Film Connection Blogs

Blood Diamond and the issue of conflict diamonds may be old news to many, but I just saw the movie last week. I avoided watching it out of fear that the usual sensationalism would dampen the film's intended social message, but its relevance to Mercy Corps' work with conflict-ridden countries in Africa led to a tense evening on the couch with Leonardo DiCaprio's smarmy diamond smuggling character.

I wasn't too far off in assuming the action-packed flick wouldn't do justice to the gravity of the subject matter and neither were Blood Diamond's critics. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote in a 2006 review, "If films were judged solely by their good intentions, this one would be best in show. Instead, gilded in money and dripping with sanctimony, confused and mindlessly contradictory, the film is a textbook example of how easily commercialism can trump do-goodism, particularly in Hollywood."

After reading one bad review after another, a more general question began to emerge: Can the complexities of an issue like the conflict-diamond trade reach more people via the Hollywood action film than a quiet, though more accurate, documentary?

Considering that only 34% of Americans say they pay attention to international news, it is safe to assume the state of conflict and human suffering in Africa may not be well-understood. Many of us may not even be aware of an issue like conflict diamonds and therefore continue to make uninformed decisions when selecting a fat rock for our wedding fingers.

Although the problem of the disengaged American isn't going to be solved by offering feature films that pad the complexities of our time, I like to think of this and similar movies as bridges to understanding - "gateway films" to deeper and more complex portrayals of human realities the world over.

Perhaps the commercial aspect of a film like Blood Diamond is easy for in-the-know media buffs to critique, but I'm curious to know what the average movie-goer thought about it. Did anyone else have feelings about the film?

This hour-long documentary about Senator Barack Obama's fact-finding and goodwill tour of Africa is particularly interesting to watch in lieu of the current fight for the Democratic nomination.

So much of what media coverage comes about out the presumptive nominee talks about the electricity and excitement that surround many of his campaign stops and rallies. I didn't really get a sense of what that was like until I watched this film.

During stops in Kenya, thousands of people crowded around simply to catch a glimpse of the country's most famous native son (he was actually born in the U.S. but his father's family comes from there). They throng around him, singing and cheering, full of energy. Even his wife, Michelle, seemed a little flabbergasted that it was her husband that all these people were making a fuss over.

But such is the case for one of the most unique and bracing voices to come out of American politics in years. His care and interest in the people of Africa is palpable and sincere. For example, he knows that being seen getting tested for HIV in a continent where the disease has ravaged lives and families will encourage more people to do the same, so he does just that.

I just wish that this film didn't feel as much like a campaign video as it does. It would have been interesting to see him visit his family and this continent without a caravan of reporters and handlers following him every step of the way. As well, seeing the connection he has with his family in Kenya was great, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for his grandmother who was paraded in front of the media for a photo op and a stump speech.

The events and this film don't diminish Obama's obvious passion for Africa and to try and use the wealth and resources of a superpower like the U.S. to do something positive for the billions of people in need. In a country like ours where current foreign policy means staying out of the way until a foreign power gets in our way, it's a particularly inspiring message to hear.

"If you want art to be absolutely pure, absolutely untainted by anything, chances are the art is going to belong only to you and to nobody else."

The above quote comes from Moroccan author Laila Lalami as part of an interview with NPR on artists changing aspects of their books, films or performances to suit the mores and laws of countries that are far more restrictive than the U.S.

Some of the discussion in the story revolved around the Chinese release of Ang Lee's latest film Lust, Caution, which features nine minutes of torrid love scenes between Tony Leung and Tang Wei.

To make sure his film could be screened in the country where it was filmed, Lee cut those scenes, forcing many moviegoers to seek out bootlegged DVDs of the film or making the trek to Hong Kong where the uncensored cut was shown. Lee also had to make an "R-rated version" of the film for the DVD release in the States to ensure that it reach the shelves of Wal-Mart and Blockbuster.

