Children on the Frontline

A debut for photojournalist Marcel Mettelsiefen and genuinely my favourite Channel4 documentary...ever. I'm not convinced why, but the pacing and structure, the engaging contributors, the setting of the story at the frontline in Aleppo, the constant jeopardy of gunfire and snipers and some wonderfully emotive original music from Andrew Phillips made it the most compelling factual programme I've viewed in a long time.

casarotto.co.uk

Mettelsiefen gained access to a family at the forefront of the Free Syrian Army's (FSA) fight. We were faced with the plight of 4 children, wise way beyond their years: 5yr old Sara, 8yr old Farah, 13yr old Helen and 14yr old Mohammed. All children of the commander of the FSA battalion at the front, Abu Ali Al-Saliba, now missing and presumed dead by the hands of IS militants.

www.stern.de

We also meet with a well-known face among the revolution, 13yr old Aboude, who spends his days rallying support, singing and encouraging others to victory with his pro-revolution posters. It's almost like some mocked up interview where it's been scripted by a 30yr old, but actually is completely devised by the brains of a 12yr old. It's astounding how much these children understand about their conflict, even more so, how aware they are of themselves. His mother even tells us how his parents tried to deter him from his work but how he cried for days and instead set to work making posters. Aboude is not blind to the dangers of his work either, he tells his mother that she should not be sad if he should die and sees his role as a duty. It's commendable, if not tragic that such a young boy should feel to hold the weight of the nation's hopes on his shoulders.

express.co.uk

The three girls of Abu and Hala spend their days tidying up houses that have been bombed by the Aasad regime where the youngest girl Sara, finds sporadic refuge in the toys of the children that had lived there prior. But older sister Helen is quick to remind her of her moral values 'it's wrong to take other people's belongings' and returns them to their rightful place. It's moving to see such clarity of goodness and judgement amidst a conflict that knows nothing of the kind. 

14yr old Mohammed also shares philosophies way beyond the childish woes we hear so often at home, as he states, 'What ever happens to the men, to my father, will happen to us as well'. Helen shares 'we will live and die with our dad...why should we leave him'. These children hold within them the hope for a better world and the loyalty and resilience of the people behind the revolution.

miscethoughts.blogspot.com

www.stern.de

Similarly we see how they still try to have a childhood, as Helen teaches her siblings as they cannot attend school, so that they have a hope in their futures. She also asks Sara to tell her about her dreams... she is encouraged to play and to dream, rather than to grow up too fast. “I just want my siblings to be happy…to feel the spirit of childhood, the spirit of play,” she says. Although we do see a moment, a flicker of doubt in their hope, when Farah describes how one man lost his head when a bomb exploded as he lit it. As she nods to tell us she saw the man after he had died we can only imagine the feelings she must have experienced. The hope falters further when we hear a shell explosion nearby, 'that was close by' she says rising from her seat. We see an instant change in behaviour that crushes our maternal empathy so much that it turns to dust. I cannot imagine what their mother must feel each day as her children play on a balcony targeted by snipers.

channel4.com

It was wonderfully shot, focussing on the children of the conflict gave a more honest account than I am used to. Adults reason, they cover up, they have agendas, children simply have their desire to be children and their very natural and inhibited responses to the questions they are asked. We cannot tear our eyes away from their fight, from their fear, cannot help but honour their resilience and cannot help but feel as though we have lost something when the programme ends without hearing the rest of their story.

I cannot stress how great I thought this film was. A really great achievement for Mettelsiefen and if this standard is anything to go by, I can't wait to see his next work.

For more visit:
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/23/children-on-the-frontline-syria-review
http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/episodes/children-of-the-frontline

Are We At War?

dezeen.com

Of course not, you might say. Officially, I guess not. But I'm talking about another kind of war. A war that sees innocent people forgotten about and cartoonists who dedicate their lives to making caricatures of those they disagree with, make worldwide news. 12 cartoonists are shot, and everyone's Charlie Hebdo but not once is anyone raising their hand to say anything about any of the hundreds and thousands of deaths that are happening around the world to people who have never said a word against anyone. Yes, the deaths are tragic and the killing is completely unjust. Yes, it is upsetting. Yes, free speech is important. Yes, the fact that Paris is closer to home is likely to cause a larger outpour of 'sympathy' and 'outrage' but whatever the reason for such a huge response to the Paris attack and the complete lack of response to anything else, even if that reason may seem compelling with the addition of a hashtag and more followers... IT'S WRONG.

mirror.co.uk

And David Cameron, where does he stand on all of this? Well yesterday he marched side by side with 3.5million others demonstrating their strength of feeling towards free speech and today, he decided that actually, all of that was bollocks and instead he's going to ban whatsapp.

Britain is at a turning point in modern politics where the likes of Russell Brand drive more public interaction with the subject than any politician of our time. It's a time where Twitter drives votes and UKIP is the go-to party for voters who are bored with the way things are - but then at least they bother to turn out and vote in the first place. The leaders of the parties are exasperating ridiculous ways to win public adoration, with Cameron's latest threat of refusing to appear on television debates without the presence of the Green party, either a wonderful stab at appearing to be a just and equal opponent or a step towards the naughty corner when broadcasts go ahead without him. It doesn't matter how bigoted, how ignorant or how wonderful the education at Eton was... the point is, that something is wrong with British politics and if we don't start looking for alternative ways to fix it, we're in trouble.

theguardian.com

I don't pretend to have the answers to everything, or anything in fact but I think a good place to start is the voting system. Of course, it would help if we had candidates we actually WANTED to vote for, not just ones we prefer over all of the others. But our 65% voting turnout is shameful. Almost 100yrs ago women fought for the right to vote which also caused the voting age of men to be lowered too. People lost their lives in that fight and now, most can't be bothered. Call it disillusionment, but those who don't vote allow