Despite a community of filmmakers, not many documentaries are made
A talented community of filmmakers exists, several issues are there to tackle ... yet not many documentaries are emerging from the region. What are the reasons? What can be done to create a strong film ethos in the country? Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary listens in on a debate
Among the most eloquent and empowering film genres, documentary stands apart for its unique style of cinematic reportage that addresses the core of an issue without fuss or frills. It is the portrayal of a reality that is faithful to, and consistent with, the vision of its creator.
The stereotypical documentary makers are those who disregard the usual concerns about profit-making.
They willingly dedicate themselves to a social issue they strongly believe in and do not think twice about giving up everything they have to finance their dream and make themselves heard on the world stage.
But what drives their passion? How do they tackle real issues and real people?
Thirdline, an art gallery Sunny Rahbar, Omar Ghobash and Claudia Cellini, all art lovers, formed in Dubai last year, aims to create a forum for dialogue between artists of the region and the people.
The gallery exhibited a clutch of critically acclaimed documentary films (from August 29 to Sept 2 this year) made in the Middle East. Most of the films touched core Asian issues and after the screening, a discussion was held to throw light on the themes and content emerging from this region.
It was an attempt to to help people understand the tangible and philosophical concerns surrounding this genre.
Later, Friday got together two documentary directors, Dhruv Dhawan and Davin Hutchins, and Abdel-Rehman Ghandour, a spokesperson for a Dubai-based UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), for a discussion on documentary films, their importance in the region, the issues that need to be addressed, the snags in marketing and distribution mechanism and how they could help foster a meaningful social dialogue and debate.
It is often said that more than telling a story, documentary filmmakers are compelled by a consuming passion ... a cathartic release they seek in making the film.
Sometimes they don't mind selling all they have, risking their life and limb to do what they have to do. How would you explain your passion?
Davin: The reason I (took risks during the making of my documentary in Egypt) was because I was personally connected with the people who experienced those problems. I am not sure what purpose my documentary has served.
It is meant to create empathy and annoy the audience. But I ... found it almost impossible to get it into film festivals.
In a documentary, you are able to forge a personal empathy (with your subjects) more strongly than in other mediums where it gets skewered. But I was overwhelmed by the sense of the place ... Documentary gives you a filter, a new perspective to the world.
Dhruv: I chose this subject (those displaced by the 2004 tsunami) because the media was not getting its fingernails dirty enough. There was a mirage of hope created by the media about the $3.5 (about Dh12.8)billion aid package (for the tsunami victims). It turned out to be an empty promise.
The impact of the tsunami was devastating at different levels. I was concerned about how so many people would rebuild life on a logistical level and on a personal and emotional level.
What I discovered (in Sri Lanka) was that the fishermen were being prevented from rebuilding their homes within 100 metres of the coast. The land was (being) sold to the highest bidder in the hotel industry ... Fear was used to influence the minds of these struggling survivors.
Sometime in June-July, I first saw a newspaper report about (hotel groups) building a $380 (Dh1,390) million property on the coastline. I realised this was really happening.
Notwithstanding the expenses, making a film like this must be driven by a very personal need for making a social comment.
Davin: Along with the equipment, plane ticket, editing, etc, I must have spent about $40,000 (about Dh147,000) (on my documentary). That's a rough estimate. What was more important was to pick a subject matter personal enough.
Mine was like a fable, an analytical film completed a year and a half ago. I re-edited it. It is less dated because the problem of refugees is universal. There are cycles of immigration, silence and oppression ...
The film became personal because I intended it to be so.
I was shooting this guy, watching him struggle with his landlord, being evicted with his six children. I was so involved in his life and wanted to help him ... This happens in the end ... Documentary is an impression of the truth as one sees it.
Dhruv: I chose a subject matter that was a little smaller (in scope). I think the power of a documentary is to relay your experiences in a truthful way. I was stimulated by people. Documentaries give you a refreshing educative power to shift perspective.
One doesn't do documentaries about success stories. When you are talking about incisive documentaries, it is always to do with the lesser people, the victims, those who are exploited.
For instance, in India, I would love to take a look at the economic issues, about the widening gap between the rich and the poor. It is a lovely story to tell about how capitalism has cut their world into halves.
The truth has to be seen through their perspective. For instance, there may be a thief in the slums of Delhi and obviously he is up to no good. But when you examine the scenario that has bred him, you (will) understand his need for thieving.
Abdel-Rehman: We look for the underdeveloped, forgotten and neglected ... about what happens after (an incident occurs). For instance our documentary Aftershocks (on the earthquake victims of Pakistan) describes how these people were punished twice - once by nature and once by being neglected in their own country.
Many of them are still waiting for aid, living in tents next to the rubble where their houses stood.
