We document current events, make films together, steward an editing suite and share a film equipment library. We also host film screenings, often with local directors, and put on an annual short film festival for independent Bay Area filmmakers. Our goal is to make the digital filmmaking accessible – no overpriced college degree or certificate program required!
We are also a good group to reach out to if you’d like to screen a film at the Omni. We can be reached at [ liberatedlens@lists.riseup.net ].
We usually meet in the basement, unless otherwise noted.
Here it is at last—the final hearing in the Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal, LLC v. City of Oakland trial. The lawsuit is funded by Bowie Resource Partners, the top coal producer in Utah, which hopes to own and operate a coal terminal in West Oakland near the foot of the Bay Bridge. Judge Chhabria has focused the trial on the question of whether the City of Oakland has substantial evidence to support its enforcement of a ban on coal storage and handling on the Terminal project. The City approved a Development Agreement in 2013 immunizing the project from changes in rules and regulations, but the City has the power to impose new regulations with two provisions. The first is that they hold a public hearing (which they did), and the second is that they compile substantial evidence showing that failure to impose the regulation would result in substantial danger to the health and safety of West Oakland residents and workers at the site.