ASN Convention 2002: Film Lineup

Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 13:19:39 +0300 (EEST)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: ASN Convention 2002: Film Lineup

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Dominique Arel <[email protected]>

ASN Convention 2002: Film Lineup


FILM LINEUP OF THE 2002 ASN WORLD CONVENTION

***For the complete preliminary program, registration form and general
information on the convention, please consult our web site at
www.nationalities.org***

For the third consecutive year, the ASN World Convention will be
screening brand new documentaries on themes related to the
post-Communist world. This year's lineup includes L'OPIUM DES
TALIBANS, a riveting French documentary on the opium trade shot
illegally under the Taliban regime; QALA JANGI, a short feature (work
in progress) on the uprising in Mazar-e Sharif during the Fall 2001
Afghan war; ALLIES AND LIES, a stunning British BBC report on American
covert operations during the Bosnia war; A HIGH LEVEL DELEGATION,
about a surreal visit by a Belgian parliamentary delegation to the
world's most secretive country: North Korea; MY MOTHER'S VILLAGE, an
acclaimed Canadian documentary on Ukrainian diaspora identity; TIME TO
GATHER STONES, an account of the Transdniestria conflict, produced by
Moldova television; SS IN BRITAIN, a controversial British report on
war crimes committed by members of the Waffen-SS Halychyna Division in
wartime Ukraine; BRING ME THE HEAD OF GEORGIY GONGADZE, a
work-in-progress on the political scandal surrounding the
disappearance of Ukrainian journalist Gongadze; YUGOSLAVIA - THE
AVOIDABLE WAR, which has recently made the headlines at The Hague
during the trial of Slobodan Milosevic; OIL ODYSSEY, a travelogue
along the Caspian pipeline; two documentaries on AFGHAN REFUGEES, and
short films from CINEMA VERITE INTERNATIONAL. Each screening will be
followed by discussion.

The ASN Convention runs from 5-7 April 2001 at Columbia University,
International Affairs Building, and will feature a hundred panels, in
addition to the films.

We look forward to seeing you at the convention,

Dominique Arel ([email protected])
Film/Video Section Chair
 
V1 (I)
Thursday 11 April, 1-3 PM
A High Level Delegation (Une d=E9l=E9gation de tr=E8s haut niveau)
Belgium 2000 (52 mins)
Directed by Philippe Dutilleul, Radio T=E9l=E9vision Fran=E7aise Belge
Contact: Philippe Dutilleul ([email protected])
In French (English subtitles)

Is North Korea the last earthly paradise? Fully aware of the bent and
outright biases of the Western press, Une D=E9l=E9gation wanted to set
the record straight. The first Western television crew to be allowed
to film in North Korea in more than a dozen years, the crew of Une
D=E9l=E9gation did not travel alone. They were in the company of a
"top-level delegation" of distinguished official representatives of
the Belgian government, conducting an investigative visit to the land
of Kim Il-sung, the Venerated Great Leader, and his son Kim Jong-il,
the Great Beloved Leader and reincarnation of his daddy. A most
disturbing journey to the unknown and forgotten country of President
Bush's "Axis of Evil."

V2 (II)
Thursday 11 April, 3.15-5.15 PM
Oil Odyssey
USA/Azerbaijan 2002 (30 mins)
Written and directed by Thomas Goltz
Shot by Space Television, Baku, Azerbaijan
Contact: Thomas Goltz ([email protected])

Who Says Geopolitics Can't Be Fun?
Not TripZip, or Oil Odyssey Organizer, a.k.a. Thomas Goltz, who
gathered forty folks, drawn from Alaska to Azerbaijan, and drove a
dozen Soviet-style sidecar motorcycles down the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
linemeaning, the proposed but still not implemented 2,000 Kilometer,
$3 billion dollar pipeline that threads the needle between Iran and
Russia and leads from the shores of the Caspian to the Mediterranean
Sea.

And what about the dancers and singers from the Rashid Beybudov
theater in Baku, tagging along with the bikers and performing in
refugee camps and forgotten villages along the way?

What? A pack of Soviet Style sidecar motorcycles escorting a bus
packed with Baku ballet dancers and the deep set of pipes known as
Bilal, rolling through the blighted, war-scarred Caucasus region of
the post-Soviet space, promoting an oil and gas pipeline route? Well,
yes. Or better: why not? And who says Geopolitics Can't Be Fun? Thomas
Goltz will lead the discussion following the screening.

V3 (III)
Thursday 11 April, 5.30-7.30 PM
SS in Britain
UK 2000 (55 mins.)
Directed by Julian Hendy
Produced by Yorkshire TV, Leeds, UK
Contact: Julian Hendy ([email protected])

A controversial British documentary on the Ukrainian Waffen-SS
Division "Halychyna" during the Second World War. The film asserts
that the Halychyna Division committed war crimes against civilians in
Galicia (current day Ukraine) and Slovakia, and that survivors of the
devastating Brody Battle against the Red Army in 1944 obtained
citizenship in Britain after the war.
Timothy Snyder (Yale U) will lead the discussion following the
screening.

