Principle Pictures

A Reminder

2011-09-08T16:33:00.004-04:00

I just arrived at the Club Quarters Hotel overlooking Ground Zero in New York City. In about 12 hours, my husband, Dennis, and I will join 43 other bike riders for a 270-mile journey back to Boston to support Beyond the 11th, an organization borne out of the tragedy of 9/11 and focused on healing the wounds from that day.

Towering near the hotel is One WTC -- a structure that continues to climb 84 floors. Below, construction vehicles buzz around the haunting crater where the World Trade Center towers once stood. I can hear the jackhammers and loader engines in my room as I catch up on emails: forms for fiscal sponsorship need filling out; a meeting for our Executive Producer at the Toronto Film Festival needs confirming; licensing fees need to be worked out with Brazil's largest TV network. Everything needed. Needed now. Distracting me from connecting with this moment, and the reasons I have chosen to be here.

And then I open an email - one of the most beautiful I've ever received - from Bonnie Pedota of Ontario who has just watched our film BEYOND BELIEF. This is it in its entirety:

I am a mother and wife (most importantly, but among other things) living in Brooklin, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto. I borrowed Beyond Belief from my public library.

Just wanted to share how blown away I was by this film.

I was crying so many times watching the moving stories about Susan, Patti, and all of the women of Afghanistan that were featured. What brave and strong women, to create something so beautiful out of their deep mourning at losing their husbands. What brave and strong women are these widows of Afghanistan, to keep moving forward, despite so many cards against them.

What struck me most was the prosperity of our North American lives, and the relative poverty of their Afghan lives at so many levels, especially regarding human rights. I had the same “aha” moment as Susan when she was crying in embarrassment at her relative wealth after one of the women suggested she send photos of her home in Boston to Afghanistan.

As a mother, this film make my heart bleed for the Afghan mothers who can often not supply the basic necessities of life to their children, sometimes even losing them to starvation.

When I became I mother just five years ago, I feel as though I became a mother to all the world’s children. As a mother now, I so deeply feel the pain of mothers who cannot feed their children. Your film left me asking myself what more I can do.

Congratulations on an outstanding project and film.

Bonnie Pedota

Thank you, Bonnie, for reminding me how much what is happening outside my window right now is connected to the rest of our world.

Principle Voices: Alyssa and her passion for film

2011-06-15T16:57:00.001-04:00

I was a really big theater geek in high school, and have always been into still photography. At some point during my senior year, I realized that film was a great way to combine these two passions. The ability to tell someone’s story through film appealed to me and I really liked the artistic aspect of filmmaking. So I decided that I wanted to pursue filmmaking at Boston University, and eventually I realized that documentaries appeal to me the most.

I spent about a year and a half in Chicago and moved back to my hometown of Plymouth about two years ago. That same week my alumni high school director told me about a producer at a documentary production company right in downtown Plymouth who was looking for interns. I contacted Sean, sent him my resume, went in for an interview and within two weeks I was interning at Principle Pictures. Six months later the internship turned into a paid job.

My primary position at the office is Beth’s executive assistant. Shadowing a documentary filmmaker has been a fantastic learning process for me. I’m able to see exactly what her job involves on a day-to-day basis.

I ‘m really excited about taking on some more creative roles with the company. We’re trying hard to increase the number of still photos we take while on shoots, which can be difficult when you only have a two person crew. I'm eager to help out with this effort- not only with taking photos, but also editing them and using them for social media purposes. I'm learning Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, and I'm super excited to try my hand at designing some of our press and promotional materials. I'm also hoping to make the time to teach myself how to edit this summer.

My favorite experience I’ve had so far is the trip I took to California to shoot for THE LIST. Beth called me at 11pm to see if I could fly out the next morning. I cleared my schedule, got coverage for my other job, flew out seven hours later and suddenly found myself in the San Jose airport in California. This was my first on-location shoot. I was Sean's production assistant and also helped with the logistics during our trip.

We spend five days with an amazing family from Kurdistan who treated us like family and cooked us an enormous meal when we first arrived. We all hung out and danced around. I had a really great time. And with the happy moments there were some really tough moments too. Anna, the Iraqi refugee we were filming, visited her mother’s grave for the first time- a very emotional experience.

The trip gave me a sense of what it’s like in the field and showed me that I may have a knack for field producing, where you get to be on location and help with organization and logistics; one of my strongest skills. It would be a great way to combine and use my skills well.

To go from multiple part-time jobs which aren’t very stimulating, to working for this production company that does a thousand things at once, all of which are really important, has been a whirlwind experience. And all in the best way possible, because I’m learning everything at once and I get to figure out where I fit in and where my passion lies. It has been awesome!

Uganda's Justin Bieber

2011-05-03T11:15:00.012-04:00

Alex Ssekweyama lives in the western Ugandan village of Kakumiro. His family's status in the community comes from his mother's success - people walk far distances to visit her drug shop where she doesn't only dispense life-saving medications, she also confirms diagnoses, makes referrals to hospitals and always shares a kind word and gentle touch. The family home is the only gated one on the street, and the property is packed with prized mango, banana and orange trees.

Life here serves as the inspiration for Alex's singing and songwriting. When he heard we were coming to visit, he put on his best suit - a dark, over-sized jacket with pants that nearly matched.

He was beaming when he greeted us.

My name is Rioman. Well, that's what I call myself when I sing, he grinned. And I want to be Justin Bieber.

He could hardly contain himself while his three sisters introduced themselves to us. When the youngest girl--a dimpled 7-year-old--was finished speaking, Rioman stepped forward to perform.

As we were leaving, he handed us a couple light blue air mail envelopes with this message inside:

Dear my friend, I am so grateful and happy that you have visited our home... Although I am still an upcoming artist to start my music and acting talent in 2013, I see it as my task to make your friends, relatives and parents my friends as well. As you go back to your respective homelands, tell them that Rioman Ssekweyama Alex loves them so much...

So there it is, my friends. A young man from Uganda who has talent, a dream, and the charisma to be discovered.

What a Bat Reveals

2011-05-01T09:55:00.014-04:00

As our car zig-zagged to avoid pothole after pothole on a poorly paved road in Eastern Uganda, we caught glimpses of life: a motorcycle passed carrying two men and a cow (the dead animal was on the very back and the passenger held its legs around his waist); locals dined at a restaurant called God is Good Pork Joint; and two men ambled down the road holding an enormous bat—an outstretched wing in each man’s hand gave the mammal a 4-foot wingspan.

We were in a hurry, but never has there been a better reason for a U-turn. We approached the men to get a close-up look and find out what they planned to do with it. “We’re going to eat it,” they laughed.

It’s true. Ugandans do eat bats. But Lilian, the health worker traveling with us, wasn’t convinced that’s what these men had in mind.

There is a common practice here in which bats are burned and the ashes mixed with lotions and vaseline to perform “genital stretching.” And it’s exactly that. Caustic herbs and lotions are used while the labia is pulled and pulled in an attempt to stretch it to the length a middle finger.

In Lugandan the ritual ceremony involving labia elongation is known as okukialira ensiko which literally means “visiting the forest,” and it’s believed – among men and women – to be a form of genital enhancement that’s necessary for marriage. It’s agonizingly painful and can cause permanent disfigurement. While it’s being done (up to 45 minutes a day for weeks at a time), the area becomes painful and swollen, making it difficult to walk and urinate. Some women who are not stretching “properly” are forced to wear a belt with weights attached to their genitals so that there is a constant tugging.

The goal, Lilian tells us, is to make sex better for men. That’s why she addresses the topic early on in any relationship. “This isn’t something just for people in the village. My male and female friends from university think it’s the right thing to do.”

She remembers the first time she heard about it. “I was fifteen, and my friend told me she was planning to do it. She said if I didn’t, then I couldn’t be a woman.”

Worried, she asked her aunt (Lilian is an AIDS orphan) who told her that the choice was hers. Grateful then, and even more grateful eight years later, Lilan decided against it. And now she’s become an outspoken advocate against “pulling.” Her friends were stunned when she wrote an op-ed against the practice, and even more surprised, she says, that she actually practices what she preaches.

“It’s hard because people in my tribe and in my clan want it to be secret. They don’t want it to get all the attention that ‘cutting’ gets.”

Unlike other forms of female genital mutilation in which the genitals are cut off, “pulling” is a practice that doesn’t carry the same international condemnation. But it’s something that plagues women their entire lives – starting as teens and often continuing through menopause.

Until it ceases to be the norm, Lilian refuses to be silenced, even if speaking out comes with a price.

“There are a lot of men who would refuse to marry me for this reason, but I don’t want to marry them. What if we had a daughter one day?”

Riots in Kampala

2011-04-30T15:06:00.012-04:00

Just as we headed out of Kampala yesterday morning, riots broke out across the capitol city. We got bits and piece of news throughout the day: AK-47 fire forced a shut down of all businesses, the U.S. Embassy was on lock-down, and traffic between Kampala and Jinja (the road we were driving) was interrupted.

“Oh Uganda!” – the headline we woke up to in the independent Daily Monitor – is right.

Outrage with President Yoweri Museveni over skyrocketing inflation (200-percent in the past two months for fuel and food) reached a tipping point this week when a popular opposition leader was violently arrested. Dr. Kizza Besigye had started a “walk to work” campaign to protest the soaring inflation, and the people we've met are grateful to Besigye for doing something.

"The government just doesn't care that we're suffering - that we can't afford to drive places or feed our families the same way," a mother of five told me. But by shooting, tear-gassing and beating Besigye, military police prove that the government isn't merely indifferent to the people's plight, it is ready to rule by force.

One editorial asked the chilling question “Is Uganda returning to the days of Amin?” – referring to Idi Amin who became known as the “butcher of Uganda” for his brutal rule.

We kept tabs on the riots throughout the day while filming some beautiful stories and scenes in quiet rural villages around important family planning work in the country. Around 7pm, we received the all-clear to head back. In the end, at least ten people were killed and about 100 injured. (Picture: Children surround photographer Beth Balaban in the village of Kitayunjwa.)

Things are quiet in Kampala today—“Weekends are for fun,” someone told us, so I guess we’ll wait to see what happens Monday.

Millions for Mortenson

2011-04-18T13:42:00.007-04:00

When Emmanuel College asked me to be the keynote speaker for their convocation ceremony last September, I just had to accept that I was their back up plan. "We tried to get Greg Mortenson," they told me with voices trailing off.

It wasn't that Mortenson was particularly hard to get - he just came with a price. A big, big price. He commanded $25k an appearance minimum. He demanded first class airfare. And the limo better be waiting outside baggage claim.

So much for Pennies for Peace. More like Millions for Mortenson.

Even though my image of Mortenson waned at that time, I still enjoyed reading "Listen to the Wind," to my 3.5 year old daughter, Isabelle, and marveled at all that he accomplished. Now, the 60 Minutes report that charges "Three Cups of Tea" is a "beautiful lie" and Mortenson's charity is taking credit for building schools that don't exist.

In defending himself against 60 Minutes, Mortenson says, "The program may appear to ask simple questions, but the answers are often complex, not easily encapsulated in 10-second sound bites." Actually, I think the key questions can be answered in a fraction of a second: Greg, were you captured by the Taliban as you claim in your books? Did you build all 170 schools you say you did? A simple yes or no will suffice.

With good work so difficult to accomplish in Afghanistan as it is, it's sad to think about what a negative impact this will have on all the honest people working so hard without even a fraction of the recognition.

So, this is what film directors are supposed to do...

2011-04-17T08:04:00.017-04:00

We just visited the Taj Mahal! Sort of...

Bengali film director Ahsanullah Moni made this decision: spending $58 million is worth it to give those who can't afford a trip to India the chance to see "the" Taj Mahal. He spent five years building a replica of the 17th century monument in Sonargaon, a small town that will be an hour's drive from Dhaka when the new highway system around the capitol city is finished in a couple years. But today it took us almost 3 hours.

Open for just a short time now, the Banglar Taj Mahal is already considered one of the best spots in the country for couples to get engaged, giving it the Indian reputation of the Temple of Eternal Love even though Moni didn't build it as a memorial to his wife as Emperor Shajahan did.

No doubt there's something enchanting about this pink-trimmed place--and its "in-the-middle-of-nowhere" location adds to its mystique. Good is coming from it, too. All the money raised from entrance fees goes to help the people of Sonargaon who often suffer food shortages.

(Pictured upper left: Beth Balaban and Director Ahsanullah Moni.)

Return to Dhaka

2011-04-16T21:48:00.005-04:00

Written on Qatar Air Flight#344 from Doha

Dennis and I had been married for just a few weeks when we landed in Dhaka with our film crew in November 1998. Like I am now, we were working on a global health story, and we planned to spend a couple weeks in Bangladesh and then travel to South Africa for more filming and our honeymoon.

As we made our way to rural villages and documented women walking for days to reach health clinics, our driver played a constant high-speed game of chicken with the brightly decorated buses and trucks that filled the narrow streets. The sense of doom was so great, that every day we were still alive, I began to feel more invincible than ever—-refusing at times to even wear a seat-belt.

While we focused on filming, everyone else was paying attention to the nation’s favorite pastime: cricket. A big tournament was underway—and all eyes were on Jacque Kallis, the pride of the South African team who was admired here even while routing the Bengali players. White, handsome, tall and talented, Jacque’s picture appeared each morning in The Daily Star newspaper.

Enter Dennis—college football and lacrosse player at Harvard. White, handsome, tall and talented—and walking through Dhaka with a camera crew in tow. It wasn’t long before shouts of "Jacque! Jacque! " followed us as spell-bound fans shook our hands, snapped photos and asked for autographs (Dennis was more than happy to oblige, and there were many restaurant napkins left featuring the misspelling Jack Calis).

After two weeks of filming, we were on our way to Cape Town. And so were all the smartly dressed South African cricket players. As we weaved our way through the sea of dark blue blazers, green-striped ties and tan slacks at baggage claim, there he was--Jacque Kallis: Dennis’ blonde-haired doppelganger. Now it was our turn to snap photos and ask for an autograph. To this day we ask ourselves, What are the chances?

This magical trip went on to include sunbathing with penguins, the world’s highest bungee jump and appendicitis… but that’s another story…

Stay tuned for this trip's adventures with the two Beths - Beth Balaban and I are traveling together for a new branded film.

