Bikechain Presents Ayamye and Still We Ride

Bikechain Presents the documentaries Ayamye and Still We Ride for free and there'll be snacks!

AYAMYE:

Ayamye* begins in Boston where volunteers work for two days loading a container with donated used bikes and parts. Through skillful packing, 450 bikes are loaded and the container is sent to Ghana, West Africa. The majority of the bikes are sold in a colorful frenzy to pay for shipping costs, while the best bikes are set aside to take to a rural community with limited transportation options.

A year later the film catches up with the community to see if the bikes are still maintained and how the long term effect of mobility has improved their situation in life, and in turn the development of the village.

Ayamye* celebrates the energy of the community and proves that sustainable solutions to crisis are not always complex. Goodness, kindness and bounty can go far to empower not just individuals but entire villages.

STILL WE RIDE:

On Friday August 27, 2004 just days before the start of the Republican National Convention, a massive police operation was underway. By the end of the night 264 people were arrested. It marked one of the largest mass arrests in New York City's history - and the arrested had done nothing illegal.

For many New Yorkers, August was the first time they heard of what has become a monthly ritual for New York City's bike community; a free-forming ride called Critical Mass.

Still We Ride is a documentary that captures the joyous atmosphere of this August ride before the arrests began and the chaos that followed. It recounts how this ride first started in San Francisco over 10 years ago and chronicles the police crackdown and resulting court battles in New York over the last twelve months. The movie takes on issues of civil liberties, surveillance, the power of mainstream media, and the benefits of alternative means of transportation.