The Boy Mir: 10 Years in Afghanistan

August 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

© Seventh Art Productions

IN 2002 DIRECTOR PHIL GRABSKY DOCUMENTED THE LIFE of one ordinary family in central Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in his film, The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan. The center of his film was one year in the life of the young boy Mir, an engaging 8-year old who resides with his family among the caves and mountains of Bamiyan. But the story did not end there.

Ten years later, Grabsky returned to document the next ten years with Mir. The film is screening now in the U.S. and Europe. I asked Phil through an email interview what it was like to do a “sequel” of sorts to Mir’s story.

The Activist Writer: Why did you decide to do a follow-up to your first film?

Phil Grabsky: To really get a sense of how successful our attempts have been to influence post-Taliban Afghanistan, I felt that I had to spend more than one year following the story. It seemed to make sense to spend ten – though there were many times I regretted the decision. You would imagine raising funds for such an important story would be straightforward- but, believe me, my knees are still sore from all the begging to broadcasters.

TAW: What changes did you notice in Mir as you chronicled his life?

PG: The obvious change is a physical one but there was also, as I anticipated, a gradual swing from innocence to experience. But I had no idea, of course, as I followed his story just how he would or would not change. In many ways, what has impressed me is how consistent he has been in terms of humour, intelligence, fortitude and application. He certainly learnt how to speak up for himself though. I feel he offers an optimistic view of the Afghan potential; the sadness is he still lacks any real hope of achieving the heights he is clearly capable of. Then again, that’s where the responsible film-maker intervenes after the shooting has stopped.

© Seventh Art Productions

TAW: Did you have an idea of the shape of the film when you went back? Were there scenes you wish you could have included, but didn’t make the final cut?

PG: It was both scary and exciting to not know how the story would develop. I never had any idea for shoot to shoot what had happened or would happen. I had my intuitive ideas of course but in Afghanistan anything is possible. I, and my Afghan colleague, were extremely lucky to gain the access we did and capture the scenes we did. Highly experienced, long-term travellers and visitors to Afghanistan say they have never seen inside an Afghan family in this way—even in real life. There are, of course, scenes we cut out—perhaps the one I regret is Mir’s participation in the national horse-rising sport of Buzkashi. It is wild! But it’s good to have a few deleted scenes for the DVD extras!

TAW: How do you think viewers will react to this latest chapter in Mir’s life?

PG: I know already: they are moved, amused, shocked and enthralled. Anyone who isn’t probably ate too much popcorn and fell asleep.

TAW: On the film’s website, you include a link for how viewers can support the people of Afghanistan through charity programs. How much responsibility do artists, and documentary filmmakers, have to help their subjects? Do you consider yourself an “activist”?

PG: I come down firmly on the side that we owe a moral responsibility to our characters. On a human level, how can one walk away from such poverty. You can’t hide behind the ‘I’m bringing your story to the world’ line…What you actually do that is tangible is a personal matter but, for our part, we helped Mir, the family, the school and the community as a whole. It’s not a question of interfering and doing too much. It’s a question of not doing enough. Am I an activist? How can you make documentaries of any value on any subject if you are not. I want to educate people so that their decisions are better-informed. The ignorance about Afghanistan and Afghans is shocking: I actively want everyone to see this film. I am not shoving my politics down your throat, and indeed the film shows that the story is a myriad of greys, no black & whites here. But we are spending billions and suffering horrible casualties—how can you not want to know more? And what better way than a film which is funny, beautiful and moving?

Special thanks to Phil Grabsky for his time, and to Francesca Hendry at Seventh Art Productions. Watch the trailer for The Boy Mir here:

Filed under Activists, film Tagged with ,

Help Create A Global Human Rights Logo

May 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

© humanrightslogo.net

AN INITIATIVE TO CREATE A GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS LOGO is now open to all submissions: A Human Rights Logo is an international campaign created by ten partner states to find that symbol that says “human rights.”

The people behind the challenge created this contest because there is currently no logo for human rights, like the universally recognized “peace sign.” A crowdsourced contest was the next step to finding the perfect single image.

