The Freedom Shop Aotearoa

The Wellington Zapatista Support Group are holding a photographic exhibition at Thistle Hall covering 20 years in the construction of Zapatista autonomy. Place: Thistle Gallery , Cnr Cuba and Arthur Street Dates: 27 January – 02 February Opening Hours: 11am – 6pm daily. Launch: 5.30pm Monday 27 January Twenty years ago, on January 1st 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, the Zapatistas in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas said “Enough!!” and took a stand against attempts to further dispossess them of their indigenous lands and culture. For the last 20 years they have pursued a peaceful path, constructing from below and to the left a 'world in which many worlds fit'. The exhibition at Thistle Hall features photos of ordinary and extraordinary moments in 20 years of the life of a people under constant military and paramilitary threat, going about the business of survival following a path of patience, dignity, and resistance. To hel...

The Wellington Zapatista Support Group are holding a photographic exhibition at Thistle Hall covering 20 years in the construction of Zapatista autonomy. Place: Thistle Gallery , Cnr Cuba and Arthur Street Dates: 27 January – 02 February Opening Hours: 11am – 6pm daily. Launch: 5.30pm Monday 27 January Twenty years ago, on January 1st 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, the Zapatistas in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas said “Enough!!” and took a stand against attempts to further dispossess them of their indigenous lands and culture. For the last 20 years they have pursued a peaceful path, constructing from below and to the left a 'world in which many worlds fit'. The exhibition at Thistle Hall features photos of ordinary and extraordinary moments in 20 years of the life of a people under constant military and paramilitary threat, going about the business of survival following a path of patience, dignity, and resistan...

It is 20 years since NAFTA came into effect and the Zapatista National Liberation Army and people of Chiapas condemned it as 'a death sentence for the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico'. It was on 1st January 1994 that the Zapatista army said “¡Ya Basta!”, “Enough!”. Already fighting the effects of 500 years of colonisation, they knew what NAFTA would mean and said no to corporate globalisation. It is now 20 years since that day and for many the Zapatista have become an international symbol and inspiration for resistance against colonisation and corporate globalisation. In spite of murders, mass killings, rapes, harassment and arrests – despite constant harassment by the state and para-military forces, in spite of anti-Zapatista propaganda and attempts by global powers to vilify them – the autonomous communities of Chiapas continue. Come along on Friday 17 January and join in a film viewing and discussion about the Zapatista struggle. Further information about the Zapatista struggle...

It is 20 years since NAFTA came into effect and the Zapatista National Liberation Army and people of Chiapas condemned it as 'a death sentence for the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico'. It was on 1st January 1994 that the Zapatista army said “¡Ya Basta!”, “Enough!”. Already fighting the effects of 500 years of colonisation, they knew what NAFTA would mean and said no to corporate globalisation. It is now 20 years since that day and for many the Zapatista have become an international symbol and inspiration for resistance against colonisation and corporate globalisation. In spite of murders, mass killings, rapes, harassment and arrests – despite constant harassment by the state and para-military forces, in spite of anti-Zapatista propaganda and attempts by global powers to vilify them – the autonomous communities of Chiapas continue. Come along on Friday 17 January and join in a film viewing and discussion about the Zapatista struggle. Further information about the Zapatista struggle...

We're ending the year with a film that is less overtly political and a little more entertaining, but not without a moral or two.... 'What to Do in Case of Fire' In 1987, six young Berlin squatters fight street battles with police, smoke a lot of dope and film themselves making a home-made pressure-cooker bomb. The bomb is a dud and soon forgotten. However, 12 years later it goes off - the group have long since disbanded and some of them are a bit more conservative and traditional than they used to be...       Friday, 20 December Doors open: 6pm Film starts: 6.30pm People's Cinema , 57 Manners St, Wellington Watch the trailer here . Original: Was tun, wenn's brennt. 

We're ending the year with a film that is less overtly political and a little more entertaining, but not without a moral or two.... 'What to Do in Case of Fire' In 1987, six young Berlin squatters fight street battles with police, smoke a lot of dope and film themselves making a home-made pressure-cooker bomb. The bomb is a dud and soon forgotten. However, 12 years later it goes off - the group have long since disbanded and some of them are a bit more conservative and traditional than they used to be...       Friday, 20 December Doors open: 6pm Film starts: 6.30pm People's Cinema , 57 Manners St, Wellington Watch the trailer here . Original: Was tun, wenn's brennt. 

