Screening of “Accidental Anarchist” with Güney Yildiz & Carne Ross in conversation

Tuesday April 11th

Carne Ross quit his diplomatic career over the UK’s role in the Iraq war, going on to set up the world’s first independent diplomatic advisory service for new emerging nations and dispossessed peoples.

Accidental Anarchist (2017, 1h) follows Carne’s search for an alternative to capitalist democracy, taking in pre-Franco Spain, Occupy Wall Street, the ideas of Noam Chomsky and Murray Bookchin, and eventually leading him to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), an experiment in anarchistic governance that emerged from the Kurdish resistance movement.

Following the film, Carne will be in conversation with journalist, researcher and specialist on the AANES, Güney Yildiz.

Güney will describe in more detail both the inspiration for AANES – a model for non-hierachical, decentralised power developed by the incarcerated PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan – and what is happening on the ground today. Unlike other revolutionary projects, AANES embraces the idea that a political revolution can take place in the here and now, without first having to seize control of the central state apparatus. The vision is for a voluntary, self-governing nation built on communes that transcends traditional nation-state borders, capitalism, and patriarchy.

(We have decided to show the 1hr version of "Accidental Anarchist", rather than the feature-length cut, in order to leave enough time for discussion.)

Kairos, 1-6 Essex Street

6pm for drinks. The film starts at 6.30 sharp. We’ll then have a break for a one-pot vegan supper that we’ll eat together, followed by Güney and Carne in conversation and discussion. (Please note the earlier than usual start time.)

£5 Kairos Club members, £10 non-members. Includes supper and drinks