Wednesday 27 August 2014

Last Days in Vietnam

The years of Vietnam were way before my year of birth and it's always proved to be a war I knew nothing about, not being a part of the history syllabus here in the UK. The 98min film opened with some truly overwhelming archive reels of ships completely overcrowded with Vietnamese refugees and desperate victims sprinting alongside planes on runways trying to grab a hold of the tiny hand reaching out from the hold to grab them.
Overcrowded ships fleeing Vietnam

Before I even knew what they were running from, the sheer desperation reflected within those opening moments and throughout the rest of the film, was something I felt extremely overwhelmed by.

I do have to say that with the strong American accents of the more elderly contributors, it was sometimes quite hard to follow what was being said, as archive reels covered our opportunity to lip-read. As such for the first 20mins of the film I found myself drifting off and thinking about the festival, rather than being captivated by what I was seeing. However, as the story picked up, and the contributors came thick and fast, I soon fell right back to where I'd been at the beginning and couldn't tear my attention away. 


The fuel-lacking chinook preparing to throw refugees onto deck
The extraction of the refugees became exciting as we willed the Americans to continue their mission, sometimes acting without orders, to help those in need. The interviews with the servicemen were ones that told of heroic stories that seem almost too Hollywood to be true. From servicemen stealing trucks and filling them with innocents, to helicopter pilots flying around the clock to maximise the numbers they could save. A particularly stunning example, were the efforts made my a Vietnamese soldier and helicopter pilot to rescue his family and anyone else who could make it onto his helicopter. As he flew out over the ocean the fuel gauge dropped dramatically. He finally stumbled across the USS Kirk whose flight deck was far too small to land his chinook. The crew made it clear that he could not land but in desperation the pilot indicated that one by one they would jump from the helicopter to the landing deck. Sure enough, one by one they jumped aboard, caught by the crew of the USS Kirk. After the safe retrieval of men, women and children including a 6month old baby, it became apparent that the pilot would not be able to do the same. And yet, against the odds, flying the chinook with one hand and undressing from his flight suit with the other the Vietnamese father prepared to jump. With a dramatic turn of the helicopter to the right, the pilot jumped from the left window into the ocean below. With no fuel left in the tank, all survived. The crew's recollections brought joy to my heart that I didn't know I could feel for someone I had never met. Who needs Hollywood?! I've never cried so much!


n-magazine.com
What followed was a well-edited collage of accounts creating a vivid picture of panic and adrenaline among archive footage from the ground. We heard moving accounts from military personnel who had to leave and evacuate themselves, in order for the ambassador himself to agree to leave the compound, leaving those they'd promised refuge behind. Right down to the last nail biting second, as we share in the devastation at flying away and leaving some behind, we re-lived the torment with them. What a fantastic piece of American history, that no-one seems to know about.
Edited brilliantly, and with music by Gary Lionelli that truly added to both the energy and emotion of the film, I left the cinema with a sense of justice and of pride in humanity. Documentaries are things that constantly remind me of the reasons I believe in humanity and Rory Kennedy's 'Last Days in Vietnam' was a first-class example of how that is possible. To think that many of these military men returned home to jaunts and people spitting in their faces. We may never all agree with the war, but there is absolutely no way we can forget the courage, heroism and humanity of those involved in the evacuation of so many.

I really do hope this comes out on DVD as I'd love to watch this again, particularly as I want my career to follow the world affairs documentary circuit and this is one of the best examples I have seen. If you're Amaerican then you can see the film here: http://www.lastdaysinvietnam.com/ - us Brits will just have to wait.

“A prime example of how documentaries can illuminate our shared memory’s gaps, and how nonfiction can frequently outdo the best thrills Hollywood has to offer.”
NonFics
Watch the trailer here for a taste of the adrenaline:


Images via: geocities.ws, hollywoodreporter.com


A Burning Dream

Are you an escapist? A socialist? All for freedom of expression? Then 'A Burning Dream' is a film worth watching - although perhaps not if you are a long term sufferer of acute wanderlust, as I am.


It's not the first documentary that's explored the Burning Man Festival but it was almost enough for me to book my tickets to Nevada and never look back. It follows the experiences of Massimiliano Davoli, who on the death of his best friend , discovered £10,000 in an envelope on the street. The debate over whether it was moral or not to keep it is almost irrelevant as he embarks upon a journey that transforms his way of thinking and ours alike. 

