The screening on Monday 14 September at the Frontline Club lived up to its bold name. How to Change The World, directed by Jerry Rothwell, journeys to the beginnings of the environmental movement and organisation, Greenpeace. As heartwarming as it is harrowing, the film is an homage to non-violent activism. From the bomb tests of Amchitka to whale and seal poaching in Alaska, How To Change The World chronicles the journey of a small group of friends in Vancouver who attempted to do just that. The film’s executive producer Stewart Le Marechal joined the Frontline Club audience for a discussion following the screening.
Stewart Le Marechal
Comprised mainly of archive footage from the 1970s, the documentary also includes present day interviews with the eclectic founding members of Greenpeace. These two elements are bound together by the writings of Bob Hunter – former journalist and reluctant leader of the group – which provide narration throughout.
Le Marechal spoke of the scale of their project over the eight years it took to develop: “In the archive in Amsterdam there were 15,000 cans of film and 50 hours of audio. What was kind of amazing was that a lot of this stuff has not been looked at for 40 years.”
The film chronicles the group of environmental activists as they venture boldly into the unknown, more often than not on a boat. Their lack of practical experience is made up for by no shortage of enthusiasm and an abundance of quirky humour – a clear advantage when it came to the essential appeal of their campaigns.
Although the film contains much humour, it does not shy away from including the power struggles that threatened to dissolve the movement. Hunter and his team are depicted both as vulnerable heroes exposed to harrowing situations and as victims of their own sensitive group dynamic.
As the story developed, the depth of the rift between members became abundantly clear. Perhaps the biggest dilemma of all was whether or not to unite the Greenpeace groups that had sprouted up independently. Was simply bearing witness to the crimes they saw enough? For some yes, but for others it was only the motivation to go much, much further. For Paul Watson in particular, who describes himself as the “most extreme” of the group, this was certainly the case. He clashed with Patrick Moore, who would later come to denounce much of Greenpeace’s work.
When asked how the filmmakers managed to engage all the protagonists to participate in the interviews, Le Marechal said: “Even though they are at different ends of the spectrum, they all have a genuine love for Bob and wanting to honour him through this documentary.”
He emphasised their role as documentary filmmakers rather than dramatists, and commented that it was important “to represent all their voices so they could get a fair hearing.”
Le Marechal explained how impressed he was by the many interviews conducted: “These people that had done these crazy things 40 years ago, seeing how they felt about it now and how they see what they did.”
The Greenpeace movement coincided with the beginnings of electric communication, and Bob Hunter was immediately very perceptive of its power. He thus revolved his brand of activism around capturing a premeditated shot; with this he created “mind bombs.”
An audience member asked Le Marechal: “Do you or any of the other filmmakers have any goals or hopes that this will spark another resurgence of action?”
He responded that they primarily wanted to bring this story to life but, “Heck, if it inspires someone then that’s fantastic.”
The film ends with a look to the next generation of ecological activists inspired by Greenpeace, notably Hunter’s daughter who lovingly continues her father’s work.
Click here for more information about How to Change the World and upcoming screenings.
]]>This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Chip Duncan, protagonist Abdul Rahman Ramadhan, photojournalist/producer Patrick Muiruri and photojournalist/producer Salim Amin. Chaired by John Owen, Professor of International Journalism at City University London and Chairman of the Frontline Club. He was formerly head of CBC Television News and, more recently, Executive Producer for Al Jazeera programmes from 2010-11.
The Sound Man tells the story of Abdul Rahman Ramadhan, a 62-year-old professional soundman who has lived in Nairobi’s Kibera slum since he was born. For the past 35 years, Abdul has worked side-by-side with the best photojournalists from Kenya, recording sound for news reports featuring crisis, war, famine and genocide.
The Sound Man uses extraordinary archival footage from Nairobi-based production company Camerapix to tell Abdul‘s gripping story – a story that explores the risks to frontline journalists and includes coverage of the Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia, the civil war in Sudan, the revolution in Ethiopia and post-election tribal conflicts in Kenya.
Abdul was also an eyewitness to the genocide in Rwanda, having spent spent weeks working from the so-called “Hotel Rwanda”, and his firsthand recollection of the genocide provides extraordinary insight into the human condition.
The Sound Man was written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker and photojournalist Chip Duncan.
Director/Producer: Chip Duncan
Year: 2015
Runtime: 27′
www.duncanentertainment.com/soundman.php
Based on Frantz Fanon’s landmark 1961 book, The Wretched of the Earth, Concerning Violence explores the mechanisms of decolonisation. It is a bold and fresh visual narrative on Africa, told through newly discovered archive material of the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in the late ‘60s and ‘70s.
Written over 50 years ago, Fanon’s book is still a major tool for understanding and illuminating neocolonialism today. This continued relevance inspired director Göran Hugo Olsson to visualise the nationalistic struggle for self-determination in an age when European colonial powers began to retreat from the last outposts of their faded empires.
Olsson‘s unique and artful film travels through Zimbabwe, Guinea, Mozambique, Congo, and South Africa. The rich archive material shows the young Robert Mugabe talking about redistribution of land; visits Portuguese platoons in Mozambique caught in the fog of a jungle war with guerrillas who have nothing to lose; and shows searing interviews with white settlers.
Directed by Göran Hugo Olsson
Duration: 85′
Year: 2014
This screening is in partnership with Dogwoof
[vimeo clip_id=”68298226″ width=”400″ height=”225″]
In the past, the term ‘Here Be Dragons’ was used by cartographers to indicate an unexplored area on a map, in fear of what could lurk there. In his new essay film, Mark Cousins goes on an explorative journey through Albania, interweaving views of the capital Tirana and its inhabitants with old film clips, painting a picture of the political and cultural landscape.