Similarly, in Lebanon we covered a lot of stories about victims in the aftermath of the war. One of the biggest issues is of unexploded cluster bombs that were dropped by Israel a couple of days before the ceasefire.
These bombs kill silently and will do so long after the ceasefire. Their victims are mostly civilians, specifically children, who think these are toys but the moment they touch them, the bombs explode in their faces, leaving them maimed and mangled. A huge effort is being made to neutralise them.
Our film Broken Bodies focuses on gender-based violence that is not just part of the Third World but is a fact of life everywhere.
The documentary was started when we witnessed that women were being used as war bounty in (certain parts of the world) where the enemy would not just rest on defeating the opponent but humiliate him by raping (the women).
This was also an attempt to destabilise the family. Women bring stability to a home and a family, and the (enemy's) attempt is to break this.
Women are used as weapons everywhere and we witnessed that in (many areas)... and the story kept growing. In fact, in DRC and Liberia women have now grouped militantly to fight back.
The details were so graphic that we could not end the subject by making a documentary, so we came out with a book. I think documentaries on themes like these do not end with the film. They encourage a healthy debate, a discussion, a sense of emotional bond with the subjects, a moment of reflection ...
Is there any method or technique of narration that you adopt to make your statement more effective?
Dhruv: In fact it is (the documentary's) emotional plateau which is very fascinating. In my documentary,
I present the characters, get you to relate to them and guide you there. It is like needling the audience's emotions.
Davin: In the AFI film festival at Los Angeles where my film was screened, there was another refugee film, (Refugee All Stars) on Sierra Leone where the characters return home in the end. The film was co-funded by (Hollywood celebrities) Angelina Jolie and Steve Bing.
These were big names and the film neatly tied up all the loose ends. My film talks about the refugees from Darfur who have fled the violence in their country to walk into Egypt. But once there, (their woes don't end). I ended it on that note because I wanted people to feel uneasy.
I think it is important to leave the documentary open-ended as it is not a button-and-hook affair where people should feel happy with the resolutions.
In my film, the central problem remains unsolved. It's like news. It takes you into the lives of people but in a documentary one can achieve a stronger level of intimacy.
Though we have the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in the UAE that screens the best of world cinema, why is the birth of a meaningful cinema movement taking so long? How difficult does that make your job?
Abdel-Rehman: I feel there is an audience but you need to find them. You need to find a niche because we are so overwhelmed by consumerism here that we think people will not respond to such subjects, but we are wrong. In fact, the response we received here was overwhelming.
Davin: Efforts to make documentary films very successful depend on key issues that are related to financing and funding. The nature of the genre is such that you have to literally beg for money to raise the funds or get some major broadcasting stations to sponsor it. That's true anywhere in the world.
Once that is done, the financiers and sponsors want to exercise complete creative control over the film.
In Dubai, there is no dearth of talented people. There are a lot of technically-qualified people too. In the US, there are about 200 broadcast stations. At least one out of those is making a documentary on the side.
The thing that is lacking is to see enough people having something to say. You have to have a burning desire to say (what you have been nursing in your heart). I don't think we have that critical mass in Dubai as yet.
What is the message that people want to convey? Until that is really defined we cannot have documentaries. For instance, I am yet to meet another documentary filmmaker like Dhruv in this region ... There are not enough people fired by a passion to express themselves through this genre.
Dhruv: The needs of the region are specific. To be in Dubai you need to be on a work visa, you can't just be a freelance documentary filmmaker. You have to work for a living.
That ties you up to other commitments. The majority of people come here with an overwhelming urge to (earn a living) not to make a big social statement ...
Davin: A documentary is largely about the underdog. Until you have a better connection with - and among - people, one is not going to have a compassionate audience ... that critical mass of people you are looking for.
I would like to do documentaries in collaboration (with others). But you need enough people to encourage you and you need collaborators.
In such an ethos it is difficult to convey the message about underdogs, losers and victims. In Dubai there are no victims, only winners.
What about the promotion and distribution network?
Davin: I have held several screenings, the biggest with about 200 people and the smallest with two. When I put the video on the internet, I got as many as 50,000 viewers.
It is also a subject of blog discussions. I feel the medium of video is universal. There might be donations from people who may want to finance a film. We are getting to that stage.
Dhruv: A film gets a life of its own. The big conundrum is that if you have something to talk about, you make a film. A film needs money, to make it yourself is impossible, so you approach many non-profit organisations and get to broadcasters ... and then there are many kinds of creative controls they exercise on you.
What we need is to set up a public fund to finance meaningful cinema. (For instance), there are websites where you pay for a download. (Such steps are) going to happen.
The problem is how to generate money. I believe that revenue strain and being able to reach people are two issues that are right upon us. Once (documentaries) dominate the web media, they will become the topic of discussion on blogs and things will improve.