Film Screening and Discussion on the Bogey of the 'Boat People' People around the world mourned the tragedy of Lampedusa when several hundred people drowned after their boat capsized only a few hundred metres off the coast of the Italian Island. But deaths at sea of people seeking asylum should not be news. Hundreds of people seeking asylum have already drowned in the Mediterranean and hundreds have drowned in the waters between Indonesia and Australia. Just the week before Lampedusa nearly 80 people drowned making the journey to Australia. However, instead of welcoming and assisting refugees, the focus both in Europe and this part of the world is to prevent the arrival of asylum seekers – irrespective of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Australia has a particularly bad record and now has the dubious honour of practising both mandatory detention and mandatory exclusion for all asylum seekers; if the NZ National Government has its way here, we will be following suit and in th...

Film Screening and Discussion on the Bogey of the 'Boat People' People around the world mourned the tragedy of Lampedusa when several hundred people drowned after their boat capsized only a few hundred metres off the coast of the Italian Island. But deaths at sea of people seeking asylum should not be news. Hundreds of people seeking asylum have already drowned in the Mediterranean and hundreds have drowned in the waters between Indonesia and Australia. Just the week before Lampedusa nearly 80 people drowned making the journey to Australia. However, instead of welcoming and assisting refugees, the focus both in Europe and this part of the world is to prevent the arrival of asylum seekers – irrespective of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Australia has a particularly bad record and now has the dubious honour of practising both mandatory detention and mandatory exclusion for all asylum seekers; if the NZ National Government has its way here, we will be following suit and in th...

Wellington people are showing a screening of 'If a Tree Falls' in support of Marie Mason, an imprisoned activist in the United States. The film will be shown at: the People's Cinema on on Friday, 25 October 2013 at 6.30pm . "Our world is faced with some tremendous problems: climate change, war, racism, sexism, colonialism, pollution, deforestation, genetic engineering, corporate exploitation...the list could go on and on. There are millions of people who have taken action to stop these in-justices and bring about a better world. Many of them are sitting in prisons serving long and difficult sentences for standing up for their belief in justice, their desire to stop a wrong or for daring to fight back against systematic oppression and exploitation. From the United States, to Russia to New Zealand and everywhere in between, political prisoners, those who have been imprisoned for holding, advocating or acting on dissenting political views, are with us and are part of ...

Wellington people are showing a screening of 'If a Tree Falls' in support of Marie Mason, an imprisoned activist in the United States. The film will be shown at: the People's Cinema on on Friday, 25 October 2013 at 6.30pm . "Our world is faced with some tremendous problems: climate change, war, racism, sexism, colonialism, pollution, deforestation, genetic engineering, corporate exploitation...the list could go on and on. There are millions of people who have taken action to stop these in-justices and bring about a better world. Many of them are sitting in prisons serving long and difficult sentences for standing up for their belief in justice, their desire to stop a wrong or for daring to fight back against systematic oppression and exploitation. From the United States, to Russia to New Zealand and everywhere in between, political prisoners, those who have been imprisoned for holding, advocating or acting on dissenting political views, are with us and ar...

"Fire Your Boss!"... "Abolish the wage system!" On the centenary of the Great Strike of 1913, we invite you to listen to the voices of the ' Industrial Workers of the World ' . Started in 1905 under the motto “ an injury to one is an injury to all ” , the IWW was the only union open to all trades and to men and to women; and the only union (past and present) to state “ it is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. ”    An IWW branch was established in Wellington in 1907, and IWW members were involved in many of the early militant labour unions and struggles here , including the Great Strike. The Wobblies (1979; Stewart Bird, Deborah Shaffer) provides an overview of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), complete with archival footage, loads of interviews, Wobbly art and songs . Further information about events organised in Wellington to mark the 1913 Great Strike can be found here: http://1913greatstrike.org/ When: Frid...

"Fire Your Boss!"... "Abolish the wage system!" On the centenary of the Great Strike of 1913, we invite you to listen to the voices of the ' Industrial Workers of the World ' . Started in 1905 under the motto “ an injury to one is an injury to all ” , the IWW was the only union open to all trades and to men and to women; and the only union (past and present) to state “ it is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. ”    An IWW branch was established in Wellington in 1907, and IWW members were involved in many of the early militant labour unions and struggles here , including the Great Strike. The Wobblies (1979; Stewart Bird, Deborah Shaffer) provides an overview of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), complete with archival footage, loads of interviews, Wobbly art and songs . Further information about events organised in Wellington to mark the 1913 Great Strike can be found here: http://1913greatstrike.org/ Wh...