Principle Voices: Beth Balaban on Bangladesh

2011-04-14T10:28:00.005-04:00

Associate producer and asst. editor Beth Balaban is heading to Dhaka

I’m really excited for my upcoming trip to Bangladesh. It will be my first trip abroad with Principle Pictures, and the first big shoot I’m a part of. It’s also my first time shooting one of our branded films (for Novartis), and I’ll be using our brand new camera, the Panasonic AF 100. I love this camera! The shallow depth of field, precision focus, and accuracy and saturation of the colors make the pictures gorgeous!

When I started at Principle Pictures I had a strong background in theory from Emerson University where I’m wrapping up my MFA, but very little practical knowledge. Over the past year, I’ve progressively learned more and more about each phase of the production process, starting with grant writing and pre-production and eventually moving on to shooting and producing. Now, I primarily edit our branded films, and so it’ll be great to come back into the edit suite with material I’ve shot.

Bangladesh is special for another reason: I’ll celebrate my 26^th birthday in Dhaka! I’m hoping Beth Murphy and I – the two Beths – will go out on the town during our last night before flying back to Boston at 4am the next day. Then we’ll be home for a week before heading to Uganda for a week. Something else to look forward to! And we plan to do lots of blogging from the road on both trips – so, check back here.

Where Monsters Can Grow

2011-04-14T10:13:00.004-04:00

To help start a conversation about the connection between ignorance and hatred, "Teaching BEYOND BELIEF" (written by Columbia University Teachers College) includes this poem:

WHERE MONSTERS CAN GROW

Beware of the monsters
Who dwell in the mind,
Who grow in the shelter
Of shadows they find.

Beware of the demons
Who hide from the light,
Who only survive
When our spirits lose sight.

Those creatures can thrive
Where our knowledge is low;
They fill in the spaces
Of what we don’t know.

Beware of the monsters
That cause us to hate,
To strike out in anger
When we can’t relate.

For ignorance darkens
The mind and the heart,
And helps all our monsters
To tear us apart.

But learning and thinking
Will strengthen us so
We won’t be the places
Where monsters can grow.

Principle Voices: Sean on his upcoming Fulbright scholarship

2011-04-05T18:14:00.004-04:00

Our producer Sean Flynn received a Fulbright scholarship last month, which he will use to travel to India and produce a documentary about life in Dharavi, one of the biggest slums in Asia.

The reason that I chose to apply to the Indian program specifically is that, prior to joining Principle Pictures, I’d spent two months backpacking around India with a friend of mine. I was totally enchanted and mesmerized by the country. It was a life changing experience on a lot of levels - one of those things that really made me start opening my eyes to the world. Even though I had already been thinking about getting into documentary film before that, traveling through India really cemented that decision for me. I wanted to bring stories from other cultures and other parts of the world to American audiences.

Looking back on that two-month trip, I feel like I was just skimming the surface. I never got to dig deeper into the culture. For the Fulbright proposal, I decided to focus most of my energies on slum called Dharavi where the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was shot.

I’ve been interested for a number of years now in the phenomenon of urbanization in the 21st century and the fact that in the last few years we reached the tipping point where more than 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in cities. I’d like to explore how cities like Mumbai are taking shape and how opportunities are distributed within them. What motivates all these people to pick up their lives, leave the village they came from, and move into the city?

The purpose of the Fulbright is to provide funding for scholars and artists to research and teach abroad, building ties between different cultures on a global scale and breaking down stereotypes. So there’s a sense of responsibility that comes with it - of being a cultural ambassador for the United States.

That idea has definitely given me pause and made me reflect not only on how I can use this opportunity to pursue my own creative goals, but also how I can do something for the community there and hopefully give something back. I know this will be another life changing experience.

Principle Voices: Kevin on THE LIST edit

2011-03-29T12:25:00.017-04:00

Kevin Belli is Principle Pictures’ Senior Editor and Director of Photography

A whole day of editing, that’s how a typical day at Principle Pictures looks like for me, these last few months. I come in and review what I’ve done the day before. I try to macromanage myself and set daily goals. You can get really overwhelmed when you think about an hour long film for example. Every scene is like its own little film and it has to make sense in the context of the bigger story.

The most important thing for the rough cut is establishing structure. Beth Murphy (Director) and I will sit down and work out the film’s structure. The order information is presented, the order of the scenes, how the information is shared, how much information is being revealed... all of that establishes the pacing of the film.

I like to think creatively about how to tell parts of the story for which there is little to no video coverage. For example, a major part of Kirk Johnson’s character development in THE LIST is to tell his post-traumatic stress accident story: He was sleepwalking while on vacation and fell out a two story window. We have a few still photographs of Kirk in the hospital, and excellent interview material, but by themselves, I thought the presentation of the material fell flat.

The fun thing about being an editor is when a problem like this comes up, I can try to think of a unique way to shoot it or show it. In this case I came up with the idea of putting Kirk’s photographs from the Dominican Republic in a slide projector and shooting the projector itself and the projected images. So that became my coverage for telling this part of the story, and I think it provides a sort of a cool aesthetic that works well with some other stylistic choices we’ve made.

I have a love-hate relationship with editing, because it can seem overwhelming--especially at the beginning. For THE LIST, we have more than 350 hours of raw footage that we’re cutting down to less than an hour. And there are days when nothing seems to be going right, and a whole day will be spent trying to work through 10 or 20 seconds of the film. But then there are the good days - the great days. The days when it’s going so well I don’t want to leave the edit room. I love being in the groove, and there’s nothing like watching back a section that you know works. The rewards are so worth the struggle.

So I don’t view any of this as work. It eats up a lot of time, especially social time. But I love doing it because at the end of the day I’m working on a film. I’m making a movie! It’s fun, you know. It’s a mental struggle, it’s an emotional struggle, but at the end of the day it’s the most fun you can have.

Principle Voices is a new blog series that features weekly interviews with staff and interns to provide insights into what, how and why we do what we do.

Introducing Myself: Lara Sitruk

2011-03-29T12:00:00.003-04:00

After working here for three weeks, I feel part of the PP-family. I’m up to date with most of the projects everybody is working on and the pile of plans for future projects which keeps growing. Common characteristics among my coworkers are ambition, interest in the world and the constant laughter that fills the office every day.

I moved to Boston from the Netherlands and arrived way too overdressed at my first day of work, thinking American companies are very professional and formal. Principle Pictures is professional, but more informal, which creates a very cozy, fun and motivating atmosphere in which to work!

Kevin Belli, Principle Pictures’ Senior editor, dragged me to the premier of ‘Jane Eyre’ at the MFA-museum after my first day of work, where we had just missed the President of the United States who was in Boston for a special event. That same week I got to join my coworkers at the Salem Film Fest, listen to music in South End and see ‘Educating Rita’ at the Huntington Theatre. I guess you can say people at Principle Pictures are very culturally educated.

One of my tasks here at Principle Pictures is to take care of our blog and keep you all up to date with our news, plans and adventures. To give you more insight in our projects and the people who work at Principle Pictures, we are introducing to you: Principle Voices, interviews with people in the office. This week Kevin tells us about what he’s up to right now: editing the documentary THE LIST.

Principle Inspirations: Poetry from Mary Angelino

2011-03-28T23:10:00.005-04:00

Mary Angelino has been named one of 2010's best new poets.

Helping My Father Write His Father’s Eulogy

Instead of uneducated, write immigrant,
instead of mason –
artist with brick and stone.

If you say worked hard, always
food on the table, you won’t need
to say poor.

He’d want the Pslam read first
to get it out of the way.

End with the time
he drove to that mansion,
the fence as white as a rich man’s teeth,

Just to show you the tile rooftop,
blue as a thousand passports
cut from the sky.

Another of her poems, "Refugee," is beautiful and heartbreaking. She presents it at this reading:

Principle Inspirations is a new blog series that features those special things that makes us laugh and cry -- the things that motivate and inspire us. We hope you'll share your stories with us, too.

Remembering Geraldine Ferraro

2011-03-26T21:40:00.006-04:00

One of my earliest memories as a journalist is of covering Geraldine Ferraro's visit to the University of Rhode Island in 1989 after she'd become head of the new Int'l Institute for Women's Political Leadership. I drove my white Fiero to the event which was held in the mold-infested campus auditorium where faded maroon-and-black carpet was made even less favorable by the low-watt florescent lighting.

With me I brought a Marantz pmd430 tape recorder, a microphone, and three packs of extra batteries--all stashed in my tan Liz Claiborne bag. After positioning the mic on its stand, angled precisely to the height I imagined Ferraro to be, I seated myself directly to what would be Ferraro's right. I imagined her right-handed, and, therefore, prone to looking right. I'd be sure to make eye contact, and be more likely to persuade an interview backstage.

As I moved left to sit, something under my chair reacted. I ignored it and sat. Ferraro began to speak. It felt like 1984. As she greeted us, something began to happen that I could not ignore: A giant cockroach darted back and forth underneath my seat. At first I just stared at the floor, lifting my legs up during every scurry. But an hour in, I kept my feet on the chair, hugging my knees into my chest.

I can't remember anything Ferraro said that night, and have long since lost the tape. But my memory of that night still makes me laugh. And Ferraro's acceptance speech five years earlier still inspires me:

Mass Humanities Awards Grant for BEYOND BELIEF Education Campaign

2011-03-23T10:18:00.003-04:00

Good news from the Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities! We’ve been awarded a grant to get BEYOND BELIEF and its new curriculum/study guide (written by Columbia University Teachers College) into the hands of teachers and students. In fully funding our grant proposal, Senior Program Officer Hayley Wood says, “I can think of few more appropriate ways to learn about 9/11, focusing not on the horror of the event itself, which may not be the most appropriate approach for young people, but learning about the event more tangentially, through the choices of people who were directly affected by the tragedy.”

Now that we’ve been awarded the grant, we can’t wait to spend it! The $10k will accomplish a lot. In collaboration with our partners—Teachers College and its innovative development division Edlab, Primary Source, Educational Collaborative of Greater Boston (EDCO), and Beyond the 11th, we will hold a series of professional development workshops this spring. Feedback from teachers during those sessions will be used by Teachers College to write a Teacher’s Manual, and online professional development materials will be created to extend the reach and impact of this grant.

This fall—in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11—Primary Source will organize a “Global Watch” of BEYOND BELIEF—a live event at Coolidge Corner Theater that will be streamed online, allowing educators and others to participate via Facebook and Twitter. Stay tuned for updates—we hope you can join us in-person or virtually!

The study guide has been developed with these specific disciplines in mind: history, social studies, English, peace studies, international studies, women’s studies, and psychology. While Teachers College has been busy writing, we’ve been editing a new educational DVD. New features include: 10-minute teaching modules, added special features from our return to Afghanistan, and a shortened version of the film that will fit into junior high, high school or university classes.

And we were thrilled to hear how effective the BEYOND BELIEF program has already been for students and teachers at Gill St. Bernard Middle and Upper school. “I have rarely seen students so moved and eager to make a difference on behalf of others whom they are never likely to meet or know,” says Peter Schmidt, the school’s Director of Studies.

One student explained her reaction this way, “Before watching the film, I felt prejudice toward Muslims… However, I learned my hatred was misguided toward the Afghan people who had nothing to do with the 9/11 terrorists attacks… I feel like my own wounds from that day have started to heal. This film gave me a powerful sense of hope.” This is exactly what we hope for – that students are able to internalize the film’s messages.

“This film and its study guide will move your students to talk about and understand the history of America and Afghanistan at war,” says Ambassador Swanee Hunt from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “The message is that this whole world is ours, we are all connected, we are all responsible for making this-our-world better.”

Initial funding for this educational effort came from the Fledgling Fund, making it possible for us to build the capacity for a strategic and robust campaign.

In Defense of Malalai Joya's Visa Application

2011-03-20T10:41:00.003-04:00

Almost three years ago to the day, Malalai Joya and I were bundled up in our winter coats walking through Boston Common, discussing Afghanistan. Joya hadn’t been back home in a while—she is always cautious about returning to Afghanistan, afraid she will put her parents’ and siblings’ lives in danger. Not to mention her own. As a vocal women’s rights activist who has since been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Joya has survived five assassination attempts and countless death threats.

But here in Beacon Hill with her slight frame and oversize coat, she was unrecognizable, blending in with the cities’ college kids while carrying a Canadian passport with a 1978 birth date printed inside the maple leaf cover.

As we took pictures in front of the State House, Joya’s smile was hidden by her long, dark hair that the wind swirled around her face. She held my 7-month-old daughter, Isabelle, and returning her to my arms spoke wistfully about how her life on the run would likely never be conducive to motherhood.

She had come to Massachusetts for a few events including the International Women’s Day program we planned: A screening of BEYOND BELIEF and a presentation by Joya.

I remember how uncomfortable it made some people in our audience when Joya gave example upon example of how U.S. policy--no matter how well intentioned--props up warlords and drug dealers and means more suffering and oppression for Afghan women. For years now, she has spoken vehemently against the U.S. war in Afghanistan, and our event was no exception.

It was a memorable night, and I was looking forward to seeing her again sometime this week during her book tour in the U.S. for “Woman Among Warlords.” That book tour was scheduled to start today.

But this time Joya was denied entry to America.

Denied a visa, according to her staff, because she is “unemployed” and “lives underground.” But America has long been a place of refuge and asylum for those fleeing persecution—something we can understand would make it impossible to hold down a job. What separates Joya from others like Iran’s Salman Rushdie or Mexico’s Marisol Valles Garcia is her attack on U.S. foreign policy. She says things that people just don’t want to hear.

Instead, Joya is now in the company of others denied visas –people like Kenya's former police chief Hussein Ali who was kept out of the U.S. last year because he is responsible for gross human rights violations at home. Last January, human rights groups celebrated Ali’s visa denial.

But no human rights groups are celebrating now. It seems clear that Joya’s visa denial is the result of what the ACLU calls “ideological exclusion,” an effort to deny visas to foreign artists, scholars and writers who criticize U.S. policy overseas. This was common during the Bush administration, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent lifting of bans on two prominent academics and a Columbian journalist seemed to signal an end to this racist, discriminatory, anti-free speech policy (one that is aimed at Muslims more than any other group).

In fighting one case of ideological exclusion, the ACLU wrote:
“No legitimate interest is served by the exclusion of foreign nationals on ideological grounds. Ideological exclusion impoverishes intellectual inquiry and debate in the United States, suggests to the world that our country is more interested in silencing than engaging its critics, and undermines our ability to support dissent in politically repressive nations.”

Whether you agree or disagree with what Joya says, the First Amendment protects our right to hear it. It’s a good time to remember President Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech in which he discussed ways to improve U.S.-Muslim relations through “a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground."

That vision cannot be realized if people like Malalai Joya are silenced in America.

(If you’d like to support Joya’s goal of having a book tour in the U.S. click here for practical ways that you can help.)

Hello, Denver!

2011-03-12T14:55:00.004-05:00

Barbara Bridges and her extraordinary Women+Film Festival know how to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day! I'm here in Denver for a screening of BEYOND BELIEF and a fundraiser for our 10th anniversary of 9/11 national outreach effort. (All the while eating what is most definitely too much movie popcorn and enjoying beautiful French films like POTICHE starring Catherine Deneuve and QUEEN-TO-PLAY, Kevin Klein's first French-speaking role).

I am struck today by David Brooks' NYT editorial about our over-confident nation. As Americans, we're collectively self-indulgent and the accolades we expect don't match our merits. As Gerald Chertavian, founder of Year Up, told me this week, "There is no free lunch. If you're not willing to work your ass off, then you can't expect access or opportunity." Yet, lots of people do. And they want compliments, to boot! Not surprising then that a recent study shows college students would prefer to have their egos puffed up than eat their favorite food or even - gasp - have sex.

Brooks' most interesting observation is the link between magnification of self and the decline of values around citizenship. "Citizenship, after all," he writes, "is built on an awareness that we are not all that special but are, instead, enmeshed in a common enterprise." He is focused on ideas of national citizenship, but I believe the same applies to global citizenship. It's important, then, to see ourselves as a small link in a larger generational chain - so that things that inflate our sense of self today don't mean abdicating responsibility for tomorrow.

The films programmed by the talented Tammy Brislin of the Denver Film Society are helping to inspire many thoughts about how not to succumb to our "all-me" culture. She had first envisioned a 2.5 day festival to honor International Women's Day - but after 2 martinis and 2 weeks of pressure from DFS director Tom Botelho, found herself in charge of a 6 day festival exploring and celebrating women's voices and the inclusive spirit that defines them.

Ironweed Film Club Features BEYOND BELIEF

2011-01-03T12:42:00.002-05:00

Ironweed Film Club is a subscription-based club that delivers progressive-themed, independent documentaries to your door every month. Members receive one-of-a-kind DVDs with though-provoking, honest, quality films that are hard to see outside of the festival circuit. Each month a film (or films) are distributed based on a theme.

Our film BEYOND BELIEF is featured this month on the theme of FORGIVENESS. Check out Ironweed, and start your own film club right in your living room!

Nicholas Kristof on What Oman Can Teach Us

2010-10-14T10:01:00.002-04:00

In his New York Times column today, Nicholas Kristof writes about the benefits of books over bombs. He suggests that America's strategy for crushing extremism by using force may not be the best possible solution. He uses Oman as an example - a country that, only 40 years ago, was as tribal and traditional as its neighbor, Yemen. Oman, however, did not become the hotbed of Al Quaeda terrorism that Yemen has - in large part due to an emphasis on education for both girls and boys. Read Kristof's article about his travels and observations.

Love Stories of Iraqi Widows

2010-08-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

After a love story that lasted 10 years, one minute was all it took to lost my husband.

The number of widows resulting from the last three decades of conflict in Iraq has grown to more than a million. Iraqi women tell their stories of the loves they once had and the difficult lives that were left behind.

Razan Othman Mohammed, 29-year-old worker in Baghdad

Back in 2008, my husband, his orphaned relative - who was only five years old - and I were caught up in a bomb explosion at the market. When the medics came to our rescue, a suicide bomber strapped with explosives set off another bomb. I lost consciousness at that moment and my body was full of shrapnel. My husband died of his injuries on his way to the hospital and the orphaned child was badly injured. He is now disabled and no longer able to walk. I have undergone five surgeries in the aftermath of the explosions. My condition was so serious that I didn't know my husband had died for three months, as the doctors advised my family to keep the news from me. I have since moved back in with my parents and I look after myself using my own income. I see myself in a better position compared to other widowed women since I do not have any children. But what about all the other young widowed women who have children? Who will support them?

Susan Retik Honored by President Obama

2010-08-04T20:33:00.006-04:00

It was so exciting! I had no idea that I would be called out... Susan Retik emailed me today after President Obama made special mention of her at a White House ceremony during which she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for her work with Afghan widows. It's the second highest honor that can be bestowed on an American citizen.

"Susan Retik’s husband was killed when his plane was flown into the World Trade Center on September 11th. And nobody would have blamed Susan if she had turned inward with grief or with anger," President Obama said. "But that isn’t who she is. So instead, she and another widow started Beyond the 11th, and this is a group that empowers Afghan widows affected by war and terrorism. And Susan says,'These women are not our enemy.'"

The pride at Principle Pictures is twofold. We are ecstatic that Susan is being recognized for her commitment to building a lasting peace in Afghanistan. She deserves it! And we're reminded of our own role in helping to highlight the power of the individual as someone who saw BEYOND BELIEF nominated Susan for the award.

Today's White House ceremony kicks off a year-long, high-visibility 10th Anniversary of 9/11 campaign that is being launched by Susan’s foundation, Beyond the 11th, and us - Principle Pictures, producers of the BEYOND BELIEF documentary in which Susan’s story is featured. We have a shared mission: to use the power of media to inspire activism and education and encourage others to fulfill the President’s call to service.

At this important moment in America’s history, there is a real opportunity to help reshape the conversation about September 11th and the War on Terror, and do what we can to help eliminate the threat of terrorism. We hope you'll join our year-long campaign that's aimed at sparking meaningful public dialogue and citizen activism around peace in Afghanistan.

Congratulations, Susan! You continue to inspire us and so many others.

2010-07-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

In her first life, Sonali Kolhatkar was testing software for a NASA space telescope. That was before she turned to radio or to social and political activism for women in Afghanistan. Now, in addition to being the host and producer of KPFK Pacific's popular morning drive time program Uprising, Sonali is also the Co-Director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a US-based non-profit solidarity organization that funds the social, political, and humanitarian projects of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

Sonali's blog, Love and Subversion (shared with her Co-Director of the Afghan Women's Mission, Jim Ingalls), encompasses both current political topics and specifically the topic of Afghan women. It includes information about the Afghan Women's Mission and RAWA - the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.

Afghan Girls Brave Taliban Threats

2010-07-14T11:36:00.000-04:00

Girls continue to fight for their right to education by attending secret schools - yet the threat to their lives is still very much a concern, even in secrecy.

We're on the Move!

2010-06-28T13:26:00.003-04:00

When Kevin and I return from Iraq, we're coming back to our new office in Boston. Plymouth has been our home since I founded the company in my basement over 10 years ago. There's a lot of pride, countless memories, and a ton of tapes packed up in that U-Haul that's making its way up I-93 North today!

So thankful to everyone who made it happen -- Sean, Alyssa, Beth (Balaban), Kate, Danny, Jim (Sean's Dad), Alyssa's Dad, Andrew, and Dennis!! You all completely and totally rock!

Stray Cats Wanted

2010-06-26T11:52:00.008-04:00

Our upscale community on the banks of the Tigris River is peaceful. Safe. Protected on all sides with only one way in. Or so we thought.

River rats don't need to show their badges to the Peshmerga guards at the checkpoint. When they're in the mood to get away, they just wade through the sewers and find a squat toilet to claw up through. The plump one that ran in front of my path on its way from the family room to the bedroom looked right at home. Yes, it had definitely vacationed here before.

Nose to tail this rat was at least a foot long. Threat advisory level: Red. First order of business: Shoes.

Kevin and Carmen jumped off the ping-pong table, trading in their paddles for a baseball bat and squeegie. Since there were no other weapons available, and the rat hunt needed to be documented, I took to higher ground and pushed record. I'd show you my video of the action, but the R-rated language isn't fit for our company blog. Sorry.

The rodent made a clean escape.

Rat: 1
Guardian House: 0

But, rat, know this: next time a stray cat wanders into the kitchen... we just might look the other way.

Electricity Revolution

2010-06-24T09:07:00.021-04:00

Next to me on the couch is a plastic bag filled with samoon, the eye-shaped Iraqi bread that Umm Muhammad brings every morning—warm and soft. Now it is hardened from sitting in the hot sun all day. There’s a baseball bat resting nearby—put there by Carmen, a foreign correspondent and our housemate, who uses it to smack the flat bread over the front yard wall. On the other side, it lands with a soft thud, momentarily enveloped in a burst of dust. Even though Jadriya is the most exclusive area of Baghdad—it’s where President Jalal Talabani lives—the streets are dirt and littered with trash.

And the electricity is out, again.

From my seat on the living room couch that’s been moved outside, I can’t see the children playing on the street beyond the wall, but I can hear them—their shouts muffled by the constant hum of generators. “Generator city,” our colleague, Hatam, calls Baghdad.

It’s a rarity these days, but as I’m hanging out under the starless sky, three lights—red, yellow, green—begin to glow on the fuse box. That means city power is back. That means it’s OK to fire up the air conditioning. Any sense of excitement is tempered by the inevitable disappointment that will soon follow.

When we arrived in Baghdad almost three weeks ago, we enjoyed city electricity twenty-two hours a day. But as the mercury rises, so do the country’s power shortages. And they’re more than just an annoyance (I spent most of the night sleeping outside in the swinging chair below); they have the potential to wreak havoc with the external hard drives we use for editing. This morning, Kevin spent more than two hours trying to digitize the same fifteen minute clip. “The idea of editing here is a joke,” he tells me—responding to a "great idea" I had a few days ago.

Despite billions of dollars that have been spent to fix the power grid since 2003, officials are making the hard to swallow argument that Iraqis should be patient and wait at least another two years for a solution. Unable to find refuge from the searing summer heat (and often paying for electricity they can never enjoy), Iraqis are hot and pissed off. They're taking to the streets in what have become violent protests in some of the country's larger cities. One demonstrator calls it “an electricity revolution.”

No matter how often I hear this refrain, it bears repeating: Why can’t a country with the world’s third-largest oil reserves keep power plants running and provide basic services? Iraqis are demanding answers from the government–which itself is a source of simmering unrest. How well, they ask, is their democracy really working? Some signs: Riot police hit demonstrators in Nasiriyah with high powered water hoses a couple days ago, and since the election more than three months ago, there’s still no government in place as wrangling continues over who will become prime minister and who will be assigned to other key cabinet positions.

The idea of coming home to escape the problems that exist around you is a foreign concept here. My front yard living room is 117 degrees by 9am. But at least I can power up the generator and get the sluggish fans turning. The majority of Iraqis do not have this option. They can’t afford generators, and there isn’t enough electricity each day to keep meats from thawing and milk from turning sour.

Seven years after the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, the words “mission accomplished” are still difficult to utter. A senior official in Iraq’s defense ministry who has close ties to the U.S. told me in an interview yesterday, “Maybe it was better with Saddam. At least then we had power.” Are we really going to leave this country longing for Saddam?

As I’m typing just now, an Iraqi colleague walked up to my desk. “Guess what?” he said laughing. “Now we don’t have water!”

A) Magic Wand B) Bomb Detector C) Magic Wand Bomb Detector D) None of the Above

2010-06-20T16:04:00.011-04:00

Every day people tell us to be careful. That's because every day the bombs going off across the country make it into the news. Many of them are in Baghdad. Most of them are car bombs. Just today 27 people were killed.

Officials have known for a very, very long time that stopping car bombs is a top priority. That's why they invested in expensive bomb detectors, and outfitted every checkpoint with them. When I say expensive, I mean more-than-the-price-of-your-car-expensive. They're between $20,000 and $60,000 a pop. And when I say every checkpoint, I mean the roadblocks that are set up about every ten feet or so. Seriously, it's hard to go more than a minute without encountering a checkpoint. That means every car driving through the city has dozens of opportunities to be sniffed out for TNT and other explosives that will turn the vehicle into a deadly inferno.

So why are there still so many car bombings?

This device has come to be known as the Magic Wand Bomb Detector. You don't need to be an explosives expert to know that any self-respecting bomb detector could never inspire you to want to say, "Abracadabra." You also don't need to be an explosives expert to question how it could possibly work when it looks like a squirt gun with a 1970s TV antenna sticking out of the barrel.

I won't keep you guessing. The device is total junk. The U.S. military determined about a year ago that the magic wand is just as likely to make a bunny materialize from thin air as it is thwart a suicide bomber heading to a shopping market near you. But that doesn't stop Iraqi policemen and soldiers from using it. Everywhere.

Here's video of a policeman in Samarra. If you watch very closely, you'll notice that the antenna swivels toward the truck. What does that mean? RUN! This truck is going to blow!

Of course, the truck isn't going to blow, and this policeman can't even be bothered to pretend anything is wrong. Usually when the antenna points toward your car, you get pulled over for a more extensive (read: waste of time) search. When one soldier was asked why dogs aren't used instead, he lamented turning Baghdad into a zoo. Better, then, to turn it into a morgue.

The only good news part of the story is that the head of the British company that made the device has been arrested for fraud.

Blog V Doc

2010-06-19T02:22:00.007-04:00

These stories I've been sharing -- and will continue to share -- from the road often have very little to do with the actual subject matter of the documentary we're filming. That's intentional. I don't want to give the whole story away, and I'm contractually obligated not to!

Filming here has all the highs and lows I enjoy about the roller coaster filmmaking business itself. The common wisdom among journalists is to come in wanting 100%, expect 75%, and settle for 50%. Good thing I came in wanting 200%, so now I only have to settle for 100%.

We're filming every day, and so is a local crew we've hired. They are incredibly hardworking and talented, and the cameraman's back story is fantastic. Remember when the guy hucked a couple shoes at President Bush when he visited Baghdad at the end of 2008? Yasser, our local cameraman, is the guy who captured the best video that day. Not only did he get the shoe throwing incident itself, but when security guards wrestled the size 10 journalist to the ground, Yasser jumped into the fray. A picture his brother took shows other cameramen backed up against the wall--far from the action--while Yasser stands over it. (In case you're wondering... the shoe thrower spent nine months in jail. Even though he was tortured behind bars, he says he has no regrets. Hitting someone with a shoe in this society is one of the most degrading things you can do to them. Symbolically it says, "You are the scum of the earth.")

Yasser and his producer brother are going places we simply can't, returning each night with a handful of tapes for us to review and give feedback on. It's frustrating not to be able to film everywhere we want, but it's stupid to try.

I'm considering staying on longer not because we're not getting what we need, but because what we are getting is so important to the film and our understanding of what is happening with those Iraqis who worked alongside American soldiers and diplomats as translators, cultural advisers and engineers.

