Each month, Melanie Friesen invites a distinguished guest to Vancity Theatre’s Cinema Salon, in order to present his/her favourite film. After the screening, both audience and speaker have the opportunity to engage over drinks and snacks in the Vancity lounge. This month’s film is Pump up the Volume, starring Christian Slater.
About the film
In Pump Up the Volume, Mark (Christian Slater) moves from New York to small town Arizona for his last year of high school. He can’t make new friends and reads alone during lunch hour. Dad buys him a short wave radio set to communicate with his pals back home, which Mark uses as a private radio station in his Arizona basement. Engulfed by loneliness in real life, on the radio he is The Megahertz King — howling from the heart, electrifying the kids at school who have no idea who he is, letting it rip with his favourite music. He rants against parents, the world and the horrid school principal. Kids call in and participate. When one of his call-ins ends with a suicide, life takes a turn.
This month’s Cinema Salon is hosted by David Eby, a lawyer and the Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, one of Canada’s oldest and most active human and democratic rights organizations.
An adjunct professor of law at the University of British Columbia, President of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, David is a recent recipient of both the B.C. Human Rights Coalition Award and the U.N. Association of Vancouver’s Renate Shearer Award for his local and international contributions to human rights.
David focuses his work on reforming public policy that disproportionately impacts poor, mentally ill, homeless, addicted and otherwise marginalized people. His reports and advocacy have contributed to major shifts in government policy related to homelessness, provincial housing, and police accountability.
Vancity Cinema Salon with David Eby Presents Pump Up the Volume
Date: Tuesday, March 6, 7:30
Venue: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $13.00; may be purchased online
Starting this month, I’ll be posting upcoming Cinema Salon films and their guest speakers.