Jordan & UAE
Jordan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Delegation
September 23–October 7
Filmmaker: John Farbrother
Delegate Expert: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser
Cities-Jordan: Amman, Aqaba
Cities-UAE: Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah
Delegate Report
By Blake Ashman-Kipervaser
I. Jordan—September 23-30
Executive Summary
Our trip to Jordan was revealing and inspiring in many ways. The country is working hard to develop a film industry that could be important one day, in the region and beyond. The majority of the film students we met found inspiration in the Arab Spring, and want to create work relating to this historic event. The four American documentaries that we screened as part of the American Documentary Festival — The Lottery, Louder Than a Bomb, Deep Down, and Niger ’66 — sparked passionate discussion and debate among audiences.
September 25: Amman
Our first stop on the delegation was the Royal Film Commission (RFC) of Jordan, located in Amman, the capital. Its offices are in a beautifully maintained historic building with stunning views overlooking the city. The RFC’s outdoor cinema hosts film festivals throughout the year, including the European Film Festival, which took place during our visit. Inside the building, members have access to a DVD library and viewing stations. Our gracious host, Carla Dabis Halabi, described the RFC as a government organization in charge of permits for filming in Jordan. The organization bids to bring foreign productions to the country. For example, the American films The Hurt Locker and Fair Game were shot in Jordan. Foreign film production boosts the economy and employs local crew members, while developing and nurturing homegrown talent, providing support with production and post-production, and offering educational programs. A recent product of the RFC, the feature film The Last Friday, collected four awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
John Farbrother, editor of Louder Than a Bomb, and I held a six-hour workshop for 15 students. We began with brief introductions followed by a screening of The Lottery, which I produced. After the film we took questions from the students. This was the first time I’d ever screened the film internationally, and I think this group appreciated it. I was eager to hear more about the projects they were working on, so we went around the room and gave every student a chance to speak about their work and ideas. Almost every student wanted to make something about the Arab Spring. The most experienced filmmaker in the group was already well into production on a documentary about Syria. Though our workshop was one of the longer ones on the Jordan delegation, I felt it was successful in that the conversation never stopped flowing and the participants had as many questions for John and me about our projects as we did about theirs. It was a great beginning to our trip.
Though attendance was sparse that evening for our first public American Documentary Festival screening, the response at the Al-Hussein Center was significant. I couldn’t have been more pleased. My film, The Lottery, struck a chord with a handful of audience members who worked in the field of education. One former teacher remarked that the film described precisely the type of problems he experienced in his school. Others wondered how, in a country as wealthy as the United States, there could exist such dissatisfaction with the public education system. I was surprised by how much the film resonated with this group. Apparently the American education system has more in common with the Jordanian education system than I anticipated.
September 26–27: Aqaba
During our drive down to the beautiful coastal city of Aqaba, our amazing US Embassy liaisons, Karin and Reem, told us that there was a security alert related to our trip. Palestine had just put in its official application to become a recognized member of the UN, and the US was threatening to veto. Nonetheless, we continued on our journey.
Our next workshop took place at the Princess Basma Youth Resource Center in Aqaba, where we met with a filmmaking club. The club consisted mostly of teenaged boys and girls who had little filmmaking experience and knowledge but genuinely loved movies, and were eager to know more. John and I did our best to explain some basics of filmmaking, give them tips on how to start making their own projects, and answer all of their questions (i.e, “Do you know Angelina Jolie?”). The kids were truly happy to have us visit.
Later that afternoon we screened Louder Than a Bomb to a group of approximately 60 people of all ages. It’s a difficult film to watch subtitled as the poems tend to be read very fast, and I think a lot was lost on the audience. The teens were quite distracted with each other and needed to run around outside. Neither John nor I had anticipated the controversy that would ensue over Adam Gottlieb’s poem “Maxwell Street.” Adam, one of the most likeable people in the film, speaks of his Jewish heritage in the poem, and how he hard he struggles to identify with it. This may have been misunderstood, and the poem was found to be offensive to some audience members, prompting a few walkouts. Unfortunately, this was only the first of several occasions on our journey where a similar response occurred. You can read the text of the poem here.
The next day we visited the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA). Upon our arrival, we met the Institute’s director, Ghassan Nasser, who briefed us on the school’s history and mission. RSICA is in the unique position of being the only MFA film program in the region, thus drawing students from all over the Middle East and having the potential to turn out the next generation of great filmmakers. John and I conducted a short discussion with a first-year directing class, focusing mostly on our responsibilities as editor and producer, respectively. After touring the premises, we were shown a promotional video featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the most recent graduating class. I was impressed with what I saw, and I would’ve liked to spend more time there and have the opportunity to speak more with the students.
