Protest at Total sponsoring French Film Festival

French Film Director Pierre Salvadori shocked at Total sponsorship of French Film Festival

From Indymedia:

Eight protesters demonstrated on Tuesday March 4th at the French Film Festival at London Cine Lumiere 17 Queensberry Place London. The protest was against Total sponsorship as the largest western sponsor of the brutal Burma military junta, not against the festival or the French films being shown. "Priceless" was the first film being shown and its amiable director Pierre Salvadori was shocked to learn that Total was sponsoring the festival.

We were able to leaflet those attending the film and Total was not very popular amongst some of the French attendees who already knew of Total's support for the junta.

The director Pierre Salvadori was speaking at the showing of "Priceless" and came out of the cinema to chat to us. He was very gracious about our protest and pleased to see our banner had a tick in favour of French films. He was shocked to learn that Total was a sponsor of the French Film Festival and sympathetic to the plight of Burma. We were able to further chat with him at a nearby pub later and he very sportingly posed for us with the "Don't Forget Burma" cartoon bubble. We thank him for his support and wish him every success with his films.

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News from Burma Campaign

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/pm/weblog.php?id=P333
Willis Ceases Cover to Burma, Pressure Mounts on Insurers Operating in Burma.

The Burma Campaign UK welcomes the undertaking by the world's third largest insurance broker to end their involvement in Burma.

Protests in London Next Week


Wednesday 12th March

Meet at Burma Embassy for normal daily Burmese protest
12:00-1pm
Myanmar/Burma Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map:

Total London HQ, 33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PW
1.30pm-3:00pm
Tube: Oxford Circus | Map:


Thursday 13th March (updated from bdmauk.org website)

Burma Human Rights Day
[Remembers the first student Maung Phone Maw murdered by the junta
on March 13th 1988 at a peaceful demonstration at
Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) at the start of the 1988
democracy protests in which thousands of demonstrators were later murdered]
(see http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2006/03/07/ko-phone-maw/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7012158.stm)

BDMA-UK are holding a commemoration in memory of Ko Phone Maw and all those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for Burma's freedom.
(Check http://bdmauk.org for any changes )

BDMA-UK Burma Human Rights Day Events:
(1) Offering food and alms to monks and a brief presentation about Signature Campaign for all political prisoners in Burma.
Time: 10:00 to 12:00
Venue: London Vihara (Wembley Monastery)
1 Old Church Lane London NW9 8TG
Tube: Wembley Park | Map:

(2) Masked Demonstration
Time: 15:00 to 16:00
Myanmar/Burma Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map:


Friday 14th March

Protest at Total sponsoring French Film Festival
(the protest is against Total, not the film festival or films being shown)
5:30pm - 9pm
LONDON CINE LUMIERE
www.institut-francais.org.uk
Institut Francais
17 Queensberry Place London SW7 2DT
Tube: South Kensington Map:
(Two Films being shown: JUST ABOUT LOVE (15) 6:30pm
CONVERSATION WITH MY GARDENER (12A) 8.30pm
+ Q & A Jean Becker and Jean-Pierre Darroussin
(Speakers are for 2nd film see http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0825244/ )