyond the headlines that normally dominate discussions of Jerusalem and captures the rarely heard voices of those striving for a shared future in the city.

The screening of this 25-minute documentary will be followed by an extended Q&A with award-winning director Julia Bacha and Executive Director of Just Vision Ronit Avni. During the Q&A video portraits taken from the Home Front series will also be shown.

Directed by: Julia Bacha
Co-directed by: Rebekah Wingert-Jabi

Year: 2012
Running Time: 25′

In partnership with:

For the birth of his fourth son, Palestinian villager Emad Burnat bought his first camera. This is also the moment a separation barrier is being built in his village Bil’in. The self-taught cameraman begins filming the events around him – and ends up with five broken video cameras. The footage of each of them tells a different part of the story of his village’s non-violent resistance to the Israeli army.

Despite the pleas from his wife who fears reprisals, Emad keeps on filming. The result is an intensely powerful, first-hand and deeply personal document about one village’s struggle against violence and oppression.

This screening is in partnership with London Open City Docs Fest (21-24 June)

Awards:
World Cinema Direction Award, Sundance 2012
Prix Louis-Marcorelles,, Cinema du Reel 2012
The Stephan Jarl Documentary award, Tempo Film Festival 2012
The Best Director Award, One World Human Rights Film Festival 2012
The Golden Butterfly Award: A Matter of Act Competition, Movies That Matter 2012
Special Jury Award and Audience Award, IDFA 2011

Directed by: Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Year: 2011
Running Time: 90′

In partnership with:

With the presidential elections scheduled at end of May, a possible run-off mid June and the trial verdict of President Hosni Mubarak expected, Goodbye Mubarak goes back to the period before Egypt’s leader was ousted by the people.

The film examines the anger and discontent brewing in the country before people took to the streets on 25 January 2011. Filmed in late 2010, it shows the impact of the November legislative elections and the people’s outrage amid charges of ballot fixing, bullying and dirty tricks by Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.

Having recently travelled back to Egypt for the first time after shooting the film, Katia Jarjoura will share her experience and insight on the current situation in Egypt 18 months after the start of the uprising.

Followed by a Q&A with director Katia Jarjoura

Directed by: Katia Jarjoura

Year: 2011

Running Time: 72′