September 28–30: Amman
John and I were interviewed by a handful of journalists at the Al-Hussein Center. Many of the questions were centered around our perspective of the Arab Spring. I remarked that I felt we would be soon seeing a wave of powerful documentaries inspired by this series of uprisings.
The audience for a screening of Niger ’66 was slightly larger on the second night of the American Documentary Festival than it was for The Lottery. This film is about a group of Peace Corps volunteers for whom their tour in Niger in 1966 was a life-changing experience. A couple of former Peace Corps members were in the audience and they shared their specific experiences, which shed more light during the post-screening discussion. John and I knew little about this topic, so we focused more on the techniques of filmmaking in the film and allowed the Peace Corps folks to present their views.
A positive trend appeared to be emerging: The attendance was gradually increasing with each screening. Clearly, word-of-mouth was spreading. Of the four films we screened at the American Documentary Festival, Deep Down received the most passionate response from audience members. John and I moderated the post-screening discussion, but we let the audience do most of the talking; we didn’t have a choice. It seems the community is ripe for environmental activism in Amman, and Deep Down really struck a nerve.
One thing that surprised and impressed the audience was seeing how the judicial system actually worked for the people in this story. The film takes place in a small town in Kentucky and several people in the audience noted that they didn’t know places like that existed in the U.S. Their only knowledge of America was cities like New York and Los Angeles. This screening was a good example of how film can make the world smaller, more accessible—one of my favorite aspects of the Showcase and its selections.
The next day, we spoke for 45 minutes to a roomful of students in the library of Heshemite University. It wasn’t easy to gauge precisely how much knowledge of filmmaking the students had, as it was a large group and our time was limited. We had been told they had already seen the films, but this proved to be incorrect. We decided to begin by showing trailers for The Lottery and Louder Than a Bomb and then take questions. The discussion centered on how and why we chose our subject matter for films. It was refreshing to be with an older group this time.
One of my personal highlights of the journey was the visit to the Princess Basma Youth Center. Three filmmaking clubs comprised of teenagers gathered together at a computer lab in the Center, the regular home of one of the clubs. We discussed The Lottery and Louder Than a Bomb, and showed our trailers. Then we spent an hour screening their work and giving critiques. I was impressed with what I saw; there was serious ambition on display. John and I gave the best advice we could, and I left feeling these kids were on the right path to success.
That evening at the Al-Hussein Cultural Center, the U.S. Embassy hosted a very nice reception before the screening of Louder Than a Bomb. John and I couldn’t help but wonder how the audience would respond to Adam Gottlieb’s “Maxwell Street” poem this time around. Attendance reached its peak for the final night of the American Documentary Festival, and we had an almost full house.
Although the audience loved the film, once again during the Q&A things got political. It was hard to make sense of what was said, but it was clear that Adam’s poem had once again ruffled some feathers.
II. United Arab Emirates--September 30–October 7, 2011
Executive Summary
Spending a week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was a fascinating experience. The American Documentary Showcase was fortunate to have the Dubai International Film Festival as a partner, and its staff did a wonderful job of making us feel at home. The Showcase screenings were moderately attended in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but provoked a healthy amount of discussion and cross-cultural exchange. The highlight of the trip was our experience talking to University students in Al Ain, at the American University in Dubai, and the HCT (Higher College of Technology) Women’s Colleges.
October 2: Al Ain—UAE University
The day was divided into two sessions. First, we met with approximately 12 male students in the old building. Then after lunch we met with more than 40 female students in the new building. The temperature outside—around 115 degrees—was unbearably hot but, from what I had heard, this was like a brisk fall day compared to UAE in the summer.
Our wonderful chaperone, Doris Hambuch, explained that the men’s group weren’t offered a filmmaking course and had recently demanded that one be created. John Farbrother and I had a great experience with both groups. It was the first time in my life I’d ever been in a classroom with a group of women all wearing black abayas, but I found them very receptive to what I had to say. They were shy at the beginning, but they warmed up as the discussion went on.
