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`The Power of Community- How Cuba survived Peak Oil' (2006, 60 min)

The big words on many people's minds today are Climate Change and Peak Oil. The big question is how do we make the transition to a low energy society, and what would such a society be like? Where are there models we can learn and take inspiration from? Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope.

When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil, fertilizers and export trade market in the early 1990s, the country faced virtual overnight economic collapse and an immediate crisis - feeding the population. The story of the Cuban people's hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity --through cooperation, conservation, and community--to create a low energy society is inspirational. Cuba's transition to organic agriculture, and rapid relocalisation based on decentralized health care and higher education, bicycles and public transport, and community response to radical change is both thought provoking and empowering.

The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Featuring Roberto Perez, who is currently touring Australia on behalf of the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange.

Cost $8/ $5 concession.

This film is being screened as part of the Latin-American Film Festival, a fundraiser for Green Left Weekly. Details of other films shown can be seen at www.greenleft.org.au/calendar/