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IARA LEE: THE SUFFERING GRASSES |
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As an activist, Iara has collaborated with numerous grassroots efforts, including the International Campaign to Ban Cluster Munitions, the Conflict Zone Film Fund, the New York Philharmonic's groundbreaking 2008 music for diplomacy concert in North Korea. More recently in May 2010, Iara was a passenger on the MV Mavi Marmara, a passenger vessel in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla which was attacked in international waters by the Israeli navy, leading to the murder of nine humanitarian aid workers. Among the many people who recorded the events on that ship, her crew was one of the only to successfully hide and retain most of the raid footage, which she later released to the world after a screening at the UN. Iara is very dedicated to the support of Gazan civilians who have been victims of war crimes committed by the Israeli military during "Operation Cast Lead" and who suffer from the Israeli government's ongoing acts of collective punishment. At the onset of the Iraq war in 2003, Iara, eager to understand the conflict better, decided to travel and live in the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa). While residing in Lebanon in 2006, Iara experienced firsthand the 34-day Israeli bombardment of that country. Since then, moved by that experience, she has dedicated herself to the pursuit of a just peace in the region, and is an enthusiastic supporter of those initiatives which strengthen adherence to international law in enforcing human rights. In 2008 Iara lived in Iran and supported a number of cultural exchange projects between that country and the West with the goal of promoting arts & culture for global solidarity. From 1984 to 1989 Iara was the producer of the Sao Paulo International Film Festival. From1989-2003 she was based in New York City, where she ran the mixed-media company Caipirinha Productions to explore the synergy of different art forms (such as film, music, architecture, and poetry). Under that banner, Iara has directed short and feature-length documentaries including Synthetic Pleasures, Modulations, Architettura, and Beneath the Borqa. Iara Lee is a member of the President's Council of The International Crisis Group (ICG) and the Council of Advisors of the National Geographic Society, as well as a trustee to the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), North Korea's first and only university whose faculty will be entirely composed of international professors. |
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Reporter interview Iara Lee regarding her film "The Suffering Grasses" |
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Q: Have you always been interested in these issues? And why?
I come from an arts and culture background, but over the last
decade, I came to realize that we need to use arts and culture
to promote peace with justice. It is hard to justify art for
art's sake when the world is totally falling apart, so I have
increasingly made creative activism the focus of my filmmaking.
In 2003, out of outrage at the planned U.S. invasion of Iraq, I
decided to travel to the Middle East to assess the perspective
of people there. I wanted to live there, meet people, learn
their histories and cultures, and join those who were actively
standing up for their human rights. This was my first step
towards making the film Cultures
of Resistance,
and it has shaped my projects ever since. The
Suffering Grasses emerged
out of relationships I had formed in the Middle East over the
previous decade and out of my concern with political
developments in Syria following the initial Arab Spring
uprising.
Q: What is The Suffering Grasses? Why do you make this film?
With over 100,000 dead and millions displaced, the conflict in
Syria is one of the most alarming humanitarian crises in the
world today. The aim of The
Suffering Grasses is
to understand the Syrian conflict through the perspective of the
civilians who have been killed, abused, and displaced into
squalid refugee camps amidst increasing violence and the
international power struggle playing out the region.
Q: Did you always want to be in the film industry?
Filmmaking has been part of my life for many decades, going back
to when I was the producer of the Sao Paulo International Film
Festival in Brazil, from 1984 to 1989.
Q: Did you have any unusual difficulties during filming?
Because of the active conflict going on in Syria, our filming
was limited to refugee camps across the borders and to activists
who were working outside the country. That�s a very challenging
situation. Even in refugee camps on the border with Turkey, we
had to smuggle cameras and hide from Turkish security in order
to get interviews and enter the camps.
Q: How long did it take to make this film?
We tried to move as quickly as possible. The filming and editing
were done within six months.
Q: How much money did the original movie cost?
Like most activist filmmakers, we operate on a shoestring
budget. This film was made with the financial support of a
colleague humanitarian aid worker as well as friends and family.
Q: For what audience is The
Suffering Grasses suited?
I hope that people of all backgrounds will watch the film, but
most importantly, I hope the film reaches non-activist circles
as well as current activists. We need young people to get more
active and engaged wherever it is shown. I always hope my films
cause people to take action, rather than to simply discuss
social problems. Documentaries are so important in getting
people interested in issues they previously knew nothing about.
Q: What has the feedback been?
I�m pleased to say that the film has been used as tool for
awareness and fundraising, has been well received by the press,
and has sparked a lively debate around the effectiveness of
armed versus nonviolent resistance against the Assad regime. If
you�re interested, you can read a selection of audience comments
at http://films.
Q: Are you working on any new projects?
My most recent project is a short film entitled The
Kalasha and the Crescent,
which documents the struggle of the indigenous Kalash people in
the mountains of northern Pakistan. Indigenous rights have long
been a focus of mine, and one of my major goals at the moment is
to help increase the visibility of indigenous struggles through The
Kalasha and the Crescent and
my other short films on indigenous issues.
Q: Tell us about The
Making of this film?