V4 (IV)
Friday 12 April, 9-11 AM
Two Documentaries on Afghan Refugees
USA 2001 (60 mins.)
Directed and produced by Najib Aziz Amiri
Contact: Rameen Moshref ([email protected])

The two documentaries on the Afghan refugees are part of a series of
ten tapes that the president founder of the Children of War, Najib
Aziz Amiri, has produced during his trips to Afghanistan, Iran and
Pakistan.  He has taped the food distribution each time he has gone.
So far 10 tapes are available and more on the works. The last two
tapes, which are screening at the ASN Convention, cover his last trips
to Herat (Afghanistan), Mashad (Iran) and Peshawar (Pakistan). Mr.
Amiri will travel to Afghanistan in April 2002 to oversee the opening
of a new orphanage / trade school in Kabul. Tape 1 (Volume 9): "The
Afghan Refugees in Mashad, Iran. Jalozai Camp, Pakistan and Maslakh
Camp in Herat, Afghanistan" (March 2001, 30 mins.)
Tape 2 (Volume 10): "18 days with Afghan Refugees in Peshawar"
(November 2001, 30 mins.)
Fraiba Nawa (Independent Journalist) will lead the discussion
following the screening.

V5 (IV)
Friday 12 April, 11.15 AM-1.15 PM
Documentary Shorts from Cinema Verite International

The Former Soviet Union: Moving into the Future is a comparative
analysis of the transition process as shown in five countries,
confronting issues of crime, corruption, business growth, and
investment. The Former Soviet Union: Religious Birth examines the
growth of Orthodoxy, Christianity, Cults, and Judaism in four
countries. Suicide Bombers Cannot Silence Children's Voices focuses on
the single most important issue of the War confronting us today. Clips
from two short films on Mexico will also be shown.

Mildred Pollner (Cinema Verite International, USA) will present the
short documentaries.

V6 (V)
Video Presentation
Room 1219
Allies and Lies
UK 2001 (55 mins.)
Directed by David Hedbitch, BBC
Contact: Dan Hedbitch, Producer ([email protected])

The Bosnian Muslim Army was covertly supplied with arms by the US
during the 1990s. In an investigation across six countries, this
stunning BBC documentary uncovers a series of incidents which have
tested the Western Alliance to breaking point. Senior European
negotiators believe that with US backing the war could have ended two
years earlier, but US desire to see the Serbs punished meant that they
instead encouraged the Bosnian government to continue fighting. The
price in human terms? Over 15,000 dead and nearly 600,000 refugees.
Exclusive interviews with Lt General Sir Michael Rose, UN Peace
Negotiator Thorvald Stoltenberg and several other critical actors.

V7 (V)
Friday 12 April, 11.15 AM-1.15 PM
My Mother's Village
Canada 2001 (100 mins.)
Directed by John Paskievich
Contact: Jo Anne Walton ([email protected])

With countless people fleeing their homelands to seek a better life,
exile has become one of the most common experiences of the last
century. In My Mother's Village, John Paskievich delves into the
effects of exile and memory on the human spirit, using his own
experiences as a child of refugees as a starting point. Almost 50
years after Paskievich's family left Ukraine to find freedom in
Canada, the Winnipeg filmmaker attempts to reconcile his lifelong
feeling of being caught between two cultures. He brings to light the
humour, anger, joy and complexity of living between borders - obliged
on the one hand to preserve the memories and traditions of his
parents, and needing on the other hand to establish his own roots in a
new country.

V8 (VI)
Friday 12 April, 2.15-4.15 PM
L'Opium des Talibans
France 2001 (90 minutes)
Directed by Fran=E7ois Margolin
Contact: Fran=E7ois Margolin ([email protected])
In French and Afghan languages (English subtitles)

Afghanistan under the Talibans was among the most repressive countries
in the world. As we learned in early 2001 when they destroyed the
ancient statues of Buddha, the Talibans did not tolerate any sort of
imagery - photos, painting, films, sculpture. Women could not go out
alone, they could not work at jobs or go to school. Music and alcohol
were banned. And so on. But these partisans of purity remained
terribly hypocritical about drugs. Ostensibly proscribed by religious
edict, drug production flourished in Afghanistan. It supplied 75% of
the world's opium. At first the Talibans had outlawed even the growing
of the opium poppies. But before long they had relaxed their
interdiction to allow production and export of the drug. Filmmaker
Fran=E7ois Margolin and writer Olivier Weber, who knew Afghanistan
well from previous visits to cover the mujahadeen and aid workers,
returned to Afghanistan to understand how the opium trade was
rationalized by the Talibans. How they not only allowed it but even
encouraged its growth.