These Iraqis - our Iraqi allies - have already suffered so much because of their ties to the U.S. And as the U.S. withdrawal gets underway, there is good reason to believe their suffering will intensify. The List Project founder, Kirk Johnson, has come out with a damning new report, Tragedy on the Horizon. His warning alarm is justified, and supported by the horrors happening on the ground.

Just yesterday a man who worked as a U.S. military translator was shot and killed by his own sons. We're following this terrible story today -

Sights and Sounds of Baghdad

2010-06-18T16:36:00.014-04:00

The desert knows me well, the night and the mounted men.
The battle and the sword, the paper and the pen.
-- Abul Tayyeb al-Mutanabi

Ever hear a new sound -- one you've never heard before but you know you'll never forget? It happened to me once in Etretat, thanks to the shingle beach. The new sound then? Water crushing the small stones. And it happened to me again today, thanks to a coffee vendor who turned his two porcelain coffee cups into castanets while walking up and down Mutanabi Street.

Central Baghdad's Mutanabi Book Market -- it's named after a classical Arab poet, so it's not surprising that this is considered the intellectual capitol of the city. Scholars, students, soldiers and shopkeepers come to buy and sell magazines, maps, magnifying glasses, prayer beads, video games, stuffed animals, and--of course--books. There aren't too many women around, but men are hanging out in cafes, smoking and playing board games. Pictured: Two boys have their pet bird in tow while shopping for books with their grandfather.

All motor vehicles -- except speeding military humvees and pickups-- have been barred from the area since a 2007 car bomb.

I think the ice vendors have one of the toughest jobs in the neighborhood. An umbrella cart and wool blanket shield the ice block from the sun. But it was still almost 120 degrees today.

Below: A woman balances a block of ice on her head.

Kurdistan’s Rappin’ Baby ‘Bama

2010-06-16T18:18:00.007-04:00

It’s three o’clock in the afternoon and 18-year-old Kayan is just emerging from his bedroom. It was another busy all-nighter for this Kurdish musician – writing lyrics for a new rap song about life in Iraq.

Terrorist, Kayan’s first political song, was the way he channeled his anger and sadness when a friend’s father was killed by militias in Baghdad. He hasn’t decided on a title for this new song yet.

“It’s about wishes and askin’ God to bring me back to a day when I can fix things,” he says. “I don’t know how much I remember, but I’m gonna spit some.”

When Kayan sings, his waifish frame is typically in constant motion—a loose silver wrist watch sliding up and down his undulating arm, black dress shoes tapping below well-pressed jeans. This kid is definitely talented, and he carries himself with an endearing confidence.

“I brought hip-hop and rap to Kurdistan,” he tells me with a wide grin. “Aw-ight,” he adds before I have a chance to react. It’s the first time I’ve heard this uniquely American urban English in Iraq, and Kayan has all the right body language to pull it off. Nothing about it would seem strange – except, I suppose, that I’m in northeastern Iraq, not Brooklyn or Compton, and Kayan is a dead ringer for Barack Obama.

If hip-hop was going to start somewhere in Kurdistan, it’s appropriate that it started here in Kayan’s home city, Sulaymaniyah. Suly (what the locals call it) is considered the cultural center of Kurdistan, the autonomous region of northern Iraq that’s tucked into the Azmar mountains. Kids may have been exposed to rap on the internet (Kayan first discovered 50 Cent’s In Da Club online), but before Kayan and his friends started performing, no one was rapping live. And while his bedroom recording studio is still the center of his operations, he opened a “real” studio last year, and convinced a local radio station to play his music. He sings, he mixes, he masters... but most of all he loves writing lyrics.

Let’s just imagine this won’t ever happen… all the family sittin’ down and laughin’… Take me back to the days when I was a little kid….I could use one wish just to fix things a little bit…

At a time when hip hop critics in the U.S. decry the genre’s lack of political substance, Kayan and his friends are turning up the political heat. Like Grandmaster Flash in the 1980s, the youth in Kurdistan—in Iraq—still have something to say, and they want to share it with the world.

For many years, the flower of our hopes was downtrodden, the fresh rose of spring was the blood of the youth…

These words, though, aren’t Kayan’s. They belong to his great-grandfather, Piramerd, the famous Kurdish philosopher, poet and journalist. Piramerd’s face is etched on buildings here, and there’s even a holiday in his name.

“He’s the legend. We have art in our veins – in our blood. I brought hip hop and he brought poetry,” Kayan says, understandably proud of his family heritage. “In our family, there’s a lot of poets, singers – only me rapper – so, that’s something cool.”

Six decades after his grandfather found inspiration from the hardship of his people, Kayan draws from that same emotional well.

There’s a proverb that defines Kurdish life, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. When elephants make love, the grass also suffers.”

God, can I get a wish? 30 million people have one wish. It’s peace.

Kayan is the grass in this part of the world. That makes his music something worth listening to. And his Obama good looks make him one... well, two... in a million.

Agony of De-Feet

2010-06-16T01:54:00.004-04:00

Good thing Kevin brought all those anti-inflammatories...

Not a good day for our driver, either. This happened on the streets of Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan (in northern Iraq) just before he was pulled over by the cops for an illegal turn. We're heading back to Baghdad first thing in the morning where, ironically, it may feel a bit safer.

I Think We're Going to Need a Bigger Tunnel

2010-06-10T17:13:00.008-04:00

The trip to the military's media social should have taken about 5 minutes. But since the bus transporting us (17 international journalists) couldn't fit through Slayer Tunnel, we enjoyed the 45-minute scenic tour through Baghdad's Victory Base Camp... past the True Value Hardware store, Paris Boutique and bowling alley... alongside the never-ending rows of concrete T-walls... and, finally, a right onto Vigilant Road toward the opulent Al Faw Palace and "the juicer" (see picture below - don't you wish you had a massive orange?).

As I met and mingled with our military's impressive key leaders and senior staff on a beautiful deck overlooking Saddam's "Water Palace," a band (whose sole purpose is to increase morale around the country) played hits from the Eagles and Pink Floyd, and some guys hit golf balls into the lake. Our conversations were interrupted by this request: please bow your heads, the chaplain will now say a prayer.

I found myself taking in every word in a way that I'm not used to - "Let us be guided by truth and fairness in our responsibility as the media... and let us move forward in a spirit of oneness... that this country will be made whole... and let us be safe until we meet each other once again." Simple. Moving. And if ever there were a good place to pray, Iraq is it.

While we enjoyed the rest of the BBQ, our media escort tried to arrange a smaller bus to take us back to our cars. No luck. And the tunnel wasn't getting any bigger. Back on the scenic route, she shared stories with me about her 2-and-a-half-year-old son back home in Manhattan, Kansas... once when they were talking on video skype, he thought she looked thirsty, so he poured apple juice all over the computer. And since he's really just beginning to talk, she has trouble making out a lot of his words - the funny pronunciations unique to him aren't familiar enough to her. She can't wait to see him for two weeks in July - but then she's coming back - and like so many other mom and dad soldiers, she'll be here well past the poorly understood withdrawal in August.

GPS Tracker

2010-06-10T06:51:00.004-04:00

Before leaving for Iraq, I was thinking that it'd be great to implant a GPS tracking device... in my arm or leg, behind my ear. Anything external can be taken from you, and there are certain areas that mandate alerting others about your whereabouts.

Video Above: Martin Chulov from the Guardian alerted London about our travels into Abu Ghraib.

Hard Core Rural Iraq

2010-06-08T14:36:00.013-04:00

We headed west out of Baghdad today - toward Anbar Province, birthplace of the Sons of Iraq movement. Also known as the Awakening Council or Sahwa, the Sons of Iraq are Sunni Arabs who once took up arms against the United States, but then joined forces with us to fight Al Qaeda.

Iraqi officials refused to let us into the area without a military escort. "If you go in there alone, you won't make it out alive," the Baghdad Commander told our translator on the phone this morning. (Picture Above: Kevin gets into an Iraqi Army humvee)

Here's what we knew going in: A man and his two sons were shot to death at their home in al-Zaidan village, a farming area of Abu Ghraib. This is still like Iraq's Wild West. Suspicions were that the killers got the wrong guy... that they really wanted the dead man's brother who is a known Sons of Iraq leader.

But what the news story did not share was this: Three days ago, the U.S. military drew attention to this home when they came searching for weapons. None were found, but the family was spooked by how the "visit" would be perceived, and ended up asking American soldiers for help because of it. At this point whether Sons of Iraq members are targeted because of sectarian violence alone or because of some connection to the U.S. - real or perceived - is impossible to figure out.

Here--as in most of our own lives--perception is everything.

As we filmed an animated discussion with village leaders in the back yard, ten Iraqi soldiers and MPs stood in a circle around us. Six humvees were parked in the front near the porch where about 40 mourners sat quietly in three rows of white plastic chairs. This is day two of the funeral, and, as Muslim tradition calls for, it will last for one more day.

The victims were sleeping outside on the ground -- escaping the oppressive summer heat -- when the gunmen attacked early yesterday morning. And it was there on the ground -- in their backyard where we now stood -- that they were killed. As we said our good-byes, we navigated around seven bullet holes left in the hardened dirt, sensing that this is a crime unlikely to see any justice.

Events of the Day

2010-06-07T16:26:00.007-04:00

Here are some of the things we've experienced over the last 24 hours:

Weather.com called for: Widespread Dust. And there was - thanks to a sand storm last night that blanketed everything (including our laptop computers!) in a thin layer of dirt. Lots of masks being worn on the streets today - which have an eerie orange glow.

A cockroach in our house was so big, we weren't sure whether to kill it or charge it rent. Our housemate, Carmen Gentile, did the deed, smashing the beast with his flip flop. Carcass remains at the bottom of the stairs. (As you can tell from our living room below, we do have lots of room for extra house guests.)

This afternoon we heard about a killing in Abu Ghraib (the rural farm area, not the city). Information we had linked the victims to America, and we wanted to learn more. Our translator called the Shiekh in the area who arranged for us to film the funeral and talk with the family. I borrowed an abayah (the shapeless black cloak women here wear), Kevin changed from his heavily pocketed cameraman pants into jeans, and we were on our way. But we never made it. Iraqi police at the Abu Ghraib checkpoint told us it was too dangerous to continue without an escort. And they weren't going to give us an escort without a letter from the Baghdad commander - something that could take days to get. So, we turned around and on the way home stopped for coffee at the CNN house, drank a Pepsi with the Al-Jazeera crew, and got a close look at the car bombing that rocked the Al-Hamra Hotel back in January pushing news crews out.

We're learning that the common expression "Inshallah" (God willing)usually means "Ain't sh-t gonna happen today."

Best quotes of the day come from Martin Chulov (The Guardian):

"Everything here contradicts everything you think you know."

At a checkpoint in the International Zone, an Iraqi soldier asked: "Do you have any weapons?" "Only a pen," Martin replied with a smile.

The Winged Man

2010-06-06T13:03:00.013-04:00

"Let's meet at the Winged Man," or "See you at the Winged Man in 20 minutes," or "The driver is almost at the Winged Man, let's go."

Such is the talk around travel to/from the Baghdad International Airport which we did yesterday to meet General Fadel Barwari, the commander of the Iraqi Special Operation Forces (ISOF).

The Winged Man is a statue of Abbas Ibn Firnas, Iraq's very own Icarus. Back in the first century, Ibn Firnas tried to fly by sticking feathers onto a wooden frame (like a glider). He didn't succeed. But he didn't die either.

And I think that's the best way to sum up our last 24 hours. We didn't accomplish much. But we didn't die either. And, hey, Ibn Firnas had a crater on the moon named after him!

After a quick start out of the gate our first day here, we've been humbled by the reminder of just how difficult it is to get things done in Iraq. And it didn't help that we were stranded at the airport overnight because we'd missed the midnight curfew (good laughs, though, at the karaoke bar watching men from Fiji butcher Scorpian hits).

And there are reminders all around of how many people have some of the toughest jobs on the planet. Take General Fadel. As commander of ISOF, units that have been trained by U.S. Special Forces since 2003, much of the future security of the country is resting on his shoulders. And he's starting to fly...

Welcome Back to Baghdad

2010-06-04T15:57:00.013-04:00

There’s a saying here in Iraq that goes something like this, “Money is your country.” What it means is: If you have money, you can feel at home everywhere you go. As soon as we touched down in Baghdad, it was clear that airport employees spend a good deal of time trying to make money their country. And we were an easy target. Too many cameras. Not enough paperwork.

It was 119 degrees in Baghdad today. And there is no amount of dryness that keeps that from feeling anything but suffocating. Between the heat, two days of travel, and our extended stay, we thought we’d ease ourselves in. I had definitely led Kevin (D.P.) to believe that today would be a “get yourself acclimated” kind of day. But ten minutes into his afternoon snooze, I pulled the plug on acclimation. Sheikh Moustafa al-Kamal Shabib, a leader in the Sons of Iraq (or Sunni Awakening), was ready to share his experiences.

(My favorite photo of the day is Moustafa using his cell phone as a mirror to adjust his keffiyeh before the interview.)

I have to admit, interviewing Moustafa was a slight detour from the focus of our film (cases of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis drawn from The List Project), but I was excited to hear what he had to say. His story—and others like it—speak to the complexity of America’s involvement and moral obligation here, and I like the discomfort their experiences reveal.

On the way to his home in Arab Jabour, a suburb of South Baghdad, we passed several deserted farms—one belonged to a Palestinian rewarded by Saddam Hussein for killing Jews.

Two years ago we never would have made it out of this neighborhood alive. It was infested with global jihadists. Now, in part because of men like Moustafa, we can travel here. As a partner with American troops in the fight against Al-Qaeda, Moustafa helped turn the tide of war to favor the U.S. He and about 80,000 other Sons of Iraq were paid by the Pentagon and lauded by President Bush as the future of the country. Now America is preparing to pull out of Iraq, and men like Moustafa are being picked off one-by-one by Al-Qaeda. This year alone his son was poisoned, and he has survived two car bombings—one was captured on camera by U.S. soldiers and he showed it to us on his cell phone.

We left Moustafa at sunset and returned to our flat which is in the most protected part of the city. It’s the only area you can walk around freely without risk of kidnapping or death. There’s even a little bodega next door where sodas and snacks can be put on a tab that’s paid up at the end of each week. Every major news organization still working in Iraq is here (since the Hamra Hotel was bombed in January), and we’re sharing a house with some other foreign journalists who know how to host a dinner party: sheesha, G&T and four different kinds of pizza. Now that’s what I call a welcome back to Baghdad.

