Many from the Duke and Durham communities came together this Saturday to build awareness of global issues that plague society today-by watching movies.
The second annual United Nations Association Film Festival traveling appearance in Durham-a collaboration between UNAFF, UNA West Triangle Chapter and Duke's film/video/digital program-addressed problems ranging from environmental concerns to gender issues. In all, 11 documentaries were aired at the event in Richard White Lecture Hall.
Kongite Wessene, one of the organizers of the event from UNA West Triangle Chapter, said the intent of the festival was to spread awareness of pressing global issues.
"We wanted to share with the Triangle community an understanding of the international situations, especially with universities and high schools," she said. "We want students to see beyond the world they know."
Although the independent documentaries-the majority of which were made by international filmmakers-dealt with topics that are often controversial or foreign, they are still relatable to the general public because of universal love for humanity, Wessene said.
"Even though our situations are different, our needs are the same," she said. "We must celebrate our differences together to enrich the world."
Turnout was small, but those who did attend the festival found the films to be both entertaining and informative.
"Students come and go [throughout the day], but hopefully the event will just get bigger and bigger," Wessene said. "There was an increase [in attendance] from last year."
James Forsyth, a recreational documentary filmmaker, said he thought the event successfully shed light on issues that many people may not fully understand.
"I try to avoid using the word 'ignorance,' but a lot of people think they understand the issues occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and other Third-World regions, but they don't," he said. "These sorts of films are very educational, but they don't get the recognition in mainstream media. These issues are not emphasized in our culture enough."
Local resident James Terry said he found the films to be valuable because they provided a visual understanding of historical events, since actual footage is very rare.
"They were very good films," he said. "There is so much we are not aware of in the past in terms of video."
Ngaire van Eck, another local, said she feels passionately about the issue addressed in the documentary "Blowing Up Paradise" because her family was personally affected by nuclear testing in New Zealand and the subsequent bombing of a Greenpeace ship. She noted that there was "tremendous reaction" from those she knew in New Zealand.
"I still know relatives and friends concerned about what was going on," van Eck said.
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