by Rowena
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light...
On Friday, 24 October, Lucent was screened in Manning Clark’s Theatre 5 at ANU by Animal Liberation ACT with catering by donation from Veganarchy Baking. It describes itself as “a feature-length documentary about the vast yet largely unseen suffering inherent to Australia’s pig farming industry. Narrated by Lindsay McDougall (The Doctor from Triple J), the film contains footage from over 50 farms and slaughterhouses across Australia – much of this footage has never been seen before.”
The film starts off with clips filmed at an animal sanctuary and shows pigs as they should be: displaying natural behaviours such as playing, foraging and building nests. Then, the light goes out and we are shown what life is really like for pigs who are bred and killed in Australia.
It covers the whole unimaginable process: ‘milking’ boars, artificial insemination of sows, confined pregnancy, restricted nursing, separation, fattening, transportation and slaughter. It also has a short section at the end to ensure that viewers realise that all of the animal industries are absolutely abhorrent and utterly unnecessary.
It is encouraging that almost everyone would go out of their way if they came across an animal who was suffering yet it is unfathomable that most choose to ignore the fact that they themselves create untold suffering by supporting the animal industries. Anyone who consumes animals and animal products should watch this film so they can face up to what they are paying to have done for them. Just like Earthlings, if the mere sight of their plight is too hard for our eyes, what on earth must it be like for their bodies and minds?
I know there were many Vegans at the event but we needed to watch this film too to have a better understanding of what goes on. I’m sure memories of what we saw will stay with us and remind us to keep up the fight and encourage others to see the light.
You can watch the full documentary here: http://www.aussiepigs.com/lucent
You can also go here to like the ‘Aussie Pigs’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianPigFarming
What others are saying about the film:
“As a passionate vegan I was thinking, why would I subject myself this but I decided to. I will now highly recommend it to anyone who is mentally ready. It is an important education to remind us that humane animal agriculture in Australia is a callous myth and that the worst animal cruelty is rampant right here in our own backyard, in our so called best facilities. Anyone with any doubt that their friends and family are supporting the greatest moral outrage in human history, must see this film. Thank you for your inspirational work. I am fired up.” – Brian Champ
“An excellent documentary exposing the pig industry in Australia. Lucent pushes beyond the conventional documentary style by interweaving a human-activist edge to the film by presenting activists in their political quest to both liberate and expose the treatment of animals. Lucent brings to light the oppression of pigs, while creatively capturing glimpses of activists going about their direct action work. As well as highlighting the atrocious pig industry in Australia, Lucent captures the heart of the animal liberation movement message reminding us that we are all in this world together, humans and non-human animals.” – Lara Drew
