Date of Dialogue: Jan. 16, 2012

Description: This dialogue titled “Occupy the Dream: MLK and the Power of Love” held on MLK Day 2012 and as the Occupy Movement was still in full motion, covers “Crow”’s firsthand experiences in NYC’s Zuccotti Park from the outset of the Occupy Movement. The people’s mic, the global movement, what it represented then and what it incited on glocal levels is all a part of this timely discussion that interweaves justice, transformation, and true revolution.

Brief Bio: Velcrow Ripper is a Canadian Academy Award (Genie) winning filmmaker, writer, sound designer and public speaker. He creates powerful, cinematic documentaries that deal with the central issues of our times. Occupy Love is the culmination of his epic “Fierce Love Trilogy” which began with Scared Sacred, named one of Canada’s Top 10 movies of 2004, and winner of the 2005 Genie (Canadian Academy Award) for best feature documentary. It continued with 2008?s award winning Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action.

Ripper’s earlier films include In The Company of Fear, a documentary on non-violent resistance to the “dirty war” in Colombia; Golden Gate Award-winning Open Season, about bear hunters and the activists who “hunt the hunters”; and the multi-award-winning non-fiction feature Bones of the Forest, (co-directed with Heather Frise) about the struggle to save the ancient forests of British Columbia (Best of the Festival, 1996 Hot Docs! Festival; and Best Feature Doc, 1996 Genie Awards).

Velcrow’s films are stylistically innovative, engaging and moving. Particular attention is given to the sound design. He is well known for his award-winning sound design of such films as The Corporation (Best Sound, Leo Awards), and A Place Called Chiapas (Best Sound, Hot Docs!; Best Sound, Leo Awards). He was recently named “one of the top ten filmmakers to watch in 2012? by the Independent Film magazine.

Occupy Love website: occupylove.org

Filmography & Official Site: velcrowripper.com

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