“The evening breeze
blows towards the bride
as she takes her leave
on her wedding day.”
(“New Bride, New Night” by Salma)
On Thursday 26 September, the Frontline Club and DocHouse screened the evocative documentary Salma. Hosted at Rich Mix, the film was the latest in the Between the Lines Follow-Up series.
Directed by Kim Longinotto, the film follows the poet and novelist Salma on her return to her home village where she was effectively imprisoned for 25 years. Editor Ollie Huddleston joined for the post-film Q&A.
Elizabeth Wood of DocHouse began with a discussion on the craft of editing:
“Fiction films are shot to a script, but really, with a film like this, and with all Kim’s films, a script is really written during the edit.”
“I think the best documentary films are like fiction films,” responded Huddleston:
“You’re building a story. . . . I look at this film now and I see it’s of course a film about Tamil Nadu and Muslim culture and Salma, but the important thing is always that it should connect to us. It’s a very universal story in some ways. The bonds, the knots, the ties, the families. Fear of breaking away and not being able to break away.”
Editor Ollie Huddleston. Photo: George Symonds
An audience member asked if the village had changed since the film was made.
“My experience of the village,” said Huddleston, “is what I see through that material. My understanding is that it hasn’t changed, no, not at all. And I think Malik – Salma’s husband – is quite unusual. As much as he was a very strong part of keeping her away and keeping her apart from society, he also helped her to break free, and that’s very unusual.”
“He must have grown too, in a way do you think?” followed Wood.
“Yeah, the weirdest thing was that Kim and Salma, when I finally met her, said he liked the film, that he was proud of the film. That is amazing for me,” said Huddleston. “Because he doesn’t come across brilliantly sometimes. Kim said he was a lovely guy and incredibly friendly and all the rest of it, but maybe he’s happy that the story is being told. He seems very proud of his wife so eventually maybe he’s coming around and maybe the village will change, one day.”
“But,” countered Wood, “do you think perhaps he’s the one who made his sons critical of her?”
“Yes, I do. Definitely he did. But he’s part of the village, isn’t he? I mean they all are. So the village tradition has meant that they’re all bound by the past and traditions that women are locked up and hidden away.”
Ollie Huddleston in conversation with Elizabeth Wood. Photo: George Symonds.
Huddleston then spoke of the difficulties faced during filming:
“Salma had to hide a lot. They thought she was making some kind of drama film and she was going to make money out of this film in some way. So I think there was a lot of antagonism in the village. But she’s an extraordinary, pragmatic, charismatic, thoughtful, incredibly eloquent person so I imagine she found a way to explain it to them, and to get the film made.”
Hands went up in the audience to ask about the inclusion of the Hindu wedding:
“We wanted to balance the film out. That it’s not just Muslim weddings. I mean, that girl is about 10 or 11. It happens quite a lot in the village so that was the reason. It’s quite shocking, and truthful.”
Is she, Salma, interested in the world of politics and making a difference that way?
“She started a women’s refuge in Chennai and yes, she’s very interested in changing the world, most definitely,” explained Huddleston. “Politics is one way of doing that but I think at the moment she’s writing. I couldn’t say whether she’d go back into politics again. Maybe.”
Huddleston then responded to how he approached representing the many complex characters:
“You try to make stories develop. . . . Throughout the film you’re probably thinking, ‘God, how could she [Salma’s mother] do that to her daughter?’ . . . In the end, she helps her publish her books, she smuggles them out – she’s more complicated than that. So to be really crude about it, there’s a kind of set up about who the mother is. You think she’s this person then, later on, you’ve changed your opinion of her. ‘Wow, she’s stood up, she went and got the books, she sent them to a publisher, she is on Salma’s side.’ There’re many references to the mother and the complexity of that relationship is huge and crucial to the film really. You’re trying to make it understandable and very real.”
'Each shot has to count and each moment has to count' – editor Ollie Huddleston #documentary #Salma
— BerthaDocHouse (@BerthaDocHouse) September 26, 2013
To conclude, Huddleston commented on the circularity that the film depicts:
“It’s that idea that we’re constantly going in a circle. When she lies on the floor and says, ‘What can I do, I can’t leave the ones that love me, I’d be completely alone,’ isn’t that true of all families? It’s a circular thing. That seemed to be the most truthful point. She’s still yearning for her mother’s approval or love or closeness. Nothing has changed, in certain ways, even though she’s done extraordinary things.
“It’s because it’s a film about circles. Circles within families, within tradition, within religion, and trying to break free from those. That felt like the most honest end, the most truthful end. Nothing is simple.”
A collection of Salma’s poems and Longinotto’s reflections on creating the documentary is published by OR Books.
Upcoming films in the Between the Lines Follow-Up series can be found here.
]]>Salma
Thursday 26 September 2013, 8:00 PM Rich Mix London
Growing up in South India, Salma spent most of her childhood under house arrest. She poured out her anguish writing poetry which she sneaked out of the house. Against the odds she became one of the best known Tamil poets and her newfound fame helped her start on the path to freedom. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kim Longinotto’s long-term editor Ollie Huddleston.
Which Way is the Front Line from Here – The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington + Q&A
Thursday 17 October 2013, 8.30 PM Lexi Cinema
Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger, thoughtfully portrays Tim Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer James Brabazon.
Shorts at the Frontline Club – Between the Lines Special – BOOK NOW
Friday 25 October 2013, 7:00 PM Frontline Club
Join us for an evening of short documentaries, showcasing films from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. As part of Between the Lines the selection will focus on ‘filming the unfilmable’, followed by a discussion on how to document events that that are difficult to access.
The Bombing of al-Bara + Q&A – BOOK NOW
Tuesday 29 October 8.30 PM Ritzy Picture House
2012, a government jet dropped a large bomb on the village of al-Bara. Only 300 meters away, Olly Lambert was filming a meeting of rebel soldiers. While keeping his camera rolling, Lambert documented the shocking impact of regime air strikes on a civilian population. The result is a rare, immersive portrait of the reality of civil war.
No Fire Zone : The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, chronicles the final 138 days of the 26 year Sri Lankan civil war, told by the people who lived through it. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Callum Macrae.
Presented by:
Supported by:
