Belarus & Turkey
Belarus & Turkey
May 15-June 12, 2009
Filmmaker: Geeta Patel, Project Kashmir
Expert: Sandra J. Ruch
Delegate Report
by Sandra Ruch & Geeta V. Patel
Filmmaker, Geeta V. Patel (Project Kashmir) and I traveled to Belarus and Turkey on May 15 and returned on June 12. We began preparation for our trip weeks before our flight by talking about the countries we would visit, exchanging links and information and preparing materials for the master classes and workshops that the Embassies had scheduled for us.
Thanks to the intrepid, energetic cultural staff at each Embassy/Consulate, the experience far surpassed my expectations and proved to be an extraordinary adventure both professionally and personally. The programs they created were challenging and were greatly appreciated by all audiences, be they members of the general public, professional filmmakers or students.
Our trip confirmed the extraordinary value of the American Documentary Showcase program. Bringing American documentaries to other countries provides a broad spectrum of social/political, cultural issues that might be discussed only rarely these countries. The Showcase films demonstrate that our world is open to scrutiny and evaluation. Project Kashmir was the perfect film for Belarusian and Turkish audiences because the attendees in both countries identified with themes and conflicts in their own lives and countries.
Belarus - Minsk
Programming: The Embassy did a great job organizing and promoting public screenings of the Showcase films, as well as arranging smaller screenings and master classes at schools, a library and the Embassy itself.
American Documentary Film Festival: May 18-22 at the Pobeda Movie Theatre, the oldest and largest (600 seats) theatre in Minsk. The following films were shown: Beginning Filmmaking, America’s Lost Landscape, Project Kashmir, Autism: The Musical, Sputnik Mania and Note By Note.
Geeta and I spoke at the opening night ceremony and also held a Q&A after the screening of Project Kashmir. The 350 guests who attended included members of the general public, students, filmmakers and film buffs. One student from the morning screening came back and saw the film a second time!
Marketing: Belarusian versions of the Showcase poster were posted outside the theatre and at various other sites.
Press: The Embassy arranged a meeting and interviews for us with the cultural press (newspaper, magazines, on line media), generating coverage of the Showcase and our presence while we were in Minsk. Five films were screening at the biggest commercial theatre, so the public had advance notice of our program.
Program: On our first day, Elena Karpova (Embassy Visit Coordinator) took us to the home of filmmaker Ella Milova to meet three other women filmmakers, all from the Tatiana Group. Two were directors/producers/editors and one was a film critic. All were in their 60s. A fourth woman was their 20-year-old protégé. We watched a documentary they had recently completed, which was followed by a lively conversation.
Note:This was a great way to begin the program. I recommend that Embassies try to connect AMDOCS delegates to local filmmakers. These women attended the screening, master class, and other events; they also spread the word to their friends. Their attendance at almost every event gave us a chance to get to know them.
Screenings: Project Kashmir screened at the Embassy for 50 English-speaking students from the Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University, majoring in American Studies, and U.S. Embassy undergraduates and graduate exchange alumni.
The Embassy had prepared translated copies of the Study Guide, our bios, a description of the Showcase, Documentary Resources and Festival Strategy. We distributed posters, Documentary magazines and Project Kashmir postcards.
There was also a Pushkin Library Screening and discussion for students studying English and members of the Library's Movie Club. When we arrived, Natalia, the head librarian, was a bit concerned about attendance as it was exam time. She had nothing to worry about; the room was filled. We met many of the high school students before the screening. At first, they said they were too shy to speak English, but their teacher insisted they speak in English, which is “why they came to the screening.” After the screening, there was a Q&A at which they spoke English.
There was also a roundtable with 15 very renowned Belarusian documentary filmmakers at the U.S. Embassy offices. They had seen Project Kashmir so it was a great opportunity to talk and hear about their films. The four wonderful women we met the previous Sunday attended, so we already felt as though old friends had come back to see us. I was also delighted to see the director Viktor Dushuk, whom I had met in April at Hot Docs in Toronto and whose film I had seen there.
Many of the filmmakers have had their films banned in Belarus and had suffered harassment, both physical and psychological. Many have won awards and been presented at festivals around the world. I was given copies of some of their films, which they asked me to submit on their behalf to film festivals in the U.S. and Canada.
We held a two-and-half-hour lecture/presentation/mini-master class for 60 students at the Academy of Arts. Many had not seen Project Kashmir, so Geeta showed the trailer and selected scenes, and explained her funding, production and post-production process. I spoke about distribution and funding and international co-production. The group was a combination of film, theatre and performing arts students. We passed out our handouts that had been translated into Russian and the students were eager for the information. They were highly intelligent and motivated and asked serious and fascinating questions. After the Q&A, they rushed to the stage, asked us to autograph the Xerox copies of our bios and have their picture taken with us.
There were nine young filmmakers from the independent film studio/school, Cinema, at our master class. This was our last day of the program and it was quite a wonderful, productive and emotional finale. The filmmakers ranged from 16, to 20 years old and the film teacher’s name was Katrina. She explained that she has been trying for over 20 years to create her own film school but had been unable to do so and was feeling sad and hopeless about the students’ future in doc films. By the end of the class, she told us she was optimistic and happy for this opportunity for her and her students.
We distributed our materials and had each student introduce him or herself and talk about their films and what they wanted to accomplish in the class. They had seen Project Kashmir and had many questions about what makes a good story, types of docs, pitching, etc.
Geeta described the eight-year process it took to make her film, and showed the trailer, which was of great interest to the students. This led to a discussion about funding and distribution. We then did a mock pitch, where I played a foundation /commissioning editor and Geeta pitched her next film. The students seem to really enjoy this.