In May 2012, I participated in a press delegation to the Turkish
refugee camps housing Syrian exiles. While I was there, I
interviewed some of the people who have been most affected by
the bloody conflict. It�s from the voices of these refugees
that The
Suffering Grasses emerged.
Q: Tell us more about how This
film evolved.
When I went to the refugee camps in Turkey, I expected to make a
short film to bring some attention to the situation. However, it
soon became clear that the issues were too complex and the
diversity of opinions too great to capture in a brief piece. The
resulting film is 52 minutes long.
Q: What was your overall role?
I am very hands-on with my films, so I was involved in many
aspects of directing, production, editing, and promotion.
Q: What was the best part?
The most rewarding part of my work is meeting amazing local
activists and artists who persevere in the face of tremendous
challenges. I cannot describe how inspiring it is to meet so
many of these people. In the face of so much hatred,
destruction, and injustice in the world, this is probably the
main thing that gives me hope. I hope that comes across in the
films.
Q: How did you get started?
As I mentioned, I had initially hoped to make a short film about
the Syrian refugee crisis, but it turned into a much bigger
project when I got to the refugee camps and began to understand
how complex the situation was. And this complexity has only
become exponentially greater with time.
Q: Any trouble with the locations?
Everywhere we went we had to deal with security, surveillance
cameras, red tape. Some days we would go and come back with
footage; other days, we would come back with nothing and were
just glad our cameras were not confiscated. Often, I would stick
my little camera in holes in order to get a glimpse of what life
was behind the plastic sheets covering fences of camps, and many
times I had to go up our production van and take the footage
from a high angle as it wasn�t permitted to enter camps with
cameras...
Q: What message do you try to deliver through this film? Do you
think film can effectively deliver it?
Central to The
Suffering Grasses is
the question of what is to be done. Many of those I interviewed
were nonviolent activists who stood resolutely by their decision
not to bear arms. Others felt that the Free Syrian Army was
their only hope of defeating the brutal Assad regime. Because I
myself believe that nonviolent resistance is the only effective,
long-term approach for undermining a corrupt regime�s viability,
it was at times difficult to give opposing voices a fair say in
the film. While in the end I still disagree with their opinion,
I think the final product is much stronger due to the respect
shown to those with differing opinions.
Q: What is your background? Where were you born? Did you study
filmmaking? When did you start filmmaking? When did you start
your organization?
My family is Korean but I was born and raised in Brazil. I�ve
been making films for over twenty years now, and they�ve evolved
a lot in that time. The Cultures of Resistance Network
Foundation is a more recent creation, and it was set up to
support the causes we embrace. Through that, I�ve been able to
promote and help a wide variety of organizations, activists, and
artists seeking a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
You can learn more about them at www.culturesofresistance.
Q: how do you see yourself in
10 years from now?
I don't see my activism slowing down any time soon. As I get
older, I get more idealistic, more committed to peace with
justice and environmental sustainability. And I try to inspire
younger people to commit too, as they are the ones inheriting
the big mess.
Q: How did your earlier films influence this one? Or is this
your first film?
Ever since I made Cultures
of Resistance --
which was filmed over the course of two years and released in
2010 -- my projects have centered around documenting and
supporting nonviolent, creative resistance to oppression. The
Suffering Grasses looks
at the possibility of nonviolent resistance within the context
of an ongoing civil war, which presented a number of new and
challenging questions for me.
Q: Getting money for a film is really tough these days. How
difficult was financing to obtain?
Yes, it can be very difficult to finance independent
documentaries, but when you have an important story to tell,
there�s always a way to make it happen. Still, it is charity
work; money doesn't come from investors but from donors -- in
this case, donors who are very concerned about the Syrian
situation and stepped forward to make the film possible.
Q: When you secured financing, did you use the script or did it
hinge on your previous work?
Since this was a documentary, we did not have a script. This
film was consistent with my previous documentary work of
discovering the storyline as we film and speak with Syrian
people directly affected by the war -- affected to the point
that they had to leave everything behind and run just to stay
alive.
Q: Where will This
film be
shown?
This film has already been screened in dozens of countries
around the world and we have many more screenings planned for
the rest of the year, from the United States to Zimbabwe to the
West Pacific and everywhere in between.
Q: How do you promote your films? Does the type of material
affect how you promote a film?
Besides screening the film at festivals, we put a lot of effort
into organizing small screenings with grassroots groups. These
kinds of screenings facilitate real discussion and debate about
the issues being presented, and ultimately cause people to get
more involved with these struggles.(tfr)
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SOURCE:
- CULTURES OF RESISTANCE NETWORK: http://films.culturesofresistance.org/suffering-grasses |
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Iara Lee, a Brazilian of
Korean descent, is an activist, filmmaker, and founder of the
Caipirinha Foundation, an organization that promotes global
solidarity and supports peace with justice projects. Iara is
currently working on a variety of initiatives, grouped under the
umbrella of
CulturesOfResistance.org, an activist network that brings
together artists and changemakers from around the world. At the
center of these initiatives is a feature-length documentary film
entitled CULTURES OF RESISTANCE, which explores how creative action
contributes to conflict prevention and resolution.