Abdel-Rehman: The objective (of documentary making) is to survive and convey a message and not to profit by it. At IRIN, we are fortunate to have a budget.
However, the artist or documentary filmmaker who has to first struggle with his creativity has to also turn into an aggressive salesman to market his film. Having a definite budget will take away that strain and help the artist to focus on the creative aspect of the craft.
With a budget there are constraints, political and otherwise. There are some guidelines as well. All social issues have political implications and you have to be careful with words (so) you adopt a way to comment and say things without offending those who finance you.
There are different ways of narrating a story. You can tell your story without upsetting others.
IRIN films are partly covered by a regular budget.
Dhruv: Finance exists but is available only for those themes that these agencies think people want to see. At a festival Davin and I attended, there was a film on chewing gum with a budget of 35,000 euros. We are struggling for funds for documentaries on human rights violations ...
Davin: The internet can help us distribute our films to an audience without such strings attached. The internet is functioning as the gatekeeper of future telecommunications and is governed by capitalist interest.
Right now the only passionate broadcasting organisation that can help is the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), but it is impossible to even get to meet (the officials).
From my festival experience I realised much depends on who you know than what you are capable of. But the internet can offer you unlimited shelf space. Once you get into this medium, there is a chance of being discussed and exposed to a number of human rights blogs.
There is a tremendous amount of scope for experimentation of video on the net. Once this happens it will alter our lives, we can premiere on the net and (one day) might do away with the need for festivals.
There is this internet service Brightcove, initiated by Jeremy Alliare, the man behind Flash. It is dedicated to harnessing the inherent power of the internet to transform the distribution and consumption of the media.
Brightcove empowers content owners to reach their audiences directly through the internet. A pay model is in place where you have to pay for a download.
(Noted) documentary maker Robert Greenwald's experiments are well known. His documentaries have done very well commercially.
With the help of his organisation Moveon.org and the Centre for American Programs, he marketed his own films via the internet and later sold his DVDs. His attempt helped him reach out to 700,000 people in a week and a new distribution mechanism was born.
In fact, his film, The High Cost of Low-Price, that takes a look at the exploitation of employees (of a reputed supermarket chain) went on to become a commercial success and was screened in regular cinemas.
For his film on Iraq, his partner and he sent out e-mails to raise funds for the film. Within ten days they collected $267,892 of which $185,000 came from about 3,000 small donors who had made contributions of less than $60 each.
This begs the question - what do you need to make a good film?
The internet is a pliable medium and there is no reason why we cannot find it to be of a viable nature for more films to happen. There is ongoing experimentation on the net.
Abdel-Rehman: I guess the boundaries are going to thin out. What we really need is to hold a learned dialogue on this issue.
Davin: On the net, we don't need take permission from someone to let us screen a film. The new initiatives on the net have to triumph. I am extremely optimistic ...
The future is really going to be about people who haven't signed away their rights. I don't think any
film should sit on a shelf. We need to have new voices and not be profit driven ... and we need someone to push the envelope.
The Panel
Davin Hutchins
Executive producer, director
A television and print journalist for over 10 years, Hutchins has worked with CNN, Headline News, Kuwait TV and Tech TV. He moved to the Middle East after 9/11 as he felt he had been 'asleep'.
The Art of Flight, his first documentary, won critical acclaim at prestigious festivals such as those in Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Bangkok.
His company, Nomads Land Films, which began with a laptop and camcorder kit in a spare bedroom in Cairo, has grown to a full-fledged production company in Dubai, making documentaries for international broadcasters.
Hutchins holds a Masters of Arts in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo and two Bachelor of Arts degrees (in Journalism and History) from California State University.
He has researched extensively on human rights in the Middle East and political and economic developments in the Arab world. He speaks English and Arabic.
Abdel-Rehman Ghandour
Managing editor of the Middle-East Bureau of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and its media arm - IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks).
IRIN is a humanitarian information and advocacy support service providing news and analysis through various media. The IRIN-financed film Broken Bodies was screened at the Thirdline (an art gallery in Dubai) documentary screenings.
It is a powerful short film highlighting the global crisis facing women of all ages in war regions. Broken Bodies gives voice to the victims of rape in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia and seeks to challenge the culture of impunity that allows this violence to continue in areas where women are used as weapons of war and instruments of humiliation.
Dhruv Dhawan
Mumbai-born, Dubai based director
Inspired by the diversity and scope of human experience, he began to nurture his passion for documentary filmmaking in the US.
A cultural anthropologist and a filmmaker, Dhawan has focused his skills on the areas of ethnographic and observational cinema, using reflexive styles to evoke a unique feel and look in his work.
His first documentary From Dust focuses on the plight of a million tsunami victims from Sri Lanka who remain homeless to this day.
The film premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival 2005 and had a North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival where it garnered critical acclaim.
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