In a journey from Rome to London (where people turn their back on answering what it means to be Londoner) on to San Francisco, Massimiliano finally rests in Nevada at The Burning Man Festival. Here, a wonder we all wish to behold is presented as a haven for all of us free-thinking hippies. Black Rock City is hive of creativity and togetherness against a backdrop of a desert that seems to stretch for miles.

abcnews.go.com
At first I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the film, unsure of what our presenter set out to find, but soon enough, it unfolded into a beautiful journey of self-discovery for both contributors and audience. As he drives blind through the stormy sand dunes of the desert and as dust settles on the sunrise, we are bombarded with a huge 60,000 people celebrating in costumes, face paint, dancing, singing, meditating and wholly embracing togetherness.

It's fresh because we aren't diving in to the festival, it's not a film about that. It's a film about finding yourself, about seeing things that aren't normal for you and about asking questions and meeting people you perhaps would never talk to on the street. This is what makes it relevant to any audience. Massimiliano is a little awed at the festival and finds it more difficult to embrace its culture than the 'regulars'. His own personal discovery and the process of just letting go, is what makes this film so charming.


There isn't a lot I can say about the camerawork, I mean the camera goes through so many sandstorms I don't know how they actually filmed anything at all. But the story, whether it was ever intended to be a documentary or just a personal film, turned out to be one that resonated with me and I feel that it would with many others. The height of the film, when Massimiliano writes a note to his deceased friend, the film feels to have come full circle.

I want to watch it again and again. The credits rolled and left me feeling fulfilled, at peace and ready to take on the world with a new perspective. The voiceover and narration would normally seem too much, a little indulgent but it's the burning Man Festival, it's what it's all about. It help that it comes in a French accent though, I don't think a Londoner would get away with the same script.

If the film is released into the public realm, you should certainly devote an hour to watching it. Even if it's just to listen to the French poetry and to watch some free-willed people dance naked through the fire. Here's a sample of what you'd be getting:


And here's the Trailer:

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Guest Post for FLETCHERWILSON - 8 Apps, 8 Days

Follow this link to FLETCHERWILSON's blog to read my reviews on the latest most popular free photography apps.
http://www.therealstorycompany.com/2014/08/8-photo-apps-in-8-days.html

Check out my photos and feel free to share your own with me @katmace11 and @FWFilm on twitter!

The faces of the Vietnam Memorial & the Berlin wall
I like this not only because of its political resonance, but it implies transcendence.

Sunday 24 August 2014

Young, Fit & Dying: The Truth about Running


With my boss just completing a 5 day cycle from Edinburgh to Chelmsford, I thought I'd watch something that kept with the theme of sporting feats.

With this, I stumbled across 'Young, Fit & Dying: The Truth about Running' and I'm glad I did. The 59min film follows Michael Dorgan's '8 marathons in 8 days' from london to Brussels in an attempt to discover the truth behind sudden deaths in young and healthy runners.

He truly pushed his body to its limits and the film was a more compelling watch than I had expected. He backs up the main plot with research at various sports/science centres, straps himself to heart monitors, speaks to experts and most importantly has a reason for doing so. He is raising money for the QPR Tiger Cubs.
I was pleasantly surprised by this and feel the film could sit well among programming surrounding the next big sporting event. Michael's no Davina McCall but his interest in the research means he doesn't have to be.

If I were to pull out any kind of criticism it would be that although talented producer and girlfriend, Felicity Mungovan runs alongside him at one point to keep him going, it almost took a little away from the film, mainly as this was a programme following one man on a mission. It doesn't completely ruin it, but I think the achievement of reaching the end would seem bigger if he did it completely 'alone'.

The ending brought back that little bit of jeopardy the film needed in wondering whether the crew would beat him to the finish line or not as Brussels is completely shut off from traffic.

Producer Felicity - with sale for yesDocu, Israel
It's a really good investigative film from Go-Forth and I would certainly like to see it on mainstream UK TV. Israel, the Netherlands, Finaland, denmark and Norway have already acquired the film to broadcast - all Michael needs to do is go for Sport Relief and make the film again :D But seriously, a nice surprise when sifting through the VT at Sheffield and one I'd recommend to any sports fan or fitness fanatic, particularly if you're worried about the rise in sudden deaths among young and fit sportsmen and women.