Hands to Hearts

2010-06-03T11:26:00.004-04:00

Laura Peterson, Executive Director of Hands to Hearts International, tells the story of how she founded HHI - inspiring us to think about how we can make a difference with a little courage and and insight.

Hands to Hearts International is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of orphaned and vulnerable children and economically disadvantaged women around the globe.

On the Road for Kids

2010-05-13T23:15:00.007-04:00

Since we can't say too much about the work we're doing in Thailand/Burma, I've been enjoying posting stories to my daughter's blog. The entries are written for Isabelle - who is almost three - but I think the stories, videos and pictures may be of interest to adults, too - especially if you want to share the stories with your own kids.

www.IsabelleMarjanMurphy.blogspot.com

It's Mango Season in Thailand

2010-05-07T09:53:00.002-04:00

We are in Thailand right now filming with Physicians for Human Rights. And since much or what we are filming is too sensitive to discuss right now, I thought I'd talk about mangoes! It is mango season here, after all. And when I'm not making documentary films, I crave things related to fitness and health. My fitness blog has the whole story:

www.iamaseizer.blogspot.com

U.N. Review of Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

2010-05-03T15:24:00.003-04:00

A series of events focused on abolishing nuclear weapons unfolds in conjunction with the U.N. conference to strengthen the 40-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

An International Planning Committee comprised of NGO's from around the world organized a two day international conference on Nuclear Abolition, Peace and Disarmament - scheduled to fall on the eve of the NPT review at the United Nations. The conference was held at the Riverside Church in New York City, where peace leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. have spoken in the past. A wide array of participants, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon, spoke at last weekends conference. Additionally, thousands of Hibakusha - Japanese atomic survivors - were in attendance for both the conference and for the rally and march on May 2nd.

The rally took place in Times Square, followed by a march through the street of New York City from Times Square to the U.N. Tens of thousands of participants flooded the streets of New York to send a message to the world: By 2020, all nuclear weapons must be abolished off the face of the Earth.

Representatives of the world's nations gathered today at the U.N. to commence the 5-year NPT review.

Poison Attacks on Afghan School Girls

2010-05-03T13:59:00.002-04:00

At least 88 girls in Kunduz, Afghanistan were sent to hospitals after a series of poison gas attacks. This recent rash of terror in girls schools highlights the continued challenges that Afghan girls will face in the future, even if the Taliban are defeated. A police officer said that the attacks were likely not a Taliban initiative, but rather "the act of miscreants who just don't like the idea of girls being educated." The deep-rooted opposition to the education of women and girls remains an important issue that needs to be addressed in the culture at large.

A New Way to Breakthrough

2010-04-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Breakthrough is an innovative, international human rights organization using the power of popular culture, media, and community mobilization to transform public attitudes and advance equality, justice, and dignity. Through initiatives in India and the United States, Breakthrough addresses critical global issues including violance against women, sexuality and HIV/AIDS, racial justice, and immigration rights.

Watch one of their videos about an HIV+ woman who works to make a positive change.

Principle Pictures News

2010-04-12T12:43:00.002-04:00

There has been a lot going here in Plymouth in the last couple of months!

We received a grant from the Cinereach Foundation for our film What Tomorrow Brings, which is still in the early phase of production.

Due to the success of working with our interns throughout this year, we're starting a more structured Intern Program - offering local students the opportunity for a hands-on experience in the world of documentary.

The Promise to Freedom is taking form - we are currently cutting a rough cut of the film. As we watch the stories take shape, we are more excited than ever about the project.

Stay tuned for more PP news! It's going to be a busy summer.

Teenagers Train to be Midwives in Afghanistan

2010-04-07T16:25:00.003-04:00

Girls as young as 16 train to become midwives in rural Afghanistan. While most teenagers are watching movies, going on dates, and playing sports, these young women are saving lives. Midwives-in-training from the Institute for Health Sciences (IHS) at Herat Regional Hospital and the Community Midwifery Education (CME) program in Ghor Province are sending out students to deliver babies - practical training for a group of young health workers that could potential help lower the staggeringly high mortality rate of mothers in rural Afghanistan. Both programs are sponsored by World Vision - an organization where you can give gifts to help support the lives of those most in need.

Two Women In Al-Mazraq | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide

2010-04-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

250,000 people flee their homes during the recent conflict in northern Yemen. Many of them remain in World Food Programme shelters, afraid to return home.

Two Women In Al-Mazraq - Video

What We've Brought Women in Afghanistan

2010-04-05T12:23:00.003-04:00

Women like Malalai Joya insist that, although life was hard before US invasion, life has gotten even harder since we've been there. Here's a taste of life for women under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan today: How would you feel if...

-you had your fingers cut off because you had painted your nails

-you were whipped in public for showing your ankles

-you weren't allowed to laugh loudly, or wear high heels that made any noise

These are just a taste of some of life's hardships. Read the list of restriction placed on both men and women under the Taliban regime.

Self-Immolation: A Cry for Help

2010-03-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

Stephanie Sinclair, an American photojournalist known for gaining unique access to the most sensitive gender and human rights issues around the world, creates a stunning and horrific sense of the tortured and hopelessness pervading the lives of women in Afghanistan. See the result of a situation in which burning oneself seems like the better option than most.

Empowerment Through Film

2010-03-24T11:09:00.002-04:00

A young Ugandan refugee in a Kenyan camp recently visited Geneva for UNHCR events linked to International Women's Day. Kate Ofwono gave an interview about how completing a film in the Participatory Video Program run by FilmAid International helped empower her and gave her strength to help others. FilmAid uses the power of the visual medium to educate and empower communities in crisis.

Update on Massachusetts film tax credits

2010-03-21T12:33:00.005-04:00

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue voted down House Bill 3854 on March 11. The Bill proposed to cut state tax credits for the film industry. However, Governor Deval Patrick still supports capping the tax credits in his budget proposal. Read the Boston Globe’s coverage and continue to check the Massachusetts Film Office website for more updates.

The Forgotten War

2010-03-15T13:09:00.002-04:00

Dahr Jamail, an independent U.S. reporter in Iraq, wrote recently on his site about the Iraq war as the 'Forgotten' War. As Afghanistan takes center stage in the U.S. media outlets, the occupation of Iraq takes a backseat. Yet, 130 thousand American troops and 114 thousand private contractors still remain in the country and approximately 400 Iraqi civilians continue to die each month. In addition to a lack of electricity and drought in-country threatening 2 million people with the possibility of no power or water, an astounding 4.5 million Iraqis have been displaced as refugees in other countries.

Act on 8 and WCI

2010-03-11T17:23:00.000-05:00

There are 8 international development goals that 192 United Nations members states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):

1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2 Achieve Universal Primary Education

3 Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

4 Reduce Child Mortality

5 Improve Maternal Health

6 Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability

8 Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Act on 8 is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals. Find out how to take action on any one of the 8 goals.

Women's Campaign International (WCI) is a US based non-profit organization dedicated specifically to goal 3. WCI works in emerging democracies and post-conflict regions around the world to advance opportunities for women to actively participate in public advocacy and political processes.

Find more videos like this on Women in Afghanistan

Hear how women in Afghanistan would like to be empowered.

Find out more about WCI

Peace Through Business

2010-03-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Institute of Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW), a non-profit focused on empowering women to "grow" their own businesses, has designed the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training program. The 2010 program will take place in Rwanda and Afghanistan as a three-part business education program for 30 entrepreneurial women in each country. The women will participate in an 8-week training course culminating in the completion of an in-depth business plan. 30 of the women will then travel to the United States to participate in Leadership Development conference - each women being matched with an American woman business owner to provide a mentorship for the duration of the week and beyond. The hope is that, upon returning their home countries, the women will then Pay it Forward by educating other women in their country.

Brattleboro, Vermont hosts the Women's Film Festival

2010-03-09T18:43:00.003-05:00

This month Brattleboro, Vermont hosts the 19th annual Women’s Film Festival from March 12 to 21. Proceeds from the event benefit Brattleboro’s Women’s Crisis Center, which helps women and children that have suffered from domestic or sexual abuse. The festival will present a variety of feature and documentary films. Check out the schedule for more information.

Out of its many films, the festival will feature Quest for Honor, a documentary by Mary Ann Smothers Bruni that premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The film reveals the practice of honor killing in northern Iraq, which continues to take place, and follows a group of women as they work to end this brutal tradition. Bruni will attend the screening, which will be held on March 13 at 7:00 pm.

V-Day: I am an Emotional Creature

2010-03-05T12:16:00.003-05:00

Eve Ensler, creator of "The Vagina Monologues", has organized a global movement to stop violence against women and girls, called V-Day. V-Season lasts from February 1st through April 30th, and invites women and girls to host their own events. In conjunction with this project, she has released a book in tandem called I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Lives of Girls Around the World - a fictional collection of monologues based on stories inspired by girls around the globe. Watch Eve speak during a 2004 TED talk about menopause, violence against women and finding happiness.

TED Conference features docs - including The Promise of Freedom

2010-03-03T12:51:00.003-05:00

Thanks to support from the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, our new film, The Promise of Freedom, was featured at the latest TED Conference. Mariane Pearl (activist, author and Exectuive Producer of the documentary, Resilient), Trevor Neilson and Michael Massing led a discussion about how filmmaking and journalism can help promote tolerance, hope and progress.

Message to MA Legislators - Don't Cap Film Tax Credits

2010-03-03T10:13:00.002-05:00

This morning Beacon Hill legislators are listening to arguments on a bill to cap film tax credits in Massachusetts. These credits are vital to the growth of the film industry in the state, and cutting them will only send studios a message that Massachusetts isn't serious about attracting filmmakers.

Oral Testimony on the Power of Women and Girls

2010-02-26T10:00:00.002-05:00

Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, spoke before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (there needs to be an acronym for that) on the 23rd of February. Watch her address to the committee as she advocates for the powerful agents of change and development that are the women of Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits the Middle East

2010-02-25T13:46:00.006-05:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent tour through the Middle East has prompted much discussion, including conversations about women’s rights in the region.

Before embarking on her trip, Secretary Clinton spoke at the International Conference on Afghanistan in London on January 28, where she spoke about women’s roles in bringing change to Afghanistan:

“I also believe very strongly, as is apparent in what I say about this issue, that women have to be involved at every step of the way in this process. To that end, I unveiled our Women’s Action Plan. It includes initiatives focused on women’s security, women’s leadership in the public and private sector; women’s access to judicial institutions, education, and health services; women’s ability to take advantage of economic opportunities, especially in the agricultural sector. This is a comprehensive, forward-looking agenda that stands in stark contrast to al-Qaida’s recently announced agenda for Afghanistan’s women, attempting to send female suicide bombers to the West.”

This excerpt, along with Clinton’s full remarks from the event, can be found here.

Although women’s rights and leadership were discussed at the Afghanistan conference, the New York Times reports that while in Saudi Arabia on February 16, those subjects did not come up when Clinton visited a women’s college in Jidda. “Maybe because it was Hillary Clinton, people wanted to ask her about issues bigger than whether Saudi women can drive,” student Duaa Badr suggests. Check out the full article here.

Finally, while Clinton’s comments about Iran “moving toward a military dictatorship” picked up plenty of media coverage, it is a recently proposed “Family Protection” bill in Iran that has angered the Iranian women’s website Change for Equality (also known as One Million Signatures.) The bill would allow men in Iran to take additional wives without the knowledge or consent of their first wives. Change for Equality is collecting signatures for a petition here. For more coverage of the protest against the bill, check out recent coverage in the New York Times.

Half the Sky Event

2010-02-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Celebrate International Women's Day on March 4th at a special one-night event presented by CARE and inspired by stories from the New York Times bestseller "Half the Sky". Featuring musical performances, celebrity commentary and the world premiere of "Woineshet," a short film by Marisa Tomei and Lisa Leone. Also with appearances from India.Arie, Maria Bello, Diane Birch, Michael Franti, Dr. Helene Gayle, Angelique Kidjo, Nicholas Kristof, Marisa Tomei, and others. Join in the effort to help women and girls everywhere turn oppression into opportunity at select theaters on March 4th, 7:30pm. For more information, look to the NCM Fathom site.

Malalai Joya: A Woman Among Warlords

2010-02-24T22:28:00.000-05:00

Violation of human rights and oppression is ubiquitous, but "war is no gentle tool for transnational social engineering". Certain aggressive activists and feminists insist that waging war will improve the status of women in Afghanistan. Although modest gains have been made for women since the fall of the Taliban, their situation remains frightening and uncertain.

Malalai Joya, a women's rights activist in a country where few women's rights exist to begin with, informs Westerners: "Your governments have replaced the fundamentalist rule of the Taliban with another fundamentalist regime of warlords." The claim that the US and its allies have brought justice, democracy and women’s rights to Afghanistan “is all a lie, dust in the eyes of the world," says Joya.

Malalai's life is marked by more than just the average oppression, second-class citizenry, and social scrutiny that most Afghan women experience. Joya has been the target of 5 assassination attempts since 2003. At one time the youngest member of parliament in Afghanistan, Malalai now lives on the run. Constantly in danger, she hides beneath a burqa when traveling at home as do many women - in addition to her 5 body guards.

It isn't without reason that her life seems to be so valuable. Malalai has been writing and speaking out around the globe about the situation of the Afghan people during last decade. Joya published her memoirs A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice in Fall 2009, revealing the many tragedies of her country, most notably the lingering plight of women. She recently spoke at Brown, MIT, Harvard, and Emerson as part of her book release to raise awareness about the real implications of U.S. occupation in Afghanistan; a timely appearance considering President Obama's decision to increase troop presence by 30,000 in the past months.

Afghan Women's Writing Project

2010-02-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Allowing women a direct voice in the world: The goal of the AWWP is to encourage Afghan women to share their stories - a luxury rarely afforded to them without the fear of threat. Originally conceived by author Masha Hamilton during a trip to Afghanistan in 2008, the program connects Afghan women with talented women authors and teachers in the United States in secure online classrooms.

Change Our Story by Shogofa

I am one who faced those opposing my studies,

Humiliated by those who said

"A girl can't do anything."

I am one forced to accept the reality of today,

trying to be strong.

I am one who bent to my family's wishes,

Sacrificed my dreams in quietness.

But who still dreamt of success

Beyond reach.

I am one who dreams of peace, but am caged,

Desires to fly, but am female,

Still, I am one who flies against the wind of our time

And beats the challenge.

I am one who believes these black clouds will change into Spring.

I am one who vows to stop the tears of those who suffer from being women.

I am one who will free women whose dreams aren't

Already killed by their cages, women who still desire to fly.

They hide their stories behind their tears

They are not allowed words.

But I will tell their stories, and change our story.

I am one whose voice of today promises tomorrow.

Indonesia and Australia Absorb Illegal Refugee Overflow

2010-02-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

The number of Iraqis and other refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Burma fleeing to Indonesia has greatly increased from 369 in 2008 to 2,504 in 2009. Refugee candidates applying to the UNHCR for resettlement must wait in a first country of asylum to be processed. Indonesia is a choice location due to the ease with which tourist visas can be procured. Additionally, a thriving human smuggling business provides transport for asylum seekers from Malaysia to Indonesia by boat. When the wait is months or even years, desperate refugees can pay up to $8,000 instead to be transported to the northernmost shores of Australia, thinking the chances of resettlement are better. Host countries struggle to deal with the problem of illegal refugees, while meanwhile refugees labor for freedom and a better life.

Because Good Stuff Happens

2010-02-09T10:57:00.008-05:00

From peace negotiations in the Karabakh conflict to Ohio cheerleaders raising spirits to fight cancer, our world is filled with positive stories of hope, courage and change. Finally, there's a website devoted to telling these stories: www.brytside.com

It's a chronicle of human achievement and positive news. What's better than that? The site went live yesterday, and already it's on my list of top five favorite news sites. Check it out, become a Facebook fan, and help founder Jarod Gordon succeed!

Mobile Cinema Helps Women in Mali

2010-02-08T12:56:00.003-05:00

Outdoor screenings of films about children's and women's health travel from village to village in Mali to encourage dialogue about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation/cutting or FGMC.

Combating Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan

2010-02-04T15:00:00.000-05:00

UNICEF developing a midwifery training program countrywide to help reduce one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in rates in the world.

Midwife training programme aims to reduce maternal mortality in Afghanistan
Uploaded by UNICEF_Television. - Up-to-the minute news videos.

In addition to the risks attributable to lack of transportation and familial/cultural issues, most women abide by the ban for attending male doctors which means that for 6 million child-bearing aged women, there are fewer than 16,000 skilled midwives. The new program aims to train female community health members in life saving delivery skills

The Girl Effect

2010-02-03T13:34:00.005-05:00

The Nike Foundation, in conjunction with other organizations such as the United Nations Foundation and the Coalition for Adolescent girls, created The Girl Effect - a domino-like strategy that begins with young women and ends with a better world.

Although little research has been done about the impact of investments in girls on economic growth and the well-being of communities, the potential benefits are endless. When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as opposed to only 30 or 40 percent reinvested by men. With more than 600 million girls living in developing nations, there's a lot of opportunity for growth. Tune into The Girl Effect and become part of the movement that just might save the world.

Women Make Music in Herat

2010-02-03T11:38:00.001-05:00

Afghan musician Jawad Tabesh runs a music training center dedicated to educating women in Herat despite threats from religious fundamentalists. Consisting of only a small room in an old apartment building, the center is a haven for the 10 women who dare to pursue their passion for music. However, Tabesh fights an uphill battle against conservative Islamists who believe singing is forbidden for women. Despite the struggle to secure funding and support, Tabesh is determined to keep providing an oppressed generation of women with the opportunity to pursue their creative desires.

OHCHR Opens Online Discussion: Women and Human Rights

2010-02-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

February 1-28th: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights launches online discussions aimed at identifying good practices contributing to the realization and advancement of respect, promotion and protection of Women’s Human Rights. Each week will be focused on a sub-theme.

Week 1 | National legal frameworks

Week 2 | Accountability

Week 3 | Access to justice

Week 4 | Summary, wrap-up and observations

Join the discussion on Women's Human Rights this month.

Screening of "View from a Grain of Sand"

2010-02-01T11:27:00.003-05:00

Directed and Produced by Meena Nanji, award-winning "View from a Grain of Sand" was shot in refugee camps of Pakistan and the war-torn city of Kabul. Three remarkable Afghan women lead us through the maze of Afghanistan's complex history, informing this examination of how international interventions, war and the rise of political Islam have stripped Afghan women of their freedom over the last thirty years.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director.
First Parish Church, UU, 10 Parish St, Meetinghouse Hill, Dorchester, MA 02122
Thursday, February 11, 2010
6:30pm - 9:30pm
http://www.viewgrainofsand.com/

Great Facility Opens for Rural Afghan Women

2010-01-09T17:32:00.014-05:00

Women in Bamyan, Afghanistan are celebrating a newly constructed community center, ARZU STUDIO HOPE. The unveiling happened on December 15th in front of 50 guests and Bamyan Govenor Habiba Surabi.

Funded with major support from Beyond the 11th*, this facility includes a Community Center, a Community Garden/Greenhouse, and a Sports/Wellness Complex. For the first time the women of rural Dragon Valley will now have access to indoor laundry, uch as an indoor "laundromat", a weaving room with looms, a tea room for socialization, and a large classroom for income-generating programs.

*Beyond the 11th was founded by Susan Retik and Patti Quigley, the two women featured in the film Beyond Belief.

The Military Intelligence Oxymoron in Afghanistan

2010-01-06T09:14:00.004-05:00

A new report titled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan blasts America's intelligence gathering in Afghanistan. Written by Major General Michael Flynn, U.S. and NATO military intelligence chief in Afghanistan, the 26-page report says analysts are more like fortune tellers than informed, knowledgeable information gatherers. While damning, the report does offer positive steps for turning things around. "Analysts must absorb information with the thoroughness of historians, organize it with the skill of librarians, and disseminate it with the zeal of journalists.”

After Fallujah

2010-01-05T18:58:00.005-05:00

The "Marlboro Marine" is how Marine Lance Corporal James Blake Miller came to be known after this iconic photo was taken of him by LA Times photojournalist Luis Sinco. This story of how the two men's lives became intertwined after the battle of Fallujah is beautifully told - powerful images, haunting sound design and music (written by Corporal Miller himself). "How I feel about the war today," Miller reflects, "I can sum up in one question. It's the same question that can be asked of Vietnam: What have we accomplished? What have we gained other than the loss of some damn fine people?"

Is Yemen the next Afghanistan or Somalia?

2010-01-05T18:48:00.003-05:00

The BBC reports on how poverty, illiteracy and a growing Al-Qaeda network are the perfect storm to further destabilize a state already on the brink of failure.

Access to Federal Benefits for Iraqi Military Interpreters

2009-12-30T10:05:00.008-05:00

Congress has finally fixed a poorly drafted law that had barred Iraqi translators who came to the United States on Special Immigrant Visas from receiving the same federal benefits given to refugees and asylees.

Special Immigrant Visas or SIVs were created by Congress in 2007 so that Iraqis whose lives were in danger because they worked for the U.S. military as translators could be quickly evacuated to the United States, bypassing the normal refugee processing. Last year, immigrant advocacy groups discovered that, due to drafting issues in the federal law, many of these SIV holders are legal permanent residents who are now subject to the five-year bar on federal Food Stamp/SNAP benefits, Medicaid, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), employment services and not eligible for Social Security.

For SIV holders, the current federal law permits only 8 months of the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) and all other federal benefits, and then they are treated like all other Legal Permanent residents and required to wait an additional 4 years and 4 months before they can qualify. (Keep in mind that Iraqi nationals who entered with refugee status do NOT have this five year wait and are eligible immediately - and indefinitely - for most federal benefits beyond the 8 month limit on RRP cash benefits.)

On December 19, Congress passed the Defense Appropriations Bill (by an 88-10 vote) that eliminates this 5-year wait for both Iraqi and Afghan SIV allies. Specifically, it makes Iraqi and Afghan SIVs eligible for federal public benefits "to the same extent, and for the same periods of time, as refugees." (pdf p.119)

The List Project, other advocacy groups, and thousands of Iraqis are celebrating the end of this disparity.

Principle Pictures Teams up with WCVB's Chronicle Series

2009-12-28T14:45:00.005-05:00

We've formed a new venture with WCVB’s award-winning Chronicle program. Throughout the year, you can stay up-to-date on our films and projects as Chronicle features our work and producers. The first joint Principle Pictures/Chronicle program is tonight at 7:30 on Channel 5. I will be on set for an interview as Chronicle highlights two Principle Pictures’ projects: BEYOND BELIEF and WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS, our newest Afghanistan film. If you’re outside New England or miss the broadcast, you can check it out online.

Mind Over Martyr

2009-12-28T10:12:00.003-05:00

In Mind Over Martyr, a new article in Foreign Affairs, Jessica Stern takes a look at what works - and what doesn't - to deradicalize terrorists.

Iraq's Bob Dylan

2009-12-22T16:10:00.006-05:00

If you're following the candidates for Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections, one candidate in particular is worth a close look: Nabeel Yasin. Known as "the poet of Iraq," Yasin was a defiant symbol of resistance to Saddam Hussein. His most famous poem, "The Brothers Yasin, Once Again," (see poem below) was secretly distributed by one of Baghdad's most reputable tailor shops - sewn into the lining of clothes or hidden in pockets. A new BBC film by Georgie Weedon captures Yasin's honesty, humor and humanity. This poem is a tear-jerker in English, I only wish I could read it in Arabic.

The Brothers Yasin, Once Again

Once again
On the road to the family

On the road that crosses the barbarian world to the family
Dumbfounded people waiting for a long, long departure to the family
And me, I stand in life’s deserts preparing my song to cross this evening
I gather my questions in my hands
Ready to understand the land
And the road becomes longer and my steps to the family shorter

O family
My angels did not return from their feasts
And me, I am getting ready for my last slumber on linens of dew and a bed of tears.

Like those voyagers who calmly craft their hymns
I will craft my hymns
And welcome tomorrow alone
I will make my wisdom a morning coffee
And with my middle age facial expressions
I will make light for my home
And go slowly to my cave
I will aim for my freedom in solitude
And turn over my past to search for an herb under the stones
The stones that are found on the road to the family
The road to the family is gloomy and its outlines are made of dust and mud

Its outlines seem to move from one sand dune to another, battered by wind
Wind on the road to the family
And the road to the family is a mystery of a distant light
And secrets of a sobbing woman
Years are frozen to stone
Like the pillars of a bridge – the bridges of Al Rusafa and Al Karkh – they are frozen in time.

And Baghdad is the last of places
God, at the apocalypse, where the dead will rise up and the noise becomes deafening
And me, I am the last of the wise men, miserable wise men, in a time where wise men are despised
And me, I am the last to grab smouldering embers before being consumed by fire

I am the last pillar
On which people lean
Silent as they are
On their way to the family
On the road to a woman, bent and curved like mirrors
On the road to a house that has been shattered with yearning

On the road is a man, exhausted and burdened by commandments
To those who suffer from the estrangement of their souls
Or the moaning of the heart in times of togetherness

On the road to my homeland
I saw mirrors
With dust on them
I saw stars dispersed in sand
On the way to Yasin’s tomb
I was stopped by frozen time on the riverbanks
Time is short
And me, I am ageing in my solitude
And my soul is growing older
On the road to my homeland
I saw mirrors
With dust on them
I saw stars dispersed in sand
On the way to Yasin’s tomb
I was stopped by frozen time on the riverbanks
Time is short
And me, I am ageing in my solitude
And, faced with my dilemma, my soul grows older

Me and my road to the family
Both are lonely
Both ended on his loneliness
And we both were united, the road,
Reaching the end, with my steps
And the road to the family
Is my road
The last song in my mouth
And the last grass will be stolen from my garments by a snake.

What can I give O Yasin?
As I do not have my freedom
Enslaved to the bones by an infidel Iraq
I feed him solace and comfort
In return he gives me shit and zaknabout

And the road continues from Eridu to Karbala
From Karbala to my desolate soul
As I stood in the alleyways of Babylon engraving on the stones of houses
The foreboding of a child
The estrangements of an old man from the family

And the road to the family is wide and prodigious
My road to the family
On both sides of which stood pondering angels
The candles of eternity of my road to the family
On both sides of which stood pondering angels
The candles of eternity and creation
Lit both sides
Dead steps and those who were killed can be seen looming
And on both sides caves’ paintings emerge
Along with my blood and my vows.
My soul’s foreboding
My God’s
And my eternal flood, my Noah’s Arc.

As I stood on my way to the family
Seeing the reflection on the water of the Euphrates
The eyes of those who drowned
They glistened like stars
And on top of palm trees dead stars
Shedding ash on the river’s embankment
And standing still I draw aeroplanes on the bodies of the dead
I take their eyes down to serve as shelters
To be shut down in the morning by butterflies which also strip drops of dew from a flower

O Nada, O Nada,
Every time I protect myself against the arrows of ruin
In the shelters of my soul
The echo passes
And in passing it tells me
That my soul is wandering aimlessly
That my ardent love was in vain

As I stand still on my way to the family
I see on the river Tigris
Between Al Amarah and Al Kut ships sails
And angels flying on water
And I see the angels carrying coffins lit by candles
I stand and my angels are stunned
They are wearing gasmasks
And when they ask me about my misdeeds
And write down what I have done
They go in search of God
Asking him to take a look at this country
And bless it with his peace

Yasin, then, knew what would happen
He then bid us farewell under the rain
He did not hear the cock that Thursday
And before he took leave of us he said ‘wait for what will happen’
But his sons fragmented into pieces.

Then he asked after them
As they were in the wilderness of their souls
As if they were the offspring of Gods left behind after Armageddon
To reshape creation in a second image
And prepare creation for another departure
On the road to the family
An event after an event.
Anguish after an anguish
War after war
As if the road of anguish is the road to Golgotha
That is then the road to the family
And Yasin is no more than an echo

He sometimes appears after the massacres take place
So much so that I saw Ilham by his tomb crying, ‘what have you done?’
Have you not any wisdom?
Or certain country to live in?
Have you not been on the road to the family?
Watching for symbols and signs that will show you the way?
Have you not?
And then I shouted
No, we have not.

On the road to the family
I walked all alone
Followed by my victims in a funeral and a song
And the long road to the family gets longer,
From Eredu to Babylon
Then the road turns to where there are shattered hearts.
This road, this prodigious and long road
On his sides there are trenches, and eternal corpses
Kites pick on the eyes of the dead
And bite dry flesh
Wind whistles inside helmets made of sand
Wind pushing through torn garments
And letters
This is the road drawn by the homeland, for her and for us.

