Mareel hosts world-changing cinema

Cape Spin, Tue 26 Feb; Call Me Kuchu, Wed 27 Feb

Take One Action, Scotland’s global change cinema project, will preview two critically acclaimed films in Mareel in Shetland on the 26 and 27 February. The Edinburgh-based festival, which celebrates the people and movies that are changing the world, aims to inspire more debate and community participation around the big global issues of our time.

Cape Spin, hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as “one of the most notable films of the year” is particularly pertinent for Shetland. The film follows both sides of the debate raging over a large-scale wind farm development off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in the USA. With a great deal of good humour and a commitment to impartial storytelling, it foregrounds powerful questions about what works, and what is acceptable, when people campaign for things they are passionate about.

Equally timely, Call Me Kuchu – which recently won best documentary at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival – zones in on ground zero in Africa’s division over homosexuality: Uganda. Coinciding with LGBT History Month and the ongoing debate in the UK over gay marriage, it tells the heartbreaking story of gay rights activist David Kato and his courageous efforts to protect the human rights of his fellow “kuchu”.

Lisa Ward, Marketing Officer for Shetland Arts said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with Take One Action to bring these two excellent films to Mareel in February. Call Me Kuchu is a very important documentary and our discussion with the Reverend Neil Bryce and Brighton-based Ugandan gay rights activist, John Bosco, after the screening is a must-attend for those passionate about human rights. And Cape Spin covers a topic that many Shetlanders feel passionate about – wind farms! – so we’re expecting a big turnout for that one too.”

Take One Action director Simon Bateson said: “These wonderful films foreground issues which people in Scotland need to talk about more than ever before. Cinema is a great way to help people look again at things they may feel they’ve made up our minds about, so we’re thrilled to be back in Shetland with two of the best feature documentaries of the last year.”

Tickets for these films will go on sale on Tuesday 19 February via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org