View the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1575398425/

Director: Michael Dorgan, Daniel Smith
Producer: Felicity Mungovan - http://www.goforth-films.com/
Check out more on the London Film School Blog: http://news.lfs.org.uk/2014/05/michael-dorgans-documentary-young-fit.html

Friday 22 August 2014

Faces - The Homeless Man & his Shopping Cart

This man became one of the faces I remembered most from Washington. Every time we got on the coach or in a taxi, we would pass him. He was never without his shopping cart and never accompanied by anyone else.

The homeless community in Washington DC seemed very much to be a community. They would gather together under bridges and collect beds and furniture to create their own 'home'. They would sit in deck-chairs in a circle talking. This man was always alone. I never got to hear his story, but I hope that in some ways this picture tells at least a part of it.

If you ever see him, maybe you can find out his story.

All This Mayhem

The #Boardmasters bug is still swimming pretty in my blood stream and so, when 'All This Mayhem' came up on my 'what's on' page at the local picturehouse, I've never run so fast to catch anything straight from work. Director Eddie Martin, did not let my efforts go to waste.


totalfilm.com
I'd heard of the Pappas brothers but with this, I had no idea what I'd let myself in for. It's a film filled with delight, with childish quips, with stunts, with tricks that defy gravity, and with mistakes that end with some truly devastating results. The title of the film is more self-explanatory than you'd think. It's been a long time since my emotions were brought up and down so drastically within a couple of hours.

It was so cleverly put together, capturing perfectly the boyish and radical personas of the young Pappas brothers as kids, with the use of a colossal amount of archive footage filmed by the brothers themselves and their friends - 'Lots of tapes were dug out of lots of garages'.

buzzmagazine.co.au
Aside from this awesomely sewn collage, we were given awesome of another level, with tricks that had never been seen on the vertical circuit before. Ben and Tas (who sometimes looks a little like a young Andrew Garfield) amazed us with their originality and they made it look so easy! I'm almost convinced that I could do a 420 too! The parties, the antics, the drugs - it was all a part of the rock and roll scene that they became the kings of and the filmmakers allowed us to be a part of it. Unfortunately for them, and for us, the ramp never stayed dry for long.

We have seen Tas struggle as brother Ben is deported home with drugs charges. It was no longer the Pappas brothers versus the world, it was just Tas, whilst Ben battles his own demons back in Aus. The part of the film that got me most was as Tas was attempting to pull of the 900 and just as he planned to go for it on the comp ramp, Tony Hawks attempts and succeeds. What should have been Tas' moment of glory, turned into disappointment that is almost too much for us as an audience to watch.

Young Ben Pappas - theage.com.au
And then the crash. Tas is now a father to two children. Ben is doing heavy drugs back in Aus. A whole mountain of obstacles finds Tas in prison at the most difficult time. He receives the news that Ben has drowned. At this moment my heart dropped. Ben had murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself. But we almost don't blame him (which really screwed with my idea of morality). We have seen him struggle and saw his road to recovery. Then with his relationship he fell back into the junkie lifestyle. We cry for his desperation, and for Tas, who separated from his children, gets news that his father dies soon after.

Tas Pappas - huhmagazine.co.uk
The edit during this section of the film, is extremely well moulded. The timeline at the beginning was relatively simple to piece together but with the brothers in different countries, it must have taken a lot of production meetings to decide how to tell this section. The interviews mesh together seamlessly and not once did I find myself confused - and that is a merit in itself. And in this, the filmmakers do not forget that ultimately they are not reporting on what happened, but telling it from the perspective of Tas and Ben - something that is easy to lose sight of when you hit a 'good' news story. Tas Pappas' candid and brutal honesty on camera, allows us to travel through the high times and the low times as though we are his best friend.

Thankfully the film does not end there, as if it did I don't think my emotions could have handled it. Tas finds a new partner who he has a third child with, a son, who he firmly believes Ben lives through. He skates down the road with him on his shoulders and still, to our relief. competes in the sport he loves.

Tas & Ben - glamadelaide.com.au
The Pappas brothers story may be a whirlwind but it's what they got famous for. Their tricks changed skating and it's heart-breaking that neither ever really had the recognition they deserved. They truly are skating icons and 'All This Mayhem' captures this perfectly as well as reminding us that we are all human and even the most glorious of stories can have a devastating end. If there's ever an example of great talent and of resilience then the Pappas brothers, despite the tragic outcome, are most definitely it - and the filmmakers aren't half bad either! Barnes it, it's the only way!

Go watch it!
No seriously!
Words can't express enough how much you should.