When Seen dropped her here
Here in between the water of the Gulf and a chain of mountains
And the road to the family became longer than ever and more terrifying.

Lesson From History

2009-08-05T18:06:00.002-04:00

As I meet Iraqis here in the Middle East who helped the U.S. try to bring peace and security to their country, we discuss what the military draw-down taking place right now means for this already imperiled population. It's worth taking a page from history - so as not to repeat the horrific fates that have befallen other collaborators. Look, for example, at what happened to the Hmong people after the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, the Hmong were recruited by the CIA to join a "Secret War" in Laos. (It was a Secret War because even though a Geneva agreement barred America from sending troops into Laos, the U.S. pumped $20 billion into an air and ground campaign to stop the spread of Communism there.)

Like Iraqis today who serve(d) as military translators, secret CIA operatives and reconstruction specialists, the Hmong put their lives on the line to support the U.S. by blocking supply lines, gathering intelligence and flying combat missions. And while 15,000 died during the war, that number doubled when the U.S. pulled its troops out of South Vietnam, abandoning the Hmong, and forcing them to flee to Thailand for refugee.

Today's Thailand is here in Jordan. Today's Thailand is Syria (where we're headed tomorrow). Today's Thailand is Lebanon and Egypt. These are the countries where Iraqis who have been abandoned by the U.S. are fleeing.

One man I met today - Hamad*, a prominent sheik who lived near Abu Ghraib, described how he befriended the Americans who moved in to nearby Camp Bucca. As Hamad got to know them, and they got to know him, mutual trust and respect developed.

"When I had a heart attack, they promised to get me medical attention." Hamad understood it would be a difficult process to secure medical clearance to leave Iraq - but he believed the process was underway. So, when American officials asked him for a favor, he was eager to help: assist the U.S. in rebuilding Abu Ghraib. He was now an official employee of the U.S. government. Any by becoming such, Hamad essentially signed the death sentences of his three brothers and an uncle, and was responsible for the kidnapping of his 18-year-old son.

This afternoon, sitting on a faded sofa as a fan hummed overhead in his Amman apartment, he reflected on the abandonment he feels, "I never did get any help for my medical condition... But, it has been five years since all of this happened, and it's time to move on. America did nothing to help me - but I'm focused on the future." All the while he tells his story, he is smiling. Smiling because he is preparing to move to Australia in two weeks.

"You want to know how it makes me feel?" asks Kirk Johnson, founder of The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Refugees who is traveling with us on this shoot. "I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed that Australia is doing more to help this family than we are - and we're the ones who tore them apart and put them in so much danger."

After the Vietnam War, the U.S. denied there was ever a Secret War in Laos. It wasn't until May 1997 - 24 years after America withdrew its support of the Hmong guerrillas that the Secret War was officially acknowledged. Let's hope it's not 2033 before our Iraqi allies experience some sense of justice for all that they have sacrificed.

(*Hamad's name has been changed for his protection)

Final Prep for Mideast Trip

2009-07-31T18:00:00.002-04:00

After a week of much trepidation, I'm happy to say plans are falling into place. Iraqis who are on "the list" are signing up in droves to meet with Kirk Johnson, founder of The List Project, and Chris Nugent, a Holland & Knight attorney who is working pro bono on cases of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis who are in danger. As soon as we hit the ground, we expect to be bombarded by Iraqis who are desperate for help. We'll be flying, driving and taking buses around the region...

The news is...

2009-05-28T13:09:00.007-04:00

Thanks to major funding from ITVS, "The Promise of Freedom" is coming to PBS! Sean and I had a phenomenal time in San Fransisco last week for ITVS Orientation - thanks Cheryl, Richard x2, Matt, Annelise, Jorge and the rest of the ITVS family! We also had the pleasure of eating the best dessert ever: cheese-based sorbet with olive oil and sea salt. Phenomenal. Now we just have to make a movie!

The Rumors are True...

2009-05-28T13:08:00.001-04:00

We do have BIG news to share... soon.

Hell of a Day

2009-05-08T02:21:00.013-04:00

(Pictured: Beth Murphy and Sean Flynn at the TDF pitch table. Photo courtesy of Christian Pena.)

Our project, The Promise of Freedom, was the first and only one at TDF to receive on-the-spot funding (for both production and outreach) at the pitch table.** Thank you Judith Helfand, Julia Parker Benello and Wendy Ettinger! (Read my blog entry on Chicken & Egg Pictures site, too.) We also received a commitment for distribution and support for making a pre-sale. It is phenomenally exciting, and I'm looking very forward to our follow up meetings tomorrow with some commissioning editors.

There was really only one way to celebrate: meal seven of sushi. And the Ryan Harrington fan that I am, I couldn't miss the International Premiere of P-Star Rising. I didn't want it to end.

P-Star and her Dad showed up after the film, and, surrounded on the sidewalk under a full moon, P-Star entertained us with one of her new hip-hop songs. We all agreed that this 14-year-old girl is more mature than we could probably ever hope to be.

**There were thirty films pitched here (25 as part of TDF, and 5--including ours--as part of TDF's Good Pitch). The four other films that were part of the Good Pitch were - Sean & Andrea Fine’s Resilient (signs of hope in women’s stories); Mona Nicoara’s Our School (Roma children in Transylvania); Nic Dunlop’s Burma Soldier (a Burmese soldier who becomes a pro-democracy activist); and Marco Williams’ Untitled Immigration Project (a community torn apart by immigration issues).

Lucrative, Easy and Meaningful

2009-05-07T01:19:00.006-04:00

Producing documentaries is not easy. In large part because it is not inexpensive. We mused over drinks that it would be nice if every once in a while a film could fit this description: "lucrative, easy and meaningful."

I was celebrating the world premiere of "21 Below" at the Toronto Hyatt with the film's creators and supporters. In the film Sharon, the oldest and most stable of three sisters, returns to her dysfunctional family to help her 21-year-old sister, Karen, who is pregnant with her third child. The baby's father is an older black man who sells drugs and teaches Karen's older son (fathered by another man) that Jay-Z has 4000guns. The diapproval from Sharon and Karen's Jewish mother creates the tension and drama that drive this intensely personal film. Karen also has a 15-month-old daughter who is dying of a rare degenerative disorder. I nearly found myself hyperventilating during sections of the film. It was remarkable after the film to meet the Mom and see her satisfaction with it. It cannot be easy to have a packed theater watch your most intimate family drama on display.

I finally saw "Sergio" today. What can I say? Only that I have one wish: that I had never seen it so that I could walk back into the theater this second to watch it for the first time. And Director Greg Barker may have a through-the-roof resume, but there's no ego accompanying it. Here's the trailer:

Toronto Tales

2009-05-05T21:55:00.005-04:00

Judith Helfand and Robert West, co-founders of Working Films, continue to prove why they're the best at what they do! As they listened to and helped tweak each of the five pitches (inluding ours) that will be given on Thursday in front of hundreds of people, good pitches evolved into great ones. Their mission to link non-fiction film to cutting edge activism is gaining even more momentum now that they're partnering with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program to have the "Good Pitch" here in Toronto.

Most of the day was spent in this three hour workshop and an invite-only Doc Mogul lunch honoring Sheila (as Nick Fraser points out, HBO's Sheila Nevins is a one name wonder in the docu world).

The films I saw today were as heart-wrenching as yesterday's. Children of God tells the story of a 12-year-old Nepalese boy and his two siblings who eke out an existence by finding gold, coins and food used for cremations along the banks of the sacred Bagmati River. And Rough Aunties focuses on an amazing group of women in South Africa who care for abused children. Together the films left me emotionally exhausted.

They both also brought back a flood of memories. I visited Pashupatinath in Kathmandu in 1999, and was as struck then as I was today by the seamlessness between life and death there. I remember watching family members carry the deceased to the edge of the river, bathe the body in the river's holy waters(nevermind that it is 90%sewage today), build a funeral pyre (a ghat) stuffed with ghee (butter) balls to help it burn, and then sweep the ashes into the river. That's when the kids come in - diving into the water to recover anything of value, and pulling magnets along the river bottom to snatch any coins. It really is a bit like the edge of heaven here because Hindus believe that once the ashes reach the water, the soul leaves the body to be with God.

On the lighter side...

I'm loving the fact that every other storefront in Toronto seems to be a sushi restaurant. This is fitting in nicely with my plan to eat nothing but edamame and rainbow dragon rolls all week! I was hoping to start each morning with some laps, but the pool here (sorry Sutton Place Hotel) stinks. It's small and square, and my circular swim this morning left me so unsatisfied that I grabbed my running shoes and hit the streets. It is perfect running weather here, and I'm looking forward to heading down to the waterfront in about 7 hours.

Dismal Illumination & Empathy

2009-05-04T23:47:00.010-04:00

In my next life, I want to come back as Nicholas Kristof. His writing for the NYT is done with such humanity and insight, and I loved watching him in action tonight at the International Premiere of Reporter. The film follows Kristof on a mission of (as the director calls it) "dismal illumination" to the Congo.

As Kristof searches for the one person who will illuminate the massive suffering of millions caused by war in the Congo (5.4 million killed in the past decade), filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar distastefully comments that hunting down the saddest stories "doesn't feel very good." (There were moments when I couldn't help but think of the book, Anyone Here Been Raped and Speak English?) But, Metzgar admits, the worst stories will exist whether Kristof finds them or not.

When Kristof meets Yohanita, a woman so thin from starvation she is mistaken for a bundle of rags, his next column begins to take shape. His methodology is similar to my own (just without world leaders paying close attention!): tell personal stories that highlight larger political, historical and ethical issues. What I wasn't aware of is the "psychology of compassion" that informs Kristof's method.

One scientific study mentioned in the film is really fascinating: Subjects were shown three pictures... one of a starving 7-year-old girl, one of a starving 7-year-old boy, and one with both the boy and girl. People looking at the photos felt the same level of compassion for both the girl and boy in their individual photos. But when the two were pictured together, psychic numbing began to take hold, and viewers didn't feel as compassionate. And that's just two people suffering! How will the human mind comprehend 5.4 million??

In the end, Krisof says emotions are too unreliable to allow people to care about those suffering in our world. We need laws. But years of international inaction in Darfur prove that laws aren't enough either. That's why Kristof makes galvanizing public opinion and inspiring public outcry one of his primary missions--and his ability to achieve it is unparalleled in the field of journalism.

EMPATHY

"I know I'm different than my mother," says the main character in the wrenching film, About Face: The Story of Gwendellin Bradshaw, "because I feel empathy." Gwen's mother, a drug-using schizophrenic, threw her into a campfire when she was 9-months-old, leaving her with even more internal scars than external ones. The film follows Gwen through much of her 20s as she searches for her mother and battles her own mental and substance abuse demons. Tracking her mother takes Gwen to homeless shelters and psychiatric facilities across the United States, and when her search ends on a bench outside a bus station in New Hampshire, her mother insists on seeing her ID--as if the burns that have disfigured her face and hands aren't proof enough. Instead of finding the love and family she has craved her entire life, Gwen discovers a selfish, angry, mentally unstable woman who seems to believe that she is the victim who needs to be rescued. Fortunately, Gwen does find a real sense of family with her half sister, and as the film closes, the two of them create a photo album together--the first photo album Gwen has ever had in her entire life. (I must mention - the original score was beautiful - great job Joel Goodman!)

Anticipation

2009-05-04T14:04:00.002-04:00

I have several "must see" films on my HOT DOCS schedule, but topping the list is Sergio, based on Samantha Power's Pulitzer-winning biography, Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vierira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World. A career diplomat whose calm, suave style and good looks earned him a reputation as equal parts James Bond and Bobby Kennedy, Sergio answered the call to duty one final time in Iraq. You can watch the Sergio trailer here.

No time to read Power's book? Her New Yorker article (The Envoy: The United Nations' doomed mission to Iraq)is an excellent read.

Pakistan's Islamic Schools - Hotbeds of Militancy

2009-05-03T22:05:00.000-04:00

See article in today's NYT.

I've just started reading Ahmed Rashid's new book, "Descent Into Chaos." It is an incredible analysis of why Pakistan, unstable and armed with nuclear weapons, is terrorism's ground zero. In the book, Rashid questions how NATO can survive as the West's leading military alliance if the Taliban is not defeated and bin Laden remains uncaptured. He goes on to say:

What is at stake in Pakistan is even greater. A nuclear-armed military and an intelligence service that have sponsored Islamic extremism as an instrinsic part of their foreign policy for nearly four decades have found it extremely difficult to give up their self-destructive and double-dealing policies after 9/11, even under the watchful eye of the CIA...

President Bush's embrace of (Pakistan President) Musharraf and the military, rather than of the Pakistani people and the development of state institutions and a democratic process, has created immense hatred for the U.S. Army and America, hatred that penetrates all classes of society. Ninety percent of the $10 billion in aid that the United States has provided Pakistan with since 9/11 has gone to the military rather than development... When the Bush administration continued to back Musharraf in late 2007...Pakistan's middle class was overtaken by feelings of anti-Americanism, making it impossible to persuade Pakistanis to resist the extremists.

...the U.S. attack on Iraq was critical to convincing Musharraf that the United States was not serious about stabilizing the region, and that it was safer for Pakistan to preserve its own national interest by clandestinely giving the Taliban refuge.

On the Road Again

2009-05-02T15:12:00.001-04:00

It is a beautiful sunny day here in Boston as I make the final preparations for our trip to Hot Docs. My biggest concern the last few days has been making sure Beth and I have all the materials we need to pitch The Promise of Freedom both in the Good Pitch forum and at the many informal networking events offered by the festival. On the packing list right now are 50 DVDs of The Promise of Freedom trailer and sample scene, 30 DVDs of our previously completed work Beyond Belief , 3 copies of the 4-minute screener we'll be using during our pitch, and a whole armload of proposals and budgets. Our schedule for the week is packed with film screenings, Rendezvous meetings, panel discussions and of course the big pitch on Thursday, May 7. I'll try to report back with notes from as many of these events as possible.

Alright, time to hit the road!

Heading to Toronto for HOT DOCS

2009-04-30T16:57:00.002-04:00

It has been a busy week in the office preparing for HOT DOCS, North America’s biggest documentary festival. Sean has been burning DVDs like a maniac, and we’re getting very excited about the opportunity to pitch THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM. The film was one of five selected to participate in the Good Pitch, a pitching session that features human-rights focused documentary film projects in front of high profile film funds, organizations and NGOs. This is the first time the Good Pitch has been done on this side of the Atlantic. Can’t wait to see all our friends from Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures! We’ll be blogging and tweeting from the road, so please check back.