We then invited students to show their short films. This was exciting for us and them. At first they were a bit shy, but they overcame it. Two students, Vanya and Jenya, showed us their shorts. Vanya told us he is a photographer and loves the visual arts and literature; this was his first doc, on which he did everything. It was a beautifully shot, produced and edited simple story of a priest who had died and the effect this had on his village and a dog that visited his grave. We gave our comments and had a lively dialogue. Jenya's short was a collaboration. He directed it, Luba was the subject, and Koleya was the cameraman. It was about how rules affect our daily lives. The students are very talented and committed to making docs.
It was now 1:00 pm and the four-hour class was scheduled to end. We asked the students if they wanted to continue. There was an overwhelming “Da” (Yes in Russian). We all took a coffee break, stretched, and postponed lunch. We invited them to pitch us their next project and Vanya, Anton and Jenya volunteered.
We spent two more unforgettable hours working with the filmmakers. We exchanged e-mail addresses, passed out Documentary magazine, posters and giftd
Reception of “Democracy Is” Video Challenge: Caroline Savage was the MC. Finalists’ videos were screened (this was an international competition on the theme "Democracy Is") and Caroline introduced the filmmakers, one of whom was Luba, and we handed them a Finalist Award certificate from the Embassy. The winners will be announced online.
Filmmakers, many who had questions, surrounded Geeta and we all had a great time. We had to leave for the ballet before it was over, and we were very sad to leave all our new friends.
Turkey: (Ankara, Izmir, Istanbul and Adana)
The classrooms were amazing. Attendance was scattered, depending on the class schedule, but we felt an enormous amount of emotion and interest in each situation. We also made it a point to welcome conflict and anti-American comments from the audience. We appreciated the teamwork from the Embassy staff, which shared their expertise, their hopes and their incredible passion for the countries.
Ankara:
The program was extremely well organized. The Post had arranged excellent partners for screenings, workshops and master classes that were productive and highly interactive.
We had screenings at the Flying Broom Women in Communication and Research Association and the Ankara University Cinema and Language Students. They were composed of documentary filmmakers and advanced students who asked many challenging questions about Project Kashmir.
The two-day master class with the 24 students was the highlight of the trip as we had an opportunity to see student work, critique it and have very productive hands-on-experience with the students. Each student had the opportunity to pitch both of us and this led to very lively, productive dialogue with the student teams.
Although the Ambassador was out of the country, his staff arranged a screening in the theatre in the Ambassador’s residence. It was well attended by Embassy staff, faculty and documentary filmmakers, and was followed by a discussion and reception. The reaction to the program was highly positive and many attendees were eager to have screenings of the entire Showcase of films.
Izmir
We flew to Izmir for a screening of Project Kashmir at the Turkish American Association, which was established when the NATO Office was opened in Izmir 40 years ago. There was a great turnout of TAA members, an older crowd that was very moved by the film. It wasan emotional discussion in the good sense as many in the crowd related to the Kashmir experience from situations in their younger years when they experienced political conflicts; they shared their thoughts with the group.
Istanbul
A very vibrant, exciting city with two film festivals occurring while we were there. Because of the timing of our delegation, it was not possible to have Project Kashmir screened during these festivals. However, we did attend the opening night festival reception and were able to meet many of the local documentary filmmakers whose films were in the Festival.
The Post arranged for screenings and workshops for the Film Department at Istanbul University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Turkey. The department head, Dr. Nilufer Pembecioglu, an extraordinary teacher and filmmaker, had a large group of her Journalism/TV/Radio and Film students there. They were very responsive and had many challenging political questions.
We met with Fatma Colakoglu, director of the Pera Museum Cinema Center, which has a monthly film program and a beautiful theatre. She expressed interest in showing several of the Showcase films throughout the year at her.
We also had a screening at the Plato Film School, a private film school founded by film director Sinan Cetin. The screening was attended by many young film students and a lively Q&A followed. The school is planning to show more of the Showcase films throughout the year.
Adana
The final city had a very intensive program scheduled. The 16th International Golden Boll Film Festival was taking place and the Consulate had arranged screenings of FLOW, Sputnik Mania and Project Kashmir as part of the Festival. We attended the opening night party, which was a major social event with many well known Turkish fiction and nonfiction directors.
Media Coverage: Geeta had a live local TV interview with the Cukurova TV station, and we attended a press luncheon at the residence of the Public Affairs Officer, Eric Green. A screening was held at the Adana Cultural Center as well.
The most special event was at the Tarsus American College, a very prestigious private high school with extraordinary gifted, bright students. In the Q &A, we experienced a variety of emotion and interest as these students had very strong feelings and opinions about the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. We made it a point that we welcomed conflicting comments and handled each difficult question with our appreciation for their interest and passion for their country.
Conclusion
The experiences in Belarus and Turkey far surpassed my expectations and proved to be extraordinary adventures both professionally and personally thanks, to the intrepid, energetic Cultural Staff at each Embassy/Consulate. They created challenging programs and were so appreciative to have the American Documentary Showcase provide a filmmaker and a specialist ¬–– As were the audiences, be they the general public, professional filmmakers or students.
Our trip confirmed that the Showcase is an invaluable program. Bringing American documentaries to other countries provides an arena to touch on a broad spectrum of social/political/cultural problems that might rarely be discussed in Turkey.
The films prove that our world is open to scrutiny and evaluation. Project Kashmir was the perfect film for Turkish audiences, as they could each find themes and conflicts that allowed them to make connections to their country and their lives.