October 3: Abu Dhabi—New York Film Academy
This was perhaps the most controversial stop on the delegation. We were told that the academy would be screening Louder Than a Bomb, followed by a Q&A. When we arrived, the person in charge informed us that there was a technical problem with the DVD and they would be showing The Lottery. We later found out that there wasn’t a technical problem at all; Louder Than a Bomb wasn’t shown for political reasons (one of the characters in the film, Adam Gottlieb, is Jewish). Despite everything that had occurred previously, this shocked me and tainted my impression of the school, which I found to be quite lovely otherwise. Film is a powerful tool for social change, but it cannot have an impact if it is not allowed to be seen. I would have much preferred screening John’s film and having an honest discussion afterwards.
October 4: Sharjah—HCT Sharjah Women’s College
As has been our experience thus far with students in the UAE, our discussion prompted a healthy dose of cross-cultural exchange. The students asked us how to approach making a film from the very beginning—choosing subject matter, finding crew, budget, etc. John and I each offered our personal perspectives on all of these topics, and the conversation was productive.
October 5: Dubai—HCT Dubai Women’s College
The magazine Desert Dawn, which this school produces, made an immediate impression on me—the latest issue of Desert Dawn addresses female circumcision in the UAE. I stumbled upon it while we were waiting to meet the director, Dr. Howard E. Reed, who passionately explained that it was his mission to push boundaries and confront some of the more challenging social and political issues in the region. Our discussion with Dr. Reed set the tone for the rest of the day. We spoke to several groups of students in an auditorium for three or four hours, mostly answering questions and trying to explain what a producer does. The girls were shy, so the challenge was to try to get them to engage in the discussion and share their own experiences. I think I made progress.
October 5: Dubai—American University in Dubai
This was the final stop on our Showcase tour, and the agenda was different in format from our previous ones. We were led to a media studio with a complete professional production and recording setup, and we were asked to speak separately in front of a group of around 30 students and professors. I began with a 20-minute lecture on my producing experiences, followed by John, then we both led a Q&A, which went very well. It was less interactive, and slightly more formal than previous discussions, but the audience members were very engaged and took something positive away from the event.
Delegate Report
By John Farbrother
I. Jordan
September 25: Amman
The Royal Film Commission (RFC) is housed in a beautiful old building with an outdoor amphitheater whose screen is set against an amazing backdrop of the western part of Amman. Founded in 2003 to help develop the Jordanian film industry, the facility is well-fit to train aspiring filmmakers with up-to-date production and post-production facilities and an extensive film and media library. The commission has been quite successful in its few years of operation. In fact, as we were taking our tour of the building, we were introduced to a producer of an RFC-supported film, The Last Friday, who was just returning from the San Sebastian Film Festival, where the film received four awards, including the top prize.
In a workshop organized by Carla Dabis Halabi, RFC’s workshops officer, we met with students who represented a range of filmmaking and media experience. We watched The Lottery, produced by Delegate Expert Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, and the students were surprised that the US education system wasn’t top-notch—a recurring reaction throughout our trip. Blake talked about the process of making the film, and we discussed why it was engaging to watch, citing such elements as the use of humor, well-developed characters, shot selection, and so on. The students were also interested in how to fund a film. Several of them shared their ideas for documentaries—quite a few addressed the Arab Spring—and we talked about the ability of documentary films to implement change. We finished the day discussing ideas that a number of the students proposed for extremely abstract, conceptual short films. I recommended that they focus on telling a story that evoked a visceral or an emotional response, regardless the viewer’s understanding of the symbolism; I suggested they see Martin Scorsese’s The Big Shave.
That evening we screened The Lottery at the Al Hussein Cultural Center. The turnout was not huge, primarily due to the fact that we were starting our week during the tail end of the European Film Festival, but the audience seemed genuinely moved by the film. People were again surprised by the US education system, and saw parallels to problems in Jordan.
September 26–27: Aqaba
After a stunning drive from Amman to Aqaba, through the Wadi Rum and Petra territories, we met with the Film Club at the Princess Basma Youth Centre. Many of these centers around Jordan provide young people with, among other things, the opportunities and resources “to express themselves critically and creatively.” The centers serve people ages 10 to 24, a demographic that represents roughly 60 percent of the population. We met with a great group of kids who were eager to make films, but had very little knowledge about the process. We focused on both the basic roles in filmmaking—writer, producer, cinematographer, director, editor—and the fundamentals of storytelling. Prompted by the difficulties one young woman was having putting down on paper the story she had envisioned, we discussed exercises that might help her get the ink flowing.