Through inescapable architectural structures Cousins learns about Albania’s past. He discovers that the movie prints in the national film archive are decaying and begins to ask bigger questions about history and memory. Perhaps a country whose 20th Century was so traumatic, dominated by authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha, should allow its film heritage to fade away?
With his distinctive imagination and sense of humour, Cousins has created a rich and textured piece of work. He takes us on a poetic and inspiring personal journey that opens new horizons that go beyond the Albanian story.
Directed by Mark Cousins
Duration: 73′
Year: 2013
]]>
[vimeo clip_id=”57316804″ width=”630″ height=”354″]
Before his family moved to Denmark, Mahdi Fleifel spent his formative years in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh in Lebanon, home to over 70,000 displaced Palestinians. He inherited his father’s compulsion for video taping and kept video diaries each time he went back to the camp for his summer holidays. As an adult he returns, challenging his teenage belief that ‘going to Ain el-Helweh is better than going to Disney Land’.
At the heart of the film is Fleifel’s relationship with his childhood friend Abu Iyad. They share an obsession for football, the World Cup, and Palestinian politics. While Fleifel can freely move in and out of the camp, Iyad does not have this freedom – an inequity that challenges their friendship and brings to light bigger questions about the sustainability of these camps.
A World Not Ours is an intimate, and often humorous, portrait of three generations of exile, based on a wealth of personal recordings, family archives, and historical footage. It is a sensitive, and illuminating study of belonging, friendship, and family.
Directed by Mahdi Fleifel
Duration: 93′
Year: 2012
Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women, Frontline News Television was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world.
FNTV founders Peter Jouvenal and the Frontline Club’s Vaughan Smith, in conversation with BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson, will tell the thrilling story of the agency with clips from the footage they and their colleagues recorded on the front line.
Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.
This event is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. The event has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage.
Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitisation and cataloguing of the Frontline News Television Archive, participate in the organisation of summer events about Frontline News Television and help run and edit interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. The most committed volunteers will be given training in oral history taking and have a chance to conduct some interviews themselves.
With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.
Here is short video cut from interview and archive footage that was made for an exhibition earlier in the year. Interviews were conducted by volunteers who had worked on the footage.
Volunteers are asked to commit two days a week to the project. Lunch is provided.
For more information visit:
http://www.beta.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2011/05/frontline-television-news-archive.html
Dates: June – September 2012 (flexible start and end dates)
Deadline for applications: 15th June- earlier applications welcomed
Candidates must have at least a basic knowledge of the history of the late 20th century, an interest in journalism and good communication and research skills.
To apply, email a CV and short covering letter to Will Spens: william.spens@www.beta.frontlineclub.com
Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitization of the Frontline News Television Archive, participate in the organisation of an exhibition and help run and edit interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. The most committed volunteers will be given training in oral history taking and have a chance to conduct some interviews themselves.
With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.
For more information visit:
and:
http://www.beta.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2011/05/frontline-television-news-archive.html
Dates: Early December – Late February 2012
Deadline for applications: 30th November 2011- earlier applications welcomed
Candidates must have at least a basic knowledge of the history of the late 20th century, an interest in journalism and good communication and research skills.
To apply, email a CV and short covering letter to Flora Carmichael: flora.carmichael@www.beta.frontlineclub.com
Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitization of the Frontline News Television Archive and record interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. Training in oral history taking will be provided.
With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.
For more information visit:
and:
http://www.beta.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2011/05/frontline-television-news-archive.html
Dates: Early July – Late August 2011
Deadline for applications: 10th June 2011- earlier applications welcomed
Candidates must have at least a basic knowledge of the history of the late 20th century, an interest in journalism and good communication and research skills.
To apply, email a CV and short covering letter to Flora Carmichael: flora.carmichael@www.beta.frontlineclub.com
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has recently granted the Frontline Club its support to digitise the Frontline Television News (FNTV) archive. Not only will the HLF funding help to preserve 1,000 hours of footage covering all the major wars from the late 80s onwards, but it will ensure the involvement of volunteers to compile oral histories with former members of the agency and their families.
In 1989 a small group of young British men and women created a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. In 2003 the agency closed, half of its camera-people having been killed while filming around the world. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently brought out in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.
Frontline’s cameramen were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras and aimed to use this technology to do to television journalism what the French photo-agency, Magnum did to photojournalism 50 years earlier. Frontline’s successes included getting the first interview with Bin Laden in the western media, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, the key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War, key footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement…the list goes on.
John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor is recorded as saying "Frontline will be remembered as one of the high peaks of journalism. Martha Gellhorn certainly thought so, and she was a pretty good judge"
The footage, around 1,000 hours in total, covers the period from 1989-2003 and needs to be converted into digital format urgently to save it from degrading. The Imperial War Museum and the British Library have both expressed an interest in using the footage for research and exhibition purposes. The footage will be made available online in low-resolution format for the public to view, though FNTV will retain the rights to the footage.
An Oral History portion of the project will give volunteers the opportunity to interview the remaining Frontline journalists and those who knew them to compose a lasting record of the adventures and misadventures that the members of the Frontline Television News agency undertook in pursuit of some of the most vivid and truthful accounts of war. It will add to an existing set of recordings made by David Loyn for his book.
If you are interested in volunteering over summer to help research the material, assist in the digitisation and cataloguing process and take oral histories from former contributors to Frontline Television News then please send a CV to Flora Carmichael, the project coordinator: flora.carmichael@www.beta.frontlineclub.com Deadline for applications: 10th June- earlier applications welcomed.
]]>