Part of me wants to feel a great deal of consternation about moves like this – especially after seeing the film and understanding how integral to the plot the sex scenes are to Lust, Caution – thinking that any kind of censorship, even with an artists' approval, is dangerous and compromises the original vision that a director, writer or artist initially had. The other part of me understands that artists should be sensitive to how countries have differing cultural standards about what is/isn't appropriate to show, hear or read.

I want to align my thinking with Lalami's quote and understand that without Lee making versions of his movies that edit out the contested footage, he's denying thousands of people in China the opportunity to go see his film. Yet, there's that nagging part of my brain that wishes he would have kept Lust, Caution out of the movie theaters entirely to make a statement about how so much free expression is suppressed within the country.

At the very least I suppose I should be thankful for the DVD marketplace – an area that allows a director's complete, unedited vision to be seen by people around the world. And if bona fide copies of the discs aren’t for sale, as was the case with Lust, Caution in China, there's always the bootleg market. People who want to see a film as it was originally intended will find a way to do just that.

Director Jeremiah Zagar won the SXSW Audience Award in the Emerging Visions category for In a Dream. It was my favorite documentary out of the eight I saw this past week at the festival; it definitely got my vote.

Zagar took a bold step into the unknown when he decided to get behind the camera and film the details of his family's life. The documentary traces the chaotic story of his father, well-known Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, his stoic mother, Julia, and his brother, Ezekiel, a recovering addict. Intimacy and emotion spill onto the screen - the art is brilliant and the musical score by The Books only adds to the film's surreal, raw experience.

The journey begins as an energetic and whimsical love story, but the harsh realities of Isaiah's mental disorder become quickly apparent to the audience. He lives in a beautiful dream world, as colorful and and random as the patterns he creates, which causes his tight-knit family to quickly erode.

In a Dream is a truly candid documentary that you won't want to miss.

Although SXSW isn't a festival dedicated to international cinema, it's embarking on a new tradition, which was kicked off this year. Global Doc Days is an initiative to build upon SXSW's strong commitment to the documentary genre by organizing a film series in conjunction with a variety of international film agencies, institutes, broadcasters and producers.

With Film Connection being part of Mercy Corps' broader efforts to provide international humanitarian assistance in developing countries, I was particularly interested in seeing the China/Africa documentaries.

China's Grip On Africa, directed by German filmmaker Frank Sieren, was the standout amongst the four films screened. It documents China's deep involvement in the African continent. While G8 countries hesitate to work with corrupt African governments, China has seized the opportunity, making strategic multi-million dollar investments in infrastructure and offering loans where others not dare go.

China's interest is not altruistic, to be sure, but they seem to be providing African governments with the basic infrastructure and investment they need to improve living conditions in the areas where industry develops. Their sentiment is that the West may be getting it wrong: democracy and good governance cannot be dropped on a country, it has to be homegrown.

China's Grip On Africa is a definite selection for the Film Connection library when it moves out of the festival circuit.

I arrived at the World Premier of Matador late but luckily saw a friend sitting in the front row who had kindly saved me a seat. And who did we happen to be sitting right next to but the director and editor of Second Skin, Juan Carlos Piñeiro.

We began a conversation about the film and how well it's been received at the festival. He asked what I came away with after watching his movie. I replied with my take-aways and nervously asked the question I was dying to know the answer to: why did you pick the people you picked? Why not be more representational of people who play interactive games?

He and Victor M. Piñeiro III, the film's producer and writer, wanted to show people who really played games, he told me. They looked on blogs, online gaming community groups and other virtual locations to search out only the truly dedicated gamers.

"We could have used people from other income levels and social backgrounds because so many people play games. But these people only play games as a hobby, their lives aren't dedicated to it, so it wouldn't have been as interesting."

He's right. The stories featured in Second Skin are meant to paint a portrait of how games have impacted individual lives. You woundn't get the same picture or grasp the film's message if it was about a white-collar man who comes home from work and plays World of Warcraft for a few mintues before he turns in for the night. It's the total immersion of people into their virtual world of dragons, elves and other fantasy characters that makes it watchable.

Visit the Second Skin website to learn more.

