WEDNESDAY 20 | In a world teetering on the brink of self-destruction, award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper sets out on a unique pilgrimage. Visiting the ‘Ground Zeros’ of the planet, he asks if it’s possible to find hope in the darkest moments of human history. During a five-year odyssey exploring whether humanity can transform the scared into the ‘sacred’, Ripper travels to war-torn Afghanistan; the toxic wasteland of Bhopal; post-9/11 New York, and the minefields of Cambodia. Here, in the jungle, he meets Aki Ra, once a child soldier forced to lay landmines for the Khmer Rouge. Today Aki wanders Cambodia’s ravaged countryside with a simple wooden stick, decommissioning thousands of mines each year. Here, as in each Ground Zero, the film unearths unforgettable stories of survival, of ritual, resilience and recovery.
WHO: Award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper
WHAT: Scared Sacred screening
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd
WHEN: 4pm November 20
WHY: “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo: far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” – Jodi Picoult