Anyone can submit their logo and the contest is open until July 31st. Although this is a nonprofit initiative, there are cash prizes offered for the top three designs. An international jury of experts and activists, including Aung San Sun Kyi and Somaly Mam, will work with designers to choose the winning entries.

The contest’s been open for one day only, but there’s already over one hundred submissions posted on the site. Learn more on how to submit your own.

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A Rebel Artist Executed for His Work

April 19, 2011 Leave a Comment

© The Australian

HIS SATIRICAL ART RIDICULED THE GADDAFI REGIME and ultimately cost political cartoonist Kais Ahmed Al-Hilali his life. Al-Hilali was shot and killed in Benghazi late last month, soon after finishing an anti-Gaddafi caricature. The urban street artist was in the vanguard of young protestors in Libya who looked to Egypt and Tunisia’s peaceful revolutions for inspiration in their own pro-democracy movement.

Cartoonists around the world paid tribute to him with their own sketches.

This CNN report shows more examples of graffiti and wall murals drawn by Kais Ahmed Al-Hilali.

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The Link Between Art and Injustice

April 15, 2011 Leave a Comment

© Daniel Bolick

CAN WE ALWAYS RELY ON EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY AND MEMORY as part of our criminal justice system? The number of wrongfully convicted persons says otherwise.

The people who serve time for crimes they did not commit demonstrates how mistaken identification hinders justice and forever alters the lives of those convicted.

Two artists who document the exonerated form part of a new exhibition, Resurrected: The Innocence Portraits, opening at the The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The exhibit coincides with the first international Innocence Network Conference on wrongful conviction.

Included in the exhibition are the portraits of exonerees by Daniel Bolick and the photographs of Taryn Simon.

The men in Bolick’s portraits served 203 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. Bolick’s paintings humanize what would otherwise be another statistic.

© Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon’s project from 2003, The Innocents examines the role of photography as a misused tool for meting out justice. Simon photographs subjects at the “scene of the crime” or the places where they were arrested.

See Daniel Bolick’s portraits at his official site. You can view Taryn Simon’s work here.

Filed under Activists, Art, civil rights Tagged with , ,

Syria’s Voice and Conscience: Omar Amiralay

April 13, 2011 Leave a Comment

reelfestivals.org

HE NEVER SHIED AWAY from confronting and exposing the social and economic injustices of his home. Syrian filmmaker Omar Amiralay was Syria’s voice and conscience.

Amiralay was a longtime pro-democracy supporter; in 2000, he was a signatory of the Damascus Declaration, which led to the “Damascus Spring.” When he died this past February, he left a legacy of documentary films that exposed and confronted poverty and oppression.

Amiralay’s career in documentary filmmaking spanned the five decades of the ruling Ba’ath Party. As the protests of the last month show no signs of abating, we can look to Amiralay’s films as a guide to what has shaped Syria and how her people have arrived at this point in their history.

This clip from Amiralay’s third film, “The Chickens,” documents how peasants suffered after the government’s failed farming ventures:

Amiralay did not only focus on his home country. His later films addressed social movements and activism in Yemen, Lebanon, and Egypt. This essay is a good overview of his groundbreaking and far-reaching work.

Watch more clips of Omar Amiralay’s on this YouTube channel. For more on Omar Amiralay, including interviews with the filmmaker, visit ArteEast.

Filed under Activists, film, Politics, Poverty Tagged with ,

Why Supporting Freedom of Speech is More Important Than Ever

April 11, 2011 1 Comment

ARTISTS AND ACTIVISTS ARE STEPPING UP their actions for detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. His enforced disappearance, rather than bringing silence and acquiescence, has instead galvanized his supporters:

Arts institutions like LACMA, the Tate Modern, and MOMA have signed a petition calling for his release (you can add your name here).

In Hong Kong on Sunday, the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China held a demonstration demanding the artist’s release:

And as this piece in the Wall Street Journal shows, if China hoped to silence its critics with these enforced disappearances and thuggery, well, it isn’t working: activists continue to speak out.

People inside China who speak publicly risk their lives. That isn’t the case of all of us lucky enough to be able to say and write whatever we like without fear of reprisal, detention, or disappearance. Supporting freedom of speech is more important than ever.

“Speaking out” can take many forms—if the media brouhaha around one particular artist is any indication.

This week the Western press is replete with stories about “Bob Dylan, the sell-out,” for not talking about Ai Weiwei by name at Dylan’s concert in Beijing. This is because Dylan is a symbol (though usually a reluctant one) of the American 1960′s protest movement, and his songs and lyrics, like “Masters of War,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” to name just two, are clarion calls of protest and activism.

A piece in The Atlantic makes a case that Dylan did in fact manage to comment on the rights situation in China: albeit in his usual subversive way.

Whether we are world-famous rock stars or ordinary citizens, we are at the proverbial fork in the road, a moment in history where we must speak out. This year’s pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East, which are still spinning and spiraling in revolution, prove that. We must not shrink away from this moment. Ai Weiwei, and everyone who is denied his basic human freedoms, are counting on us.

Filed under Activists, Art Tagged with ,

Burma’s Hope for A New Democracy

April 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

THE STORY OF HOW A FORMER JUNTA MEMBER and soldier, Myo Myint, changed sides and became a pro-democracy activist is the subject of the film Burma Soldier. Now, secretly made copies of the film are making the rounds in Burma. The producers of the film have also made the film available in Burmese through Vimeo, and it’s gone viral.

The film’s upcoming release in the U.S. (it’s scheduled to air on HBO in May), is good timing for Burma watchers: all eyes are on how the recent regime change will play out.

The film, co-directed by co-directed by Nic Dunlop, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, goes inside the military and effectively reveals how Burma became a military dictatorship. It’s also a very personal look at one man’s life and how he comes to understand his nation’s history and his place in it. “I will fight for peace,” he says in the film. “That’s what I decided.”

Here is a photo essay about Myo Myint, and the story of how he switched sides. You can watch the film in its entirety on Vimeo (in Burmese):

Filed under Activists, film, Human Rights Tagged with ,

Changing Senegal One Woman At A Time

April 1, 2011 Leave a Comment

SISTER FA IS SENEGAL’S MOST FAMOUS RAPPER and a role model for youth. She’s also a determined and outspoken activist who campaigns against FGC (Female Genital Cutting).

Sister Fa was herself a victim of genital mutilation, and is using her voice to raise awareness to end the practice of FGC. Her career and activism have always gone together: in 2008, Sister Fa took her tour “Education without Mutilation” through the villages and cities of Senegal, using her music to speak out about ending female genital mutilation.

In this interview, she talks about why FGC, while outlawed in Senegal since 1999, is still carried out in some communities:

A documentary about her life and work, Sarabah, shows the singer returning to her native village to engage with the women in her community. The film was recently honored at the Movies That Matter Festival.

Learn more about Sister Fa and watch a clip from Sarabah:

Filed under Activists, film, Human Rights, music Tagged with , , ,

3 Top Human Rights Bloggers to Read Now

March 31, 2011 Leave a Comment

THE PRO-DEMOCRACY BLOGGER IS TODAY’S VOICE in the cyber-trenches. The blogger occupies a unique place in journalism and politics, speaking and writing from a personal standpoint but also taking on the biggest issues in her society.

This post looks at three regions of the world where dissidents are denied their freedom of speech: Egypt, Cuba, and Tibet. Here are 3 top human rights bloggers to read now:

1. Dalia Ziada, Egypt: This young human rights activist, translator, and researcher has been recognized as an engaged activist, and outspoken voice, for an inclusive Egyptian society that does not marginalize women or minorities.

Ziada is also currently the director of the Egypt office for the American Islamic Congress. Her blog’s voice is enthusiastic and inspiring. After Mubarak’s overthrow, she posted, “WELCOME DEMOCRACY… We can’t wait to embrace you.” Read her blog at dalia.ziada.blogspot.com.

2. Yoani Sánchez, Cuba: As a leader for advocating human rights and democratic freedoms in Cuba, Sánchez increasingly comes under fire from the government. Earlier this month Cuban authorities accused her of engaging in a “cyber war” against the government. Meanwhile, her blog, Generation Y, is an important portal for news and other Cuban blogs. Plus, it’s available in over a dozen languages. Read her post about meeting with President Jimmy Carter during his recent visit to Cuba.

3. High Peaks Pure Earth, Tibet: This blog is a must-read for translated posts from both Tibetan and Chinese blogs. High Peaks Pure Earth regularly publishes translations and links to posts from leading activist Woeser, and writing from other blogs. It’s a particularly good source for news about crackdowns and blackouts on Tibet-related social networking and blogs.

Learn More about Bloggers Writing for Freedom of Speech from these sites:

Cyberdissidents.org
Reporters Without Borders

Filed under Activists, Human Rights, women's rights

The Black Power Mixtape: Review

March 30, 2011 Leave a Comment

THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 is a new documentary made from 16mm films taken by Swedish journalists, who covered the Black Power movement from the late 1960s to early 1970s.

This includes never-before seen interviews and footage of Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis (the latter during her imprisonment and trial in 1972).

The footage sat in a basement for 30 years, and it’s a remarkable find. Director Göran Hugo Olsson shaped the footage to form a narrative in 9 chapters, one chapter for each year. The film adds contemporary voice-overs from poets Sonia Sanchez and Abiodun Oyewole, musicians Erykah Badu and John Forté, historian Robin Kelley, and others.

While the Black Power movement may be too big to squeeze into a short documentary (the run time is barely over 90 minutes), you come away with a significant understanding of the events and people who participated and shaped the time.

Olsson’s decision to create a strict chronological story, moving from year to year, is the film’s strength. You literally see, hear, and feel change happening on-screen. The archival footage includes public appearances and speeches that are profound and sharp, like Eldridge Cleaver calling out 1968′s presidential candidates as “three pigs: oink Nixon, oink Humphrey, and oink Wallace.”

But the film also reveals personal moments that are no less effective; for example, Stokely Carmichael interviews his mother about their early family life. Carmichael gently pokes and prods, but the questions get more pointed and we learn how his father was often the first one laid off from a job.

“Why was he the first one laid off?” he asks. “Because he was a colored man,” his mother answers, an exchange that is both poignant and incisive for its context and meaning.

The crisp and immediate images give the now-familiar touchstones of black history, such as MLK’s Nobel Prize, and his final speech on the night before he was assassinated, a new immediacy and import, as if we’re seeing them for the first time.

The year MLK was killed is of course also significant for Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination and the murder of . And footage of young black men and women shortly thereafter is a key point in the film. In this moment when so many leaders are being killed, everyone interviewed on-camera tell reporters they feel “there is no future,” and that they “have no hope left.”

As we enter the 1970s, the Southern roots of the movement fade, and we witness the beginnings of the Black Panther Party. The setting also shifts from public to private: large auditoriums and public spaces are replaced by houses and apartments, or a detention cell, the inside of a dealer’s car.

This is an urban mise-en-scene populated not just by the newsmakers and boldfaced names, but by everyday people.

The later chapters take place almost entirely in Harlem of the 1970s, where we glimpse a population struggling with poverty, disenfranchisement, and drug addiction. By the time Louis Farrakhan appears on-screen, and we’ve reached the middle of the decade, we’ve been on a journey that shows the evolution of a southern nonviolent movement into a more northern, urban-set base.

Although the people and events we’ve witnessed are an enormous part of who and what the United States is today, there is still the feeling of a parallel narrative—a story happening “somewhere else” to other people that the dominant, white, middle-class culture chose to marginalize and ignore. But as The Black Power Mixtape proves, the issues Americans faced then—war, income inequality, and racism—remain with us today.

Watch the trailer of The Black Power Mixtape:

Filed under Activists, civil rights, film, Human Rights, News Tagged with , , ,

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