V9 (VI)
Friday 12 April, 2.15-4.15 PM
American Gypsy. A Stranger in Everybody's Land.
USA 2000 (80 minutes)
Directed by Jasmine Dellal
Contact: Lorri Fulling, UC Media ([email protected])
In English and Romani (English subtitles)

There are one million Gypsies, or Rom, in America, who most people
know nothing about. Never before has a camera been allowed in to
explore their world. Shot over the course of five years, this feature
documentary tells the lyrical tale of one Romani family in the United
States who have broken the wall of secrecy surrounding their people.
American Gypsy follows the story of Jimmy Marks, a flamboyant
community leader who becomes passionately obsessed with fighting a
civil rights battle to defend his family, his history and his honor.
His journey carries us into the Romani culture with scenes of Gypsies
from around the world celebrating New Year in Las Vegas; the arranged
marriage of teenagers; and car salesmen in Stetson hats driving
Cadillacs. American Gypsy shows a glimpse of an immigrant world that
is either on the verge of extinction or at a critical turning point
for survival. It is a world that most of us have never had the chance
to visit because this is the first time it is being presented on
screen.
Director Jasmine Dellal will be present at the screening.
David Crowe (Elon College) will lead the discussion following the
screening.

V10 (VII)
Friday 12 April, 4.30-6.30 PM
Bring Me the Head of Georgiy Gongadze
USA 2002 (60 mins, work in progress)
Directed by Susie Davis
Contact: Susie Davis ([email protected])

Ukraine, celebrating its tenth year of independence, explodes into
turmoil after a young journalist is found decapitated in the woods.
This documentary is the true story of how one man's sacrifices unite a
fractured nation and compel the population to examine the true meaning
of the word "freedom." Should we expect a new democracy to offer its
citizens rights and privileges such as freedom of speech and freedom
of the press? These were privileges that Ukraine's president, Leonid
Kuchma, promised the country when he came to power in 1994. Since
then, several more Ukrainian journalists and independent media outlets
have been harrassed, and Kuchma has suggested that freedom of speech
does not mean the freedom to criticize him.
Director Susie Davis will be present at the screening.

V11-12 (VIII-IX)
Saturday 13 April, 9-11 AM and 11.15 AM-1.15 PM
Yugoslavia - The Avoidable War (180 mins), in two Parts
USA 1999
Directed by George Bogdanich and Martin Lettmayer
Contact: [email protected]

A documentary arguing how serious errors and misjudgments made by
Western powers - particularly Germany and the United States - helped
spark the violent break up of the former Yugoslavia in 1991, how news
coverage was manipulated by the warring sides, and detailing US
involvement in Operation Storm. A 75 minute excerpt of the documentary
was screened by former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic during
his trial in The Hague in March 2002. The directors then publicly
criticized the selective use of their film by Milosevic. Due to the
sudden political salience of the film, the ASN Convention will screen
in its entirety. (A portion of the film premiered at ASN in 2000).

George Bogdanich (Filmmaker, New York, USA) will field questions
following the screening that will take place in two installments over
two consecutive panel slots.

V13 (IX) Video Presentation/CA8 (IX) The Conflict in Afghanistan
Saturday 12 April, 11.15 AM-1.15 PM
Qala Jangi (Rough Cut, work in progress)
USA 2002 (approx. 30 mins.)
Directed by Dodge Billingsley ([email protected])

A dramatic day by day account of the fortress uprising outside Mazar-e
Sharif at the end of November 2001. This film explores the events
leading to the conflict beginning Saturday night as the Taliban
prisoners from Konduz are met in the desert northeast of Mazar-e
Sharif by General Rashid Dostum's Northern Alliance forces. It
immediately moves to the actual uprising on Sunday.  By Monday
morning, the uprising has turned into a battle.  U.S. forces arrive to
assist the Northern Alliance but the battle continues into Tuesday. 
Finally, after three dys of fighting the battle for Qala Jangi is
over. The film also analyzes the true nature of the conflict:
massacre, battle or costly mistake, and deliniates the respective
roles of the Northern Alliance, captured Taliban, and U.S. military
personnel as catalysts for the bloody outcome. The film was shot on
location by one of the few westerners to witness the battle from
within the fortress walls and includes additional footage shot by
other cameramen and women on the spot.

Dodge Billingsley will present his film-in-progress. Robert Ware
(Southern Illinois U, Carbondale) will lead the discussion following
the screening.

V14 (XI)
Saturday 12 April, 4.30-6.30 PM
Time To Gather Stones
Moldova 2001 (52 mins.)
Directed by Sergey Tcaci
Contact: Igor Shapovalov, Producer, PNP Studio
([email protected])
In Russian without subtitles

An harrowing look at the causes and consequences of the war in
Transdniestria, Moldova, in 1992. The documentary, produced by
Moldovan television, interviews key actors of the conflict
(politicians, military officials) as well as relatives of victims.
Winner of the first prize of the International TV and Cinema Forum
"Together" which took place in Yalta, Ukraine, in September, 2001.

Director Sergey Tcaci and  Producer Igor Shapovalov will be present at
the screening. Charles King (Georgetown U) will lead the discussion
following the screening.

-- 
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe

Submissions: [email protected]  
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected] 
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================