Rory Hansen

The Vancouver International Film Festival has come and gone, and although I had a small list of films I intended to watch, I never ended up making it out to the theatre. I suppose there’s always next year. On a related note, another film festival flick that I want to catch is Battle in Seattle, which played at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and opened in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto this past week.

Having been in Vancouver at the time, I can vividly remember the news coverage of the street violence that erupted during the WTO protests in 1999. It’s these protests that the film Battle in Seattle centers upon, and by the looks of the trailer, the movie truly takes us back 9 years to those emotional days.

Back in 1999, the city of Seattle was host to the World Trade Organization, which was big news then, as it was the first time the ministerial conference was being held in America. Although intended to highlight the launch of new trade talks with developing countries, the 40,000 plus protesters that collapsed into the heart of Seattle saw the conference as a rallying cry for protesting the globalization and exploitation that multinational corporations engage in. On news footage at the time, I can remember the stand-offs between the protesters and the Seattle Police Department, as well as the destruction to storefronts which resulted. Definitely a conflict I’d never want to be in the middle of.

The movie has a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, and Ray Liotta, which only helps to bolster my interest in the movie. (Who doesn’t love Charlize!?) If you’re interested in learning more about the movie, you can do so here.