Gathering Storm: The Collaborative Activism of the IMC

Last year's protests at the World Trade Organization in Seattle were important for bringing international focus on urgent issues regarding globalization, but they were also critical for the creation of the Independent Media Center (IMC). Videomakers, radio producers, print journalists, photographers, Web mavens, and activists came together to forge a new kind of collective media democracy. Their video feeds have been assembled into Showdown in Seattle, a compilation of segments produced by a number of media collectives including PTTV, and locally, Sleeping Giant and Whispered Media. We are presenting Show 5: What Democracy Looks Like (1999, 28 mins), which includes a look at youth participation in the Seattle protest, an inside look at the IMC, and a reflection on the mobilization ahead. After the Seattle victory, thousands converged on Washington, D.C. to challenge the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at their meeting in April. Once again videomakers from the IMC were on the spot to provide non-corporate coverage, which has been assembled into Breaking the Bank (2000, c. 30 min excerpt). Plus Unconventional Convention Coverage (2000, c. 30 mins): Direct from R2K (Philadelphia) and D2K (Los Angeles), a compilation of coverage of the presidential conventions by the IMC and Democracy Now.

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