On Columbus Day, the Cascadia Media Collective is taking over the WOW Hall.
The CMC — which deals in guerilla journalism videos, underground zines, feature films and other news that lacks coverage from mainstream sources — has rented the venue for an Oct.13 event entitled “Guerilla Media in Action: Columbus to Cancun.” The event is a collection of CMC films documenting anti-globalization and anti-Columbus Day rallies from around America and the world.
These works represent a new direction for the CMC, according to member Marshall Kirkpatrick.
“We’re trying to offer more analysis, interviews and place-based news coverage instead of just music videos from riots,” Kirkpatrick said.
According to CMC video producer Randy Shadowalker, the material for the event has been collected over the past few years, and the group plans to take it on the road this winter. There are also plans to use the video pieces for a new feature film.
“It all ties into American colonialism as it’s happening today,” Shadowalker said.
The CMC has been in operation for about three years. It started as an offshoot of the public access show Cascadia Alive! and eventually formed its own independent video production organization. Since then it has produced five feature films, covering events in Eugene, New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver and Quebec. Another film documenting anti-globalization protests around the country is currently in the planning stages.
The nighttime movie will include a spoken word performance from Native American poet and political activist Chrystos, whose works include the poetry collections “Fire Power” and “Not Vanishing.” In addition, the Survival Center, the Break the Chains Prisoner Support Group, the Native American Student Union and the Multicultural Center will host a bevy of events earlier in the day at the EMU Amphitheater.
The CMC is not the only anti-capitalist group showing films in Eugene over the next week. On Saturday, Bijou Art Cinemas will show “Surplus: Terrorized Into Being a Consumer,” a film written by and featuring John Zerzan, host of “Anarchy Radio,” a talk show on KWVA. Zerzan has also authored the books “The Mass Psychology of Misery” and “Future Primitive.”
“Surplus” was directed by Johan Söderberg. The film made its American debut at the Seattle International Film Festival in June and has played in various venues around the country since. The film pieces together speeches, images and music to examine, among other things, how the American people have been coerced into shopping. The film will be showing at 12 p.m.