SF International Film Festival

SF Middle Eastern Film Festival
by asaf zulah

The first thing I was looking for when opening the brochure was Iraq. Surely, I thought, an international film festival would be offering a counterbalance viewpoint on an issue that invaded our psyches so fast, a war that has been preoccupying America for the last year on every media outlet, and more than anywhere, here in San Francisco, where so many concerned citizens took to the streets in protest, surely this would be the topic of so many films and documentaries coming out this year… and yet… I see… only… one?

But, my fellow activists, let us not call a protest in front of the kabuki theatre just yet, and no reason to research connections between the Sky Vodka corporation and the Bush Family, even though in a subtle, indirect way, the 47th SFIFF, is telling the story of the middle east in multiple digestible packets of insight into a reality that is maybe too complex to wrap in a documentary.

Because if you really are looking for honest coverage of the issues around iraq, you know by now to go to IndyMedia or to Democracy Now! or any non-American news source for that matter, And then if you’re really ambitious, you’ll go straight to the source: Al-Jazeera. And that’s exactly where “Control Room” an American-Egyptian made documentary about the war through the media warfare angle. This controversial story of the only independent station in the middle east, which also happens to be the most popular, might explain a few points about where the difference of perspectives stems from, and here in America, where the war is nothing but a spectacle on the evening news, there might not be a better way to address the subject than through the issue of information warfare.

And we all know now that Iraq is just a piece of the middle east puzzle, and some of us might still remember an earlier, more “successful” experiment by our government, just a step away in Afghanistan. “The boy who plays on the Buddha’s of Bamiyan” does not reveal Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts, but it does, however, reveal the history of a country scarred and ruined by years of external intervention. Through the eyes of a poor Shiite family living in the caves on the mountainside where two huge Buddha sculptures sat for ages before the Taliban destroyed them, a very earthy story comes to life. This documentary is not political and yet in this bizarre setting of so-called reconstruction there is no way around it. The little boy points to helicopters touring the sunset horizon and declares “I love the Americans!” his uncle will later recant the most twisted version of September 11 you will ever hear.

Two steps removed in Lebanon, a political reality that is one of the most complex in the region “ We loved each other so much” that through the recurring music of Feiruz tells the story of yet another scarred country. Another post-colonial post-occupation failure, where the political reality is so complex, it is hard to even talk about, But the Dutch filmmaker approach would soon reveal it’s ingenuity in opening people from all sides of the spectrum to talk about things they would otherwise feel threatened or enraged by. When talking about Feiruz they all share a common appreciation to their home country of Lebanon. Even the ones who are scarred by the war beyond repair, who cant stand it anymore and are leaving, through the music, share their love to a Lebanon that is no longer there.

And yet another step further. the occupation of Palestine delivers no lesser insight into the perpetuating problems of the area, the Israeli Palestinian conflict is always regarded as the main destabilizing factor in the region, an extension of the Northern European crusader colonialism that brought it into existence.

“Checkpoint”,an Israeli made documentary that deals with the arbitrary nature of humiliation and compassion in a military state, deconstructing the security concern into personal perspectives and momentary urges and mood swings. The film does not take a position on the issues, it is the soldiers themselves that volunteer analisys on their role as actors in this scenario, and as they take a certain role infront of their palastinians and a different role alone infront of the camera, you can tell there are other roles played when the camera is not there. After a conflict with a Palestinian that wanted to talk to his superior officer and overrided him, a soldier begs to the camera to make him look good, “Blame it on the commander” he says. In another incident a soldier warns his out of line racist college of the cameras taping. “Let them show it to the Command Control… you think they care?”

But for you hardcore activists who are familiar with the situation and are looking for a fix of critical information, those of you that have the nerves and patience to sit through a 4 hour journey into Israel-Palestine, A Palestinian Israeli joint production “Route 181” follows the path of the UN 1947 border separation Plan. Interviewing different voices from both sides along the route, this is a disturbing documentary that with no solution in sight, exposes the occupation for what it has always been, a pre-conceived plan for a Jewish takeover of the land. When asked about Solomon’s trial, proud Israelis flunk the test and fail to make the connection to their own reality, and an Israeli Arab working on the separation wall puts into perspective the reach of economic racism. The film does not offer a solution or much hope but it does provide a unique physical connection to the ‘holy land’ by the simple act of driving through it, following an invisible historical line that doesn’t make too much sense now and obviously didn’t make sense back then.

In a unique and intimate way, the San Francisco International film festival 2004 offers a political documentary puzzle as to where exactly things stand in the middle east, solve it and you might win a prize: they call it the documentary audience award.



Peter Pans or Wannabe Guerillas
by ali tonak

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of Robert Stone's most recent film is in its name. But which one? This recent documentary on the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) actually has two titles. To be fair most films have a more then one working title and after arduous deliberations one is decided, but rarely do producers and directors change their mind after the release. We are only aware of this because the film is listed under one name in the catalog of the 47th San Francisco International Film Festival but it is publicized as a completely different one.

Perhaps this schizophrenic character is also reflective of the directors intentions. Check out the different focuses of the two titles chosen for the film; Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army and Guerilla: The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst. One film would have an emphasis on the SLA while the other would have a focus on Patty Hearst, yet the fact that the name was changed at such a last minute implies that while the title was changed the film remained the same. It is understandable to change the name for an increased marketing effect but this is really more then choosing different words. It is choosing a different focus.

And not surprisingly the documentary itself also lacks considerable focus. We begin the film as one about the SLA but after the infamous kidnapping of the heiress to a US media mogul, Patty Hearst, we exclusively focus on her. This leaves both subjects, of equal interest and importance, only partially uncovered and explored.

The Symbionease Liberation Army was an underground armed organization of leftists radicals that emerged in one of the political hotspots of the post-'68 world; Berkeley, California. Stone's film is absent of the domestic and international political climate of the time, the massive student movement in Berkeley and the social conditions that led to growing domestic poverty for minorities. Stone does not take the SLA seriously and agreeably it is hard to see how anybody could given their absurd style and extravagant declarations. But the initial title suggests that Stone (or perhaps his publicist/distributor) regards the SLA as children who can never grow up in an imaginary wonderland. Shall we say in a world of games? The real political implications of what lead to the forming of the SLA, the motivations behind their actions don't matter. Their most interesting demand for ransom was free distribution of food to "the people" and was delivered as requested. Honestly I was expecting more than a quick pass of the implications of such an action.

An predictable documentary to compare Stone's Film is Sam Green's The Whether Underground about another underground organization pursuing violent tactics as contemporaries to the SLA. A film which wholly analyzes the Whether Underground from all angles and with a great deal of history and current analysis. Neverland/Guerilla suffers from being released a little less than a year after Green's film.

On the topic of Patty Hearst, the film borders on the line of being apologetic. She is left by appearing on a talk show as a victim of brainwashing. Neither the question of what actually happened to Patty Hearst is pursued neither is the particular choice of Patty Hearst as a victim of kidnapping. Who knows maybe Hearst's multi million media corporation had a finger in that particular talk show she appeared on. The LA Times, owned by Hearst, has in fact been an historical target of political violence as it was bombed by working class Anarchists at the beginning of the 20th century. 60 years of violent anger must surely signify something.

To give credit where it's due Stone has done an amazing job of collecting archival footage and presenting it in compelling manner. It gives the viewer a rare look into the feel of the 60s. This important milestone in US politics was documented with the passion that came from the recent release of consumer electronics, from professional and amateur journalists to the urban guerillas themselves we are feasted with the documentation of those years. This footage in itself is a good reason to see the film but don't expect to see a detailed analysis of the SLA or of Patty Hearst.