Mining and drilling is experiencing a resurgence with plans for more open cast mines and deep sea oil drilling rearing their ugly heads. Join us to see a film that tells a story of resistance against Rio Tinto, one of the world’s biggest mining companies. The Coconut Revolution is the story of the extraordinary struggle of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army for their land, their culture and their independence – against an overwhelming Papua New Guinea army, backed by the Australian government and the billions of Rio Tinto. Friday, 20 September 2013, 6:30pm at the People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St, Wellington

Mining and drilling is experiencing a resurgence with plans for more open cast mines and deep sea oil drilling rearing their ugly heads. Join us to see a film that tells a story of resistance against Rio Tinto, one of the world’s biggest mining companies. The Coconut Revolution is the story of the extraordinary struggle of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army for their land, their culture and their independence – against an overwhelming Papua New Guinea army, backed by the Australian government and the billions of Rio Tinto. Friday, 20 September 2013, 6:30pm at the People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St, Wellington

The screening of 'Rebellion' was postponed due to the earthquake - we will be re-scheduling it and will let people know of the new date. In the meantime, if people know of any videos or documentaries that they would like to see, send us an email at the_freedom_shop@yahoo.com or pop into the Shop and have a talk with one of us. The opening hours are listed to the right of this page.

The screening of 'Rebellion' was postponed due to the earthquake - we will be re-scheduling it and will let people know of the new date. In the meantime, if people know of any videos or documentaries that they would like to see, send us an email at the_freedom_shop@yahoo.com or pop into the Shop and have a talk with one of us. The opening hours are listed to the right of this page.

Rebellion (Original: L'Ordre et la Morale) Mathieu Kassovitz says his first film La Haine was about police brutality, while Rebellion is about government brutality. “It’s April 1988 on the Ouvéa Island in the French colony of New Caledonia. 30 police are kidnapped by Kanak separatists and in response 300 special-forces operatives are sent in to restore order. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Philippe Legorjus (Mathieu Kassovitz), the captain of an elite counter-terrorism police unit, is sent in to the heart of the rebel base to negotiate a peaceful solution. But against the highly pressured backdrop of presidential elections in France, the stakes are high and all bets are off. Mathieu Kassovitz (La Haine) makes a powerful comeback in front of and behind the camera with this violent thriller, based on true events.” Craig Grobler, The EstablishingShot . Friday, 16 August 2013, 6:30pm at the People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St.

Rebellion (Original: L'Ordre et la Morale) Mathieu Kassovitz says his first film La Haine was about police brutality, while Rebellion is about government brutality. “It’s April 1988 on the Ouvéa Island in the French colony of New Caledonia. 30 police are kidnapped by Kanak separatists and in response 300 special-forces operatives are sent in to restore order. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Philippe Legorjus (Mathieu Kassovitz), the captain of an elite counter-terrorism police unit, is sent in to the heart of the rebel base to negotiate a peaceful solution. But against the highly pressured backdrop of presidential elections in France, the stakes are high and all bets are off. Mathieu Kassovitz (La Haine) makes a powerful comeback in front of and behind the camera with this violent thriller, based on true events.” Craig Grobler, The EstablishingShot . Friday, 16 August 2013, 6:30pm at the People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St.

Living Utopia (Original, 1997: Vivir la utopía. El anarquismo en Espana) Escape the cold Wellington winter and join us to remember one of the great moments of working class history, the sunny days of July 1936 when ordinary Spaniards seized control of their lives, fought fascism and demonstrated how pleasant life could be when capitalism and the state are consigned to the dustbin. What: Living Utopia: Anarchism in Spain When: Friday 19 July 2013 Where: People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St, (across the road from McDonalds), Wellington Time: 6:30 pm

Living Utopia (Original, 1997: Vivir la utopía. El anarquismo en Espana) Escape the cold Wellington winter and join us to remember one of the great moments of working class history, the sunny days of July 1936 when ordinary Spaniards seized control of their lives, fought fascism and demonstrated how pleasant life could be when capitalism and the state are consigned to the dustbin. What: Living Utopia: Anarchism in Spain When: Friday 19 July 2013 Where: People’s Cinema, 57 Manners St, (across the road from McDonalds), Wellington Time: 6:30 pm