Short Films for justice

Most low-budget films are made to bring awareness of injustices or wrongdoings within the country it is filmed in. Sometimes it is the best way to communicate with people. I viewed a series of short films that deal with just that. I viewed 4 short films all about different countries and injustices taking place.

The first was from Eastern Burma. Now, Burma is not a country that many people know what it is. It is also know as Myanmar and is bordered by China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and India. The film that was made, Shoot on Sight, deals with the offensive that the government is taking against its own people. It is not clear to why the government is killing its own people. As i was watching this film, I noticed a similarity to a modern day conflict and that was to the Holocaust. Of course we all know why Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews, but this present day Holocaust (as one might call it) is similar. It is similar because it is the government of the country targeting the people, not some foreign government. Also the people are forced into hiding (just like Jews) If they are found, they will be killed. other similarities include leaving all things behind, and constantly moving so that they are not caught. For more information about the issue at hand you can visit www.burmaissues.org.

The second film that I watched was based in Honduras (Garifunyas Holding Ground- film title). There is a local tribe of people called Garifunyas and they are not taking too kindly to globalization. This is a topic that is affecting our present world today and can be seen in these other movies (not low-budget, but about globalization): The Gods Must be Crazy, and Whale Rider. In this short film, the people of Honduras show the viewer the road that is destroying their land and discuss with the filmers that new natural damages are happening because of this road, i.e. floods, no clean water, and erosion. For more information on the illegal road and globalization of the Garifunya people visit, www.witness.org.

the third film i viewed was called Equal Access and dealt with an issue that the US dealt with about 50 years ago: Integration. This is happening in Bulgaria for the Romani (Gypsy) children. before the Romani children were not educated in the Bulgarian schools. most of the Romani people only have an education to 5th-8th grade. They had to leave because there was no proper school and their families needed the help of all members. If you are having trouble understanding to how this is similar to a US situation, think of the Romanis as the blacks, and the Bulgarians as the whites. the older Bulgarians are not for having these gypsy people in their schools. They feel like they live immoral lives. The Romani people just want their children to grow up to be able to do something better than they could; they want to give them a better opportunity to succeed. Now, the US did not take to lightly to the integration of the schools, as seen by many riots, protests, etc. But that is not the case for the Bulgarians. Now, most of the people accept the Romani children in the schools because they actually are getting to know them through their own children becoming friends with them. The students becoming friends is part of an intentional plan by the staff of the schools. Hopefully things will continue to progress and full integration can occur.

The last film I watched was "Bound by Promises"; a film about the contemporary slavery in Brazil. Farmers a taking men from their families and homes to work their land, but they charge for everything, transportation to farm, essential living supplies, food, etc. to where when the men earn money they cannot pay the farmer for boarding and end up staying there for years. Some have been liberated from these ranches, but others are still there working. The Brazilian government has gotten complaints about escaped workers, but also about the injustice of the slavery. Today, more and more investigations take place and punishments have been put in place for the farmers found with slaves that would hurt their profits, but none have been criminally charged and some investigations go untouched.

As I watched these films, i noticed several things about the way the film was made. One is that all the shots are open frame when shooting landscapes and everyday life to capture the essence of actually being there with the people experiencing what they are experiencing. another thing i noticed was that the shots are always shaky, which indicates that someone is holding the camera. Since it is low budget, one can obviously know that the person can't afford a dolly for the camera to get perfectly still shots. By having shaky filming, it gives the feel of being there. I feel like this is a main goal of most documentaries, is to make the viewer feel like that he/she is actually there with these people. They are trying to give a first hand experience. Another thing that the filmers do, i have noticed is that they tend to ask everyone the same questions, almost expecting to get different answers. Yes, everyone's experience is different and has a different perspective, but sometimes the answers are all the same to where it can become dull and too repetitive. One thing I realized that most people could tend to forget is that the film makers are putting themselves in danger by finding these people and talking to them especially the ones who are in hiding so that they can live. If the film makers are found with the people, they would most likely be killed as well. this is something we take for granted as viewers. we need to remember that these people are putting their lives are risk to bring the injustices to the worlds eyes.