Occupied Cascadia is a documentary released by Cascadia Matters, a collective of artists, writers, educators and media activists from Bend, Oregon which explores the emerging understanding of bioregionalism within the lands and waters of the Northeast Pacific Rim. It premiered on October 6th at the Tower Theatre in Bend, Oregon, beginning a region wide film tour that included Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, Victoria, Ellensburg in their first week, with many upcoming shows throughout the remainder of October and into November.
The filmmakers interweave intimate landscape portraits with human voices both ideological and indigenous. Their feature length documentary is not intended to be representative of the Cascadia movement, but instead add a powerful and compelling argument about a region occupied, and a landbase under siege. The film seeks to highlight the emerging ideas, struggles and times of the Cascadia bioregion and beyond. In order to effectively provide clean air and clean water for future generations, our attention must not only shift towards the bioregions of the Pacific Northwest, but also towards stopping corrosive agendas within them. The diverse voices throughout this land have forged the way for many movements and there is a growing necessity to inspire a unified culture of resistance. This film promotes that dialogue through bioregional awareness.
Stories from the land contrast critique of dominant culture, while an embrace of the radical unknown informs a re-birthed and growing culture of resistance. Filming began during the outset of the populist “Occupy” movement, and finished by joining the voices seeking to re-contextualize popular revolt within our life-world as a movement to decolonize, un-occupy, and re-inhabit the living Earth through deep understanding and identification with our specific bioregions.
To find a showing near you, or if you are interested in helping organize a film showing for your region or school, visit the Cascadia Matters website at: http://cascadiamatters.org/events. If you’d like to get involved helping set up a film screening in your city or region, you can contact them directly at: cascadiamatters@gmail.com