Co-Presented with the Climate Crisis + Media Arts Working Group and hosted by Northwestern University’s Block Cinema

Northwestern University’s Block Cinema (40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston) | April 6, 2025 - 12:00PM

Onion City partners with Block Cinema and the Climate Crisis + Media Arts Working Group to welcome co-director Ben Russell for the Chicago premiere of DIRECT ACTION. 

DIRECT ACTION brings viewers into France’s rural Notre-Dame-des-Landes commune, whose activist inhabitants live and work to protect a “Zone to Defend” (ZAD) against development in the region. With a commitment equal to that of their subjects, filmmakers Ben Russell and Guillaume Cailleau deliberately observe the work and play of daily life in the commune: agriculture, domestic chores, recreation—and preparations for a major protest action against a proposed reservoir project. DIRECT ACTION inscribes the relaxed pace of commune life through long takes shot on vivid 16mm film, drawing parallels between the utopian aspirations of environmentalist action and of ecological filmmaking. As the state’s repression of the protest turns shockingly violent, mirroring similar actions against water defenders in the United States and Canada, the film’s careful framing becomes an ever-more powerful reminder that, for militants behind a barricade or for observers behind a camera, the most powerful act of resistance is simply standing one’s ground.

“The film isn’t just an infinitely pleasant experience— it’s also incredibly refreshing to see images of resistance that are hopeful, generative and optimistic, almost contagiously so.” – Matilda Hague, Filmmaker Magazine

Following the screening of the 216-minute film (which will include a 5-minute intermission), Russell will appear for discussion and audience Q&A. Presented with support from the Climate Crisis + Media Arts Working Group of the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University.

This event does not charge admission, however you must reserve a ticket through the link below in order to attend and doing so will take you out of the Onion City Film Festival website.

Disclaimer: As with all Block events, RSVP doesn’t guarantee a seat.