Everyday Rebellion
Everyday Rebellion is a documentary and a cross-media project celebrating the power of creative non-violent protest and civil disobedience around the globe. What does the Occupy movement in New York have in common with the Spanish Indignados protests or the Arab Spring? Is there a connection between the struggle of the Iranian democracy movement and the non-violent uprising in Syria? And what is the link between the Ukrainian topless activists of Femen and an Islamic culture like Egypt? And to top it off, what do Serbia and Turkey have to do with all of this? The reasons for the various national uprisings in these countries may be diverse, but the creative non-violent tactics they use in their struggles are strongly connected with each other, so are the activists who share these strategies, new ideas and established methods? Everyday Rebellion is the story of the richness of peaceful protest, acted out by passionate people from Spain, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, the USA, the UK, and Serbia everyday. These methods are inventive, funny and sometimes even aggressive. The activists who use them believe that creative non-violent protest will win over violent protest – and they are right. It has been scientifically proven that non-violence is more effective and successful than violent protest. Furthermore, the users of non-violence are feared by the rulers, because they are rapidly changing the world and challenge dictatorships as well as global corporations. Everyday Rebellion is a tribute to the creativity of non-violent resistance. The project studies the consequences of a modern, rapidly changing society where new forms of protest challenge the power of dictatorships and sometimes also global corporations are invented everyday. Everyday Rebellion wants to give a voice to all those who decide not to use violence when trying to change a violent system. As Gandhi put it: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Starring
Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonnano, Srdja Popovic
Director
Arman T. Riahi, Arash T. Riahi