After we met with the Film Club, we screened Louder Than a Bomb, which was an interesting experience—like watching a movie in a busy train station. I was assured that talking, exiting and returning to the theater, and taking phone calls during screenings was not unusual behavior in Jordan, so that I should not take offense, although at least two people stormed out after the scene in which Adam Gotlieb, one of the more endearing characters in the film, reads his poem “Maxwell Street.” Amazingly, we'd found a place on this planet where Adam was not universally loved. It turned out, references in his poem to Jewish identity and “the chosen people” made it difficult for some people in this region to hear what he was actually saying.
That said, the few people who remained for the entire film seemed to have enjoyed it. One young woman was moved to tears. So, all in all, it was a great screening.
The next morning we met Ghassan Nasser, who gave us a tour of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts, which has an MFA program that has attracted some serious and talented filmmakers. The institute also has an impressive inventory of equipment.
We returned to Amman for a screening of Niger ’66, followed by a Q&A. The appreciative crowd included a couple of former Peace Corp volunteers who were able to address some of the audience’s questions.
September 28–29: Amman
In the evening we screened Deep Down at the Al Hussein Cutural Center. Of all the films we screened on our trip, this film probably elicited the greatest response. The story of a few citizens taking on a giant corporation to prevent mountaintop-removal coal mining got everybody fired up. Environmental issues are big here, but there is no recourse against governmental decisions about power plant placement, for example. Rather than ask questions about the film, the audience members expressed their admiration for what the film had to say—how the citizens of Kentucky worked within the system to make a change, and how important it was for citizens of the world to save the planet from environmental destruction.
Our final day in Jordan may have been our favorite. In the morning, we met with students at Heshimite University, and Blake and I each showed the trailers from our respective films. That afternoon, we went to the Princess Basma Youth Center in Amman, which has a facility known as the Computer Clubhouse—one of a global network of Computer Clubhouses (the original one is in Boston) designed to support kids in whatever artistic or media endeavor they’re interested in pursuing. The Clubhouse has facilities for film, animation, audio/music, graphic design and graffiti. Blake and I talked about our backgrounds and answered questions about filmmaking. Then we watched the projects the students had recently produced, and we gave feedback. All in all, their films were pretty great. A couple of them were fantastic, and even those made by beginning students had some really nice elements and ideas. We enjoyed discussing their work. This was an energizing afternoon.
The screening of Louder Than a Bomb went very well. The audience was the biggest of any of the screenings in Amman, and they seemed very engaged. After Adam’s poem, I anticipated that a couple of people would walk out; nobody did, although I did sense some angry murmuring among some audience members—who, much to my surprise, loved the film. One man who’d attended every screening was not happy with Adam, but we had a robust conversation about the issues that Adam had raised and after the Q&A, he came up to me, shook my hand and was very friendly. I’d been told that it is not unusual in Jordan for somebody to make a statement, rather than have a discussion, then storm out of the room (particularly when it comes to anything related to Israel), so I was pleased to be able to have this interaction.
Jordan was a fantastic experience. Thanks to the US Embassy in Amman, particularly Karin Ehlert and Reem Abdel-Hadi, for hosting us and making our visit easy and fun. Thanks also to Yousef Ramahi, our fantastic and ultra-capable driver, and to Haytham Hamad, the information officer assistant, who helped us document the trip with photos and video. On to the UAE!
II. United Arab Emirates
September 30–October 1: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
Dubai International Film Festival sponsored a screening of Louder Than a Bomb at a cinema in a mall. The screening drew a small but appreciative audience, largely comprised of Western English-speakers; Ben Amy of the Dubai International Film Festival facilitated the Q&A. Afterwards, I had dinner with some of the US Embassy staff.
The next day, Blake and I visited the enormous and beautiful Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where we had after-dinner drinks at the Emirates Palace Hotel, which featured a vending machine in the lobby that dispensed pieces of gold. Prior to drinks, after a lightly attended screening of The Lottery, we joined representatives from the US Consulate General in Dubai for dinner at a tiny, tucked-away Syrian restaurant. Abu Dhabi was not an ideal walking city for discovering places like this, so it was terrific to be with some in-the-know people.
October 2: Al Ain
Today we drove about an hour and half to Al Ain to meet with students at UAE University. The men and women attend school on separate campuses, which meant two different workshops. In the men’s workshop, one young man talked about wanting to make a documentary about new fathers and fathers-to-be, but was having difficulty in getting people willing to talk to him on camera. We talked about how to cultivate trust from potential subjects.
In the women’s workshop, we discussed the role of documentary film in helping to implement social change. One participant asked if we could get in trouble for making certain films. Blake referenced the documentary Crude as an example of how large corporations are really the power in America. A federal judge had ruled that director Joe Berlinger was required to turn over his original footage to Chevron. Blake asked the students about topics that they thought needed to be addressed in the UAE. Nobody answered. He quipped, “So everything’s perfect here?” That got a laugh and got people talking. The women were interested in telling stories about topics ranging from arranged marriages to bulimia. The fact that these young women are allowed by their families to study film is already a significant cultural shift. Their readiness to tackle larger social issues is bold.
October 3: Abu Dhabi
On our final evening in Abu Dhabi, we were to have a screening of Louder Than a Bomb at New York Film Academy. However, upon arrival, we were told that they had had a technical issue with the DVD so they were showing The Lottery instead. Turns out, they didn’t have a problem with the DVD. Afterwards, the school’s development manager, Imad Deiratany, confided, a bit sheepishly, to our embassy escort that they decided not to show Louder Than a Bomb because of Adam Gottlieb. My understanding is that the director of the school was out of town and Deiratany was concerned that if he had shown it without getting clearance and if students had been upset by it, he’d be in trouble. Despite all this, we had a nice time at the school, and Deiratany was a terrific host. While the students watched The Lottery, we had chance to watch one of his short films, a culturally eye-opening story of the difficulties a single man in the family-focused Emirate society faces in getting a job, an apartment or a cab, or in getting into heaven. The story was told with a humor reminiscent of Jacques Tati. After the screening of The Lottery, Blake answered questions about the film and participated in a brief interview and cover-photo shoot.
October 4: Sharjah
On Tuesday, we drove to Sharjah, the third largest emirate in the UAE. The city of Sharjah is smack-dab against the border of Dubai, so the two cities feel like one continuous metropolis. I believe this continues into Ajman, on the other side of Sharjah. The colleges and universities there are all contained within an educational district called University City. We visited Sharjah Women’s College, which is part of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). Our hosts were Associate Dean Mehrdad Mohasses and Shahin Yazdani, a professor of film.
The students had seen Louder Than a Bomb prior to our arrival, and they seemed to have enjoyed it, though quite a bit of it (I think mainly some of the poetry) was hard for them to follow because of the difficulty of the language and the speed with which the poetry was delivered. I was told that they were particularly drawn to Nova, one of the female characters. This was the case throughout our visit to the Middle East—that Nova's story of her difficulties with her father and her general strength really resonated with women in this region. Professor Yazdani told me that the audience had cheered Nova after her poetry reading (and nobody was angry about Adam!).
October 5–6: Dubai
The next day we taught two workshops at Dubai Women's College, also part of HCT; this school is known for being more progressive. The students publish a magazine called Desert Dawn, in which they've bravely tackled previously taboo issues such as female circumcision and sexual abuse. The magazine has received plenty of attention, and some of its articles have even been picked up by one national newspaper.
I look forward to seeing some bold films coming out of Dubai Women’s College soon. During our tour of the film department, Paul Herspiegal, professor and department head, talked about a couple of the challenges in teaching film here, one of which is that critical and creative thinking are not part of the primary and secondary education experience; it’s all rote memorization of facts. So, it takes about a year for students to really start freeing up creativity.
In our talks with the students, along with the usual discussions of funding and developing trust with one’s documentary subject, Blake and I were asked to show a clip from our respective films and talk about the particular challenges we faced with those scenes. We had great discussions with the students afterwards.
At American University in UAE, we participated in what the school billed as a Media Chat. Taped in the school’s television studio, Blake and I each spent 15 to 20 minutes speaking with an audience of about 30 students; he talked about producing and I focused on editing as storytelling. By this final day of workshops, I’d become no less nervous than I was the first day, but much more enthusiastic. Luckily people seemed pretty comfortable with English here, and I think they mostly understood me. And they were all very nice.
Our final event of the trip was a well-attended evening screening of Louder Than a Bomb at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, hosted by the Dubai International Film Festival and the US Consulate General in Dubai, our gracious hosts for our week in the UAE.
I particularly want to thank Fayrouz Zghoul and Hyun Sim of the Consulate General for all their work to make our trip easy and fun. Thanks also to Robert Arbuckle of the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and to Ben Amy and Delphine Mroueh of the Dubai International Film Festival.