Frontline Club on documentary films

Frontline presents screenings of Burma VJ with Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:55:51 +0000

We're really pleased to be co-hosting 3 screenings of the documentary Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country at this year's London Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which I'd urge you to check out. We also have a number of prints currently in our forum to promote the festival, which is one of the highlights of the UK documentary scene.

The film brings together video footage from tenacious Burmese video journalists, shot during the 2007 rebellion led by Buddhist monks, which was swiftly crushed by the ruling junta. The documentary underlines the defaince of a small band of VJs who were doggedly determined to get the real story out to the rest of the world.

Co-ordinated by a leader codenamed Joshua in Thailand their footage is smuggled out of the country to Norway and broadcast in Burma via satellite, forcing the Burmese regime to confront images that it didn't want its people to see.

There will be three screenings in total, the first of which will be the UK PREMIERE on 22 March at the Clapham Picturehouse (6.30pm), then on 23 March at the Curzon Renoir (6.30pm) and finally on 24 March at the Ritzy in Brixton (6.30pm). Please see the individual websites for booking information - this is defintely a film worth seeing.

We'll also be screening two other films that are part of the HRW film festival here at Frontline - the much feted Afghan Star on Moday 23 March and The Reckoning on Friday 27. Tickets can be reserved by calling 020 7479 8940 - apologies to all of you who've had problems with the online booking system. It has been suspended until further notice, so if you want to come to any of our events, just give us a call.

Iraqi director Mohamed Al Daradji

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:34:56 +0000

I've been talking a lot lately to Isabelle Stead, production manager at Human Film, a production company based in Leeds, about a number of films that she's working on with Holland-based Iraqi director, Mohamed Al Daradji.

In 2004 Mohamed travelled back to his native Baghdad in an attempt to make a feature film, resulting in Ahlaam (dreams), which received critical reviews, see below:

"...a remarkable achievement" Empire

"...honest and brave..." Time Out

This remarkable debut film plunges the viewer into the madness of occupied Baghdad circa 2003. Two inmates from a mental institution suddenly find themselves out in the streets, negotiating local gangs, American soldiers, ruined buildings and falling bombs. An intense, vivid experience both on and off-screen, as the director and his crew were abducted and interrogated by both sides during the shooting of the film.

A documentary about his struggle to get the film made arrived a little later under the provisional title War, Love God and Madness. Feedback from the festival circuit encouraged Human Film to re-edit the film and make it altogether a much tighter package. Currently under the working title Welcome to Baghdad, they hope to have an edit ready fairly soon and we plan to do a screening at Frontline with Mohamed towards the middle or March.

The momentum generated from these films have allowed them to start work on Mohamed's next film, Son of Babylon - keep your ears pinned to the ground, there should be a trailer coming soon...

More fish related viewing

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:35:19 +0000

You wait years for one decent fish related documentary to appear, then two come at once! As I blogged yesterday, I was impressed with The Deadline as a ecological awareness film. Last night I was chatting to Christo Hird, the producer behind many recent big documentaries such as Black Gold, who chaired my Louis Theroux Presents...event. He'd just arrived back from the Sundance Film Festival where one of his films - The End of the Line was in the world documentary competition. Trailer below.

To quote from the film's website:

Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act.

In the film we see firsthand the effects of our global love affair with fish as food.

It examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.

Filmed over two years, The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans.

One of his allies is the former tuna farmer turned whistleblower Roberto Mielgo - on the trail of those destroying the world's magnificent bluefin tuna population.

Filmed across the world - from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market - featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world.

Crikey...Think about that the next time you buy a tuna sandwich.

The two docos obviously approach the issue of overfishing from different angles but I see a strong trend in eco-docs in the coming years.

Further reading/viewing

BRITDOC 2008 Good Pitch

The Deadline - why I think 'campaign journalism' can learn from this documentary

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:04:42 +0000

I was contacted just after Christmas by Phil Stebbing, director and producer of a new documentary called The Deadline that investigates the issue of fishing piracy off the coast of Guinea. Independently produced, Phil has worked on the film between other jobs - most notably the excellent Afghan Star. He asked whether the club would be interested in screening the film so I said I'd take a look at a DVD.

I was sceptical at first, mainly because from the trailer it is obvious that Greenpeace has a strong presence in the film and as a policy the club steers clear of films that have a strong ngo backed campaign agenda. Not because we have an opinion on the rights or wrongs of the campaign but because, by definition, we are an independent journalism establishment.

Having watched the film I'm happy that my scepticism has been proved false. I found it an enthralling and at times appalling film that really documents one of the biggest ecological problems facing the planet today. It shows how the globalisation and mechanisation of the fishing industry to satisfy the insatiable appetites of developed countries is a problem that requires a real international consensus. It also highlights the impunity of pirate fishing crews who flout EU regulations and deceive the Guinean authorities, who are ill equipped to deal with the task of policing their shores.

Greenpeace of course are the ones keeping an eye on the pirate fishing vessels and reporting back to the Guinean authorities. They are in the film as protagonists and as far as I can discern did not offer any funding to the filmmakers.

I believe the film is all the more effective for raising awareness due to the fact that Greenpeace's agenda is not shoved in the face of the viewer, like I've found in many other films featuring NGOs. The film isn't 'about' Greenpeace and therefore I didn't feel like I was being sold a message - the viewer is treated with respect and allowed to judge for themselves. Too often we tune out of important messages because we feel preached at..

I believe this is something that other ngos could consider when funding their own campaign documentaries.

I don't like cricket...

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:46:13 +0000

I love it...

So I think I will really like this documentary, Out of the Ashes, as well when it's completed.

It follows the Afghanistan cricket team (yes, they do have one) as they attempt to qualify for the cricket world cup.

What I like about this is that it shows a different side to Afghanistan - a breath of fresh air, if you will, in a similar way to the excellent documentary, Afghan Star.

Have a look at the trailer and see what you think, one of our members, Tim Albone is involved in the production and I hope to show it at the club when it's finished.

Send me your thoughts, comments etc. Or can you think of other similarly interesting documentaries, I'm always interested to hear

HBO Obama Doc, the world expects...

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:42:17 +0000

I'm somewhat excited by the prospect of the eagerly awaited, as yet untitled Obama Documentary. THE Obama documentary. Spoken of in hushed tones on various documentary blogs, film sites and by industry insider hacks, the film promises much and I, for one, will be following it very closely. US broadcaster HBO have bought the rights to the film for a 7 figure sum and it is currently being edited by a team with backing from actor Edward Norton. Clearly a film that will have serious legs.

The filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams followed Obama's campaign for the 08 Election even before the 'Pres Elect' had decided to run. If you believe the hype then some say we could see a film that rivals the epic 1993 Clinton Campaign documentary, The War Room.

(Incidentally BBC's Storyville are also interested in broadcasting the film - so keep looking out for updates on the beeb towards the middle of 2009)

It's obviously too early to draw any comparisons but if you believe, like I do, that the best documentaries (and films for that matter) are driven by strong characters then let's hope the film gives us proper first hand access to the Obama campaign bigwigs. What made the War Room so watchable was the informal interaction of Clinton campaign chiefs James Carville and George Stefanopoulos with the camera and the common touch values of the Clinton ideology.

What I'd really like is to see the same candour and frankness from Obama key figures of Dan Pfeiffer (communications chief), David Axelrod and David Plouffe (campaign manager). However, whether like in the War Room, we'll see Obama wandering around in his underwear doing phone interviews, a la Clinton remains to be seen.

In the meantime here are a couple of other campaign docs you might want to check out, Journeys with George and JFK A President to remember and if you're really interested... one about Jimmy Carter.