» Bill Cowell, Founder of The Buffalo Niagara
Film Festival is proud to announce a victorious
return for #2.
Bill pledges that this will be a spectacular 2nd year with large events and big
surprises to be talked about for years to come. Enjoyment to all, and to all
an enjoyable plight. See you soon.
The
Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak
Oil-
Saturday, March 31st, 2:45pm Downtown Buffalo/Theatre
District, Market Arcade Screen 2
When
the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's
economy went into a tailspin. With imports
of oil cut by more than half and food by
80 percent - people were desperate. This
film tells of the hardships and struggles
as well as the community and creativity of
the Cuban people. They share how they transitioned
from highly mechanized agriculture to using
organic farming and urban gardens. It is
an unusual look into the Cuban culture during
this economic crisis. The film opens with
a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the
time when world oil production will reach
its all-time peak and begin to decline forever.
Cuba, the only country that has faced such
a crisis, is an example of options and hope.
PRODUCTION
NOTES
"The Power of Community"
Throughout its travels, the documentary crew saw and experienced the resourcefulness,
determination, and optimism of the Cuban people, often hearing the phrase "Sí,
se puede" or "Yes it can be done."
There is much to learn from Cuba's response to the loss of cheap and abundant
oil. The staff of The Community Solution sees these lessons as especially important
for people in developing countries, who make up 82 percent of the world's population
and live more on life's edge. But developed countries are also vulnerable to
shortages in energy. With the coming onset of peak oil, all countries will have
to adapt to the reality of a lower energy world.
With this new reality, the Cuban government changed its 30-year motto from "Socialism
or Death" to "A Better World is Possible." Government officials allowed private
entrepreneurial farmers and neighborhood organizations to use public land to
grow and sell their produce. They pushed decision-making down to the grassroots
level and encouraged initiatives in neighborhoods. They created more provinces.
They encouraged migration back to the farms and rural areas and reorganized their
provinces to be in-line with agricultural needs.
From The Community Solution's viewpoint, Cuba did what it could to survive, despite
its ideology of a centralized economy. In the face of peak oil and declining
oil production, will America do what it takes to survive, in spite of its ideology
of individualism and consumerism? Will Americans come together in community,
as Cubans did, in the spirit of sacrifice and mutual support?