Here's Tas' reasons for making the film: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-11/all-this-mayhem-pappas-brothers/5591212

And here's the trailer:

Tuesday 5 August 2014

HET in Washington: Days 1 - 3

Sunday 27th July – 
Yad Vashem, Israel, 2013
Today, myself and 16 other Regional Ambassadors for the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) fly out to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, for a week of intense study to further our knowledge of the holocaust and learn about our roles in genocide prevention today. It’s quite a poignant callout for me, particularly as this time last year we were all visiting a seemingly peaceful Israel where people roamed unrestricted through the streets of Jerusalem. If only the whole of Israel/Palestine reflected that freedom.

This week I will be updating my blog with things I have learned, debates I have struck, struggles I have seen and wonderful moments I have shared with my fellow ambassadors. Taking into account the state of affairs around the world today, I feel more driven than ever to do something about it. Learning about perhaps the greatest example of persecution and genocide, is something I can only ever benefit from in applying these lessons to, in some small way, make a difference.


Monday 28th July
Day 1 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and today we met the 'Bringing the Lessons Home' Ambassadors who showed us around the permanent exhibition. Their knowledge was expansive and I really enjoyed our tour of exhibition. It actually ended up to be a transferral of knowledge from both sides. We shared with them, our experiences of testimonies and sites we had visited and they shared with us their own recollections and factual knowledge. I was very grateful to our guide for allowing us to get involved. It is also encouraging to know that there are other ambassadors across the world who do what we do. They share with us the responsibility to keep the memory of the holocaust alive and that touched me more than I thought it would. It's like being a part of a community that I never knew existed, and it's global.

Dora Klayman
Later we heard from holocaust survivor Dora Klayman. She shared with us her amazing story of survival, having been supported by a community in Ludbreg. She went into hiding with a German family, the Runjaks, along with her brother Zdravko after her parents and aunt had been denounced and deported. This Catholic family kept them safe within their family with three other children of their own. Dora told us of the local community in Ludbreg, many of whom had joined the Partisans and in solidarity, kept quiet about Dora's existence. Having served a period of detainment in Jasenovac, Dora's uncle returned and they became a family again. Sadly, Zdravko passed away at just 5yrs old in 1946 from Scarlet Fever due to an absence of Penicillin. Her uncle adopted her and she refused adoption from other relatives that had survived. In 1954, she visited family in Switzerland and stayed there, and studied English. She met her husband on a train towards Venice and eventually moved to Washington DC. Dora is a wonderful person and I value very much the story that she shared with us. It is one of the first testimonies I have herd that did not involve transportation to the East and it restored a little faith in humanity that some, were willing to put themselves at risk, to help another.

You can listen to a podcast from Dora here: https://ushmm.org/museum/publicprograms/programs/firstperson/podcast/detail.php?EventId=5E349346-52B8-4B7D-9504-F9F616906759

HET Regional Ambassadors with Survivor Dora Klayman

Tuesday 29th July
Today we had a morning of studying the role of collaboration in the holocaust. More than that though, we were thinking about complicity. How easy is it for us to be complicit in our everyday lives, turn a blind eye to those less fortunate, stay quiet about conflict across the world? In the terms of the holocaust we explored the role of ordinary men and women of Europe and the investment they made in the Nazi party. We explored how some stood by and others waged a war of their own in trying to help the victims of the Nazi regime. Assessing responsibility and guilt for these people was extremely challenging. How could we possibly judge a child who wanted to joined the Hitler Youth when all they'd ever known was Nazism? We can't, can we?

Then, on our tour around Washington we visited the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the White House. Perhaps the most poignant moment of these visits, was when I stopped to talk to the protestor sat outside the White House. His story was incredible. His father had fought and died in the Vietnam war, leaving him and his two brothers in the care of their mother who became very fragile. Even more tragic is that his father never knew of the existence of his youngest son, conceived during his last visit home. The boys took to caring for themselves, doing things they perhaps shouldn't have, for money to get by. They got so accustomed to running for their lives, or from the police that all three brothers gained scholarships to college for their sporting ability. He now sits among others outside the White House in the pitch that has been situated there since 1984. An incredible story and one that really encompassed the spirit that we had been approaching all day. He refuses to be complicit in the ongoing conflicts around the world, having seen the damage they can do to a family worldwide and I am extremely grateful that I heard his story.



THE REST OF THE WEEK CONTINUES IN MY NEXT POST....