Most people would tell you the most interesting and important part of attending a festival like SXSW isn't the panels you attend; it's the people you meet.

This morning as I was standing in line (a common SXSW experience) waiting for the next film screening of Wellness, a gentleman next to me elbowed my arm and pointed to the film's flier sitting on the counter. "That's a great film," he said. "Really? And how do you know?" I asked. "Well...I made it," was his reply. And my conversation with director Jake Mahaffy began.

I had, in fact, heard a great deal of positive feedback about Wellness from other film-festival goers. Some SXSW veterans even said it was the best flick they'd seen at the festival in many years. That seems to be how it works here - don't plan too far ahead, keep your ear to the ground for the latest film buzz and follow it. This feature certainly lived up to the boasting of the director and festival regulars.

Wellness follows the terrible and painful journey of a pyramid-scheme salesman peddaling a non-existent product as he struggles to find his way, desperately, into the wide world of capitalism. His gullibity and consistent failure leave the viewer in a constantly heart-wrenched state, which is most likely to do with director Jake Mahaffy's decision to use an all-amateur cast. The characters are believable and have an innocent vulnerability not always present in professional acting. Despite the film's quiet sadness, we in the audience found ourselves laughing at the sheer irony of it all.

It was a fantastic narrative film, a definite recommend when it comes to a favorite indie theater near you.

The first thing I ran into when I walked into the convention center in downtown Austin was a massive line. I admit I was a bit disturbed when I saw it wrap around the entire building the size of a city block and was told it would be at least an hour, but if I wanted to see any films I had to wait it out.

As more people kept filing in to get their entry badges, filmmakers (or rather their glowing and supportive parents) were strolling up and down the line promoting the films they'd be showing at the festival. I excitedly grasped at one of the fliers, grateful to have something to read during my wait in line. It was a promotion for Second Skin, a film about interactive computer gamers - think World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Second Life.

Gamers. I don’t know anything about them. Who are these people and what’s their story? I had to know.

The theater was wall-to-wall packed, but someone motioned for my friend and I to take a seat by them. It turned out to be the filmmakers’ parents, who had inspired me to catch the screening in the first place. Watching them beam as their sons-turned-directors took the stage to cheers and stomps from the audience was almost as good as the movie itself.

The two young directors offer viewers an intimate social study of a handful of gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs). It sheds light on some of the impacts of technology on human-to—human interaction. Couples fall in love, people become addicted, disabled players find a place to be themselves and Chinese ‘gold-farmers’ work in sweatshops to feed the mania of their comparatively well-off counterparts across the ocean. This may happen in a world that doesn’t really exist, but it directly mirrors the social highs and lows that happen in real life. So is it really that different?

My one criticism of Second Skin is that the gamers shown in the film all seemed to be from the working class, with similar incomes and tendencies toward addictive behavior. It made me want to know what other types of people play this and similar games. For example, do more men or women play, which country has the highest participation rate, does social class actually have an impact on people who become addicted to MMOs?

At any rate, I’d recommend the film to gamers and non-gamers alike. It was a great way to kick off SXSW.

Have you ever had a day when the planets are perfectly aligned? The
clouds clear, the breeze smells of spring, your inspirational theme
song plays and something great falls right into your lap. Well, that's the
kind of day I had when I found out I was going to this year's South By Southwest.

If you're not familiar with SXSW, it's a film, interactive and music conference that takes place each year in Austin, Texas. I'll be attending the film and interactive media portions — a fantastic opportunity to discover the latest independent films, network with other social-media organizations and find out about new ways to enhance the Film Connection user experience.

And what's more is that I get to blog about it all week! I'll be posting throughout the festival about what I'm seeing and hearing from notable filmmakers and organizations devoted to provocative and inspirational independent cinema.

Now if I can just decide which films to see…. Take a look at the lineup and feel free to suggest screenings I should attend in the comment section below this post. I'll keep you posted on the films I see, and also the panels I go to ("The IT Girl's Guide to Blogging with Moxie” seems right up my alley).

So watch this space and follow me to the festival.

Vive le cinéma,

Lisa