SubMedia

The causes underlying the collapse of civilizations are usually traced to overuse of resources. As we write this, the world is reeling from economic chaos, peak oil, climate change, environmental degradation, and political turmoil. Every day, the headlines re-hash stories of scandal and betrayal of the public trust. We don't have to make outraged demands for the end of the current global system - it seems to be coming apart already. But acts of courage, compassion and altruism abound, even in the most damaged places. By documenting the resilience of the people hit hardest by war and repression, and the heroism of those coming forward to confront the crisis head-on, END:CIV illuminates a way out of this all-consuming madness and into a saner future. Backed by Jensen's narrative, the film calls on us to act as if we truly love this land. The film trips along at a brisk pace, using music... Written by Franklin Lopez

"On the upper left screen we watch a white bourgeois couple joylessly preparing for work: getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and eating breakfast. In the lower right corner we watch an interracial hipster couple—an Asian woman and white man—calling in sick and having sex. The alienation between the bourgeois couple is formally stressed by them being split into two frames while the interracial couple are framed together." (Quoted from Chris Robé's 'Breaking the Spell: A History of Anarchist Filmmakers, Videotape Guerrillas, and Digital Ninjas,' pg. 363)

A personal account of my short visit to Athens, Greece. My initial intent was to do a report on the anarchist neighbourhood assemblies. Truth be told this task was more challenging than I expected. Few within the neighbourhood assembly scene agreed to be video taped or photographed for fear of retaliation by the police, their employers and fascists. I was also made aware of the troubling hardships undocumented immigrants and their supporters face, the rise of the neo-nazi party Golden Dawn, and the role of the police in suppressing social struggles. This piece is only a snapshot of the complex situation of a country in a state of “civil war.” and how anarchists are reacting to it.

For over a month, the hearts and minds of Chileans have been ablaze. Too long have people suffered from extreme inequalities instituted by the Pinochet dictatorship 30 years ago. Now, under the Piñera’s government, people young and old have taken to the streets. Enough is enough. It’s been bad for too long.

On July 8th, 2019, the New Democracy government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis assumed power in Greece, after campaigning on a promise to ‘clean up’ the central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia, and ‘take it back’ from the anarchists. Since then, the Greek state has launched a renewed attack against the anarchist and self-organized migrant movements, targeting squats and promising future raids. Against this threat, Greek anarchists have responded with characteristic resolve and determination.

Affinity is exactly this: a reciprocal knowledge between comrades, shared analysis that lead to prospectives of action. Affinity is therefore directed on one hand towards theoretical deepening and on the other towards intervention in social conflictuality.

In the summer of 2017, in the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale, over 300 tenants living across 12 apartment buildings went on rent strike to protest a wave of rent increases that would have displaced members of their community. Through months of organizing and a series of escalating actions, working-class people took on the biggest corporate landlord in their neighbourhood… and won. In an age where gentrification is rapidly transforming the nature and demographics of working-class neighbourhoods in cities across the world, pushing out poorer tenants, people on fixed incomes, immigrant communities and other long-term residents, the story of the Parkdale rent strike offers an important and practical lesson on how we can organize with our neighbours to fight back.

A smooth blend of juicy videos from subMedia.tv’s riotous first decade of anarchist video making.