Afghanistan News and Analysis

2009-04-14T03:58:00.002-04:00

CNN special reports about the resurgent Taliban, new threats to troops, public opinion, opium production increase, and historical analysis.

A(nother) Blow to Women's Rights in Afghanistan

2009-04-05T02:10:00.012-04:00

"It's the Taliban all over again," an Afghan woman said to me as I was loading my luggage in the car to head to Kabul International Airport. "It's just unbelievable."
The disbelief and outrage is over a new law--just signed by President Karzai last week--that legalizes rape in marriage by forbidding women from refusing sex; bans a woman from leaving the home, working, or seeing a doctor without her husband's permission; and grants child custody only to fathers and grandfathers in cases of divorce. Women must also wear makeup if their husbands demand it.

"When a husband dies, women can only inherit movable property--no houses or land," this woman told me as she quickly transferred a damning UNIFEM report onto a USB drive. This would keep me busy on my overnight layover in Istanbul.

It is obvious that in an attempt to win support in the upcoming August elections, President Karzai (who is wildly unpopular) is trying to appease Islamic fundamentalists. What's not so obvious to me as I wave goodbye is where the hell the West was when this bill was drafted a year ago. In situations like this, I want to count on Hillary Clinton to spring from a phone booth, her human rights cape whirling. Isn't this a violation of international law and Afghanistan's own constitution, which mandates equal rights for men women?

I believe women are a bellwether in society--and what happens with them is an indication of where the society is heading. Women may be the first to lose their rights, but they are usually not the last. Therefore, it should come as no solace that this law affects Afghanistan's Shiite community(that's about 15 percent of the population who are allowed under the constitution to have their own family law).

Even as President Karzai simultaneously defends the bill and says it will be reviewed due to global uproar, another family law--this one for the Sunni majority--is in the works.

"This is a disaster for women," is one of the last things I heard as I left Afghanistan. And those words are still ringing in my head.

Other Reading:

Washinton Post Article
New York Times Article
Al Jazeera Report

2009-04-02T06:07:00.010-04:00

OTHER HAPPENINGS…

Budding Documentarians…. We’ve been training students to use small HDV video cameras that we will leave behind when we head back to the States. We’ve never done something like this before – but we’re hoping that they’ll provide us with some intimate family and village life material that we would not otherwise be able to capture. There is some trepidation about handing over expensive electronics.
Nadia, a third-grader who took the camera home last night, beamed as she showed us her footage this morning. But then we saw her in many of the shots. Wait a minute! Who’s filming? Her father had taken charge of the camera, she told us. Ultimately, we like the idea that the whole family buying into this project. There are three girls we’ve trained: Khodija (the orphan whose 12-year-old sister is engaged), Nadia (first in her class and one of 12 children thanks to her father’s marriage to two women—both of whom I was able to interview), and Raila (the 18-year-old fifth grader who wants to be a police officer some day).

*********************************************************************

Love Marriage… since the majority of marriages here are arranged, it’s rare to hear about two people who fall in love and live happily ever after. When it happens, though, it’s called a “love marriage.” But trying for a “love marriage” when your parents want an arranged marriage is illegal. I learned today about a boy and girl who ran off together the day before her arranged marriage. They were hoping to escape to Tajikistan. But her parents called the cops and the lovebirds were arrested and thrown in jail. It’s common for people to sit behind bars for years for this “crime.” I’m working on setting up an interview with them when we return to Kabul in a few months.

*********************************************************************

The vote is in… and the winner is… corruption. You’re supposed to be 18 to register to vote, but we know a 15-year-old who has a voting card. “They’re so easy to get,” his sister told us. “You’re supposed to show your identification card to get one, but a lot of people here don’t have any ID, and they give them to you anyway. They’re desperate for people to vote.” Is she planning to vote? “I don’t know – there aren’t any candidates worth voting for, that’s how a lot of us feel.” And if you’re finding it hard to get a voting card for some reason, don’t worry – you can buy one.

*********************************************************************

A new Iranian complex—replete with mosque, madrassa and TV station—is working hard to spread anti-Americanism in Afghanistan. Since the TV station hit the airwaves, the religion-politics Molotov cocktail has been stirring up resentment among locals about the invading infidels.

*********************************************************************

It’s official – we moved! And we love our new pad. I have 10 light bulbs in my room!! We’re near American University and the former Russian Cultural Center (now a drug den). The house has some tin sloping on the roof, so we can hear the pitter patter of the rain. We’ve already taken to calling it PPK (Principle Pictures Kabul). Many summers ago I taught a course at American University Paris—and had promised myself I’d look into other AU opportunities around the world. Never did… until now.

*********************************************************************

It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to everyone, but I’m thrilled with what we’ve filmed and the relationships we've built. This is officially my last blog from Kabul--but I will keep writing! (If you're interested, over the past few days I've been able to add pictures to past blog entries. Success!)

Wedding Present for Nilab

2009-04-02T05:55:00.004-04:00

Eighteen-year-old Nilab asked for one present from her husband when they were married: his permission to let her teach. “This is the only gift I wanted,” says Nilab—two years later—standing before her fourth grade class. “And he agreed.”

Nilab’s first teaching job is here at the Zabuli School. “I plan everything so carefully, and decide each night how I will start class the next morning and precisely what I will say.”

As she’s talking, I can tell she’s nervous. She pulls me aside and asks, “When you filmed me yesterday, could you hear my voice?” Yes, I tell her. “Oh, I’m so ashamed,” she said, her eyes widening. “I made some mistakes when I was speaking Pashtu. You have to delete it.” You’re trilingual, I tell her, you’re entitled. “No,” she insists, “you have to get rid of it.”

For school director Zia Haidai taking care of the eight teachers here is as important as caring for students. “All of our teachers come from Kabul,” he says—meaning they’re city girls who aren’t used to village life, and, perhaps more important, village life isn’t used to them.

“We are not allowed to go outside the gate,” Farzana, the school’s 3rd Grade teacher says, pointing to the red metal entrance. “The villagers are very conservative, and they don’t approve of us.”

Jeans. Makeup. Visible eyes, nose and mouth. There’s a lot to disapprove of. Zia had to lay down some ground rules. No tight clothing. As little makeup as possible. Head scarves a must all day. No walking on the streets outside the school. Long skirts past the ankles are always preferable to pants.

The teachers, Zia says, are one of the major reasons why he works so hard to keep village elders and religious clerics happy. “I don’t want them to make a rule that our teachers have to wear a burqa like all the other women in the village,” Zia says. He knows that if given a choice between a burqa or a job, they’d all put on their Levis and walk.

But it’s a delicate balance, school founder Razia Jan admits. Keeping everyone happy can be time-consuming and expensive, and it’s already a struggle to keep her own school running.

And as much as I think keeping the villagers happy is a slippery slope, the security concerns demand it. That means delivering freshly slaughtered sheep meat—as they will do this Friday—is as important to their safety plan as the security guards who sit near the gate around the clock.

You don’t have to go far to find girls’ schools under attack. Last year—just 30 minutes down the road—a girls’ school was burned down by terrorists.

“When I hear a report like that on the news,” Zia says, “I call the guards to alert them.” And since phone service is often down in Afghanistan, Zia reminds the guards that they have ten different numbers to call in case of an emergency. Then he spends a sleepless night. “I'm so anxious, and only feel better when I arrive at the school the next day and see for myself that everything is alright.”

Finding Sahera

2009-03-30T03:35:00.014-04:00

Sahera holds a copy of Beyond Belief. Her picture became the movie poster and DVD cover for the film.

Three years ago, I had one of the most powerful filming experiences of my career. Susan Retik and Patti Quigley, the two September 11th widows featured in my film Beyond Belief met Sahera Naznia, an Afghan war widow. On the surface, they had absolutely nothing in common--Susan and Patti lived in Boston's wealthy suburbs and enjoy women's rights to their fullest. Sahera was struggling to feed her children and was not permitted to leave the house without wearing a burqa.

But the women connected--as widows, as mothers, as women.

When Susan found out I was heading back to Afghanistan she asked me if I would deliver a video message. The idea of reconnecting with Sahera was almost too good to be true. Despite the fact that she's illiterate (90% of the 500,000 widows in Kabul are), Sahera was one of the most eloquent and poetic women I have ever interviewed.

But would we be able to find her? The search was on.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of so many CARE International staff (Monte, Jasveen, Amy and Zora), we found Sahera! We decided to meet at a CARE Poultry Center in Kabul's District 5, an area that has been hit with three suicide bombings in the past month.

From a second story window, I watched Sahera arrive with her sister-in-law and was surprised she wasn't wearing a burqa. Three years ago she told me that although the burqa blinded her and made her dizzy, she was forced to wear it by her in-laws who told her that a widow--especially a young and beautiful one like herself--could not be seen in public.

"But when my mother-in-law died two years ago, I threw that thing away," she told me this morning. "She was the one who insisted. Now, I don't have to wear it any more. I was so happy to get rid of it," she giggled.

It was the same beautiful and animated Sahera.

(Kevin films as Sahera and her sister-in-law, Sadiqa, watch Susan's video message.)

Her eyes lit up even more when I played Susan's video message. "I am so happy that Beth is back in Afghanistan to share this with you," Susan's voice rose from my laptop. "I feel such a connection to you... I miss you, and I love you."

Susan shared news from her life--remarried now to Donald Ger, they welcomed baby Rebecca into the family last year. Sahera was visibly moved, "I'm so happy for her. I can see how happy she is," Sahera beamed.

Sahera is doing well, too. When I met her in May 2006, she was part of a poultry program supported by Susan's organization, Beyond the 11th, and she earned money by selling the eggs. It was just enough to support herself and her five children. But when chickens in the village started getting sick, Sahera sold her birds and focused on sewing.

"Selling the chickens gave me money to buy fabric, and now women in the village hire me to sew." It's enough, she says, so that all of her children can go to school. But they still struggle. When her oldest son was accepted at Nangharar College in Jalalabad earlier this year, he had to turn it down because she can't afford the dormitory fees.

"It's still my dream," Sahera says, "that my son will be the first person in the family to go to college."

In her video message, Susan acknowledged all that Sahera has been through in her life. "I hope that when your children get older they have the strength and dignity that you possess. They are so lucky to have you as a mother."

"The bond that we have is not typical," Sahera said of her feelings for Susan. "We are not just two people who have met. We are like sisters. I hope that we will meet again."

The Problem with American Men

2009-03-29T06:22:00.005-04:00

We've visited one family at home since we've been here, and had no trouble filming because the two girls are orphans and the aunt they live with is a widow. So, that means there is no man in the family to tell them that they can't be filmed. Free to make up their own minds, they are excited to participate.

But today was different. We were invited into the home of Hameida, a first grader at the Zabuli Girls' School, who lives with seven women and two men (her father and grandfather). And there was no way these men were going to allow Kevin, a foreign man--and worse an American man--intimate access to their home where he would see their women's faces. Disappointed, he handed the camera over to me.

"This is what happens here," our translator said as Kevin graciously accepted a cup of coffee from the school administrator. "The men sit around and get served coffee, and the women go to do the work." No laughter from Kevin. Or from me, for that matter.

And even though I was being allowed to enter the family's home, no one wanted to draw attention to the filming or to give the neighbors any clue what was happening. I wrapped the camera in pretty floral fabric, rocked it in my arms like a baby and snuck right through the gate, unnoticed.

Tomorrow I'll be going it alone again - and just wish I had some pithy, lapidary comments to sum up my views on the gender problem.

Instead, I'm grateful we're getting footage of these families at all. And I'll choose to focus on the other fun things that are happening here -- today I hugged a sheep and flew a kite.

Afghanistan the new Vietnam?

2009-03-28T22:35:00.001-04:00

A former North Vietnamese army officer thinks so. Read this GlobalPost dispatch. And don't miss the Reporter Notebook - great read.

First Day of School

2009-03-28T08:20:00.004-04:00

When 18-year-old Raila Wafa took her seat in fifth grade class this morning, she officially became the oldest student at the Zabuli Girls' School.

"I'd like to put her in Grade 6," said school founder Razia Jan. "But we don't have a sixth grade yet because of funding." What will happen when fifth graders graduate? "We'll add one then," she says, just like they added a fifth grade class this year for all the fourth graders who graduated last year.

Raila was one of three students for whom today was the very first day of school here. For the other two students, today was their very first day of school--period.

(Majida at recess on her first day of school.)

Although eleven-year-old Majida and eight-year-old Baso had repeatedly asked to go to school, their father would never allow it. Instead, he insisted the girls stay home and work in the family's grape fields, harvesting grapes by hand when they're ripe in the summer, and removing dead leaves from the plants during the winter and spring.

But after meeting with Razia yesterday, their uncle--who is a village elder and teacher--intervened.

"My uncle came over last night and begged my father to let me and my two sisters come to school," Majida said in a quiet voice. "He finally agreed for me and my younger sister, but not my older sister. She's 17."

When both Majida and Baso failed the entrance exam (and their ages keep them from entering kindergarten), I assumed Razia would send them on their way. When she didn't, I assumed it was because their uncle is a powerful figure in the village, and she wanted to keep him happy in order to secure his support for the school.

I was wrong on both counts.

"For the first time in their lives their father is willing to let them go to school," Razia said as the girls were being led to first and third grade class. "This is their one opportunity. How could I possibly say no to that?"

2009-03-28T05:03:00.002-04:00

As praise is coming in from Afghanistan's president for Obama's new war plan, the Afghans we talk with say they're cautiously optimistic. "I don't want to focus on then negative," one person told us. "But you see on people's faces here that they are anxious. They are just waiting for what's next. No one really knows."

While calling the growth of radical forces here the greatest threat to America and the world, Obama laid out a plan that will put more American troops here (4,000 now are added to the 17,000 already announced), do more to train Afghan forces, and (if Congress approved it) hand over $1.5 billion to Pakistan to help fight terrorism.

I'm no terrorism expert, but I've been re-reading Ghost Wars, and Pakistan has a long and troubling history with the Taliban, and there is still evidence that the Pakistani Intelligence Service is largely responsible for supplying the Taliban and Al Qaeda with money and weapons.

Also...
Interesting reading from Foreign Affairs on strategy of target killings--made popular by Israel, and now being adopted more and more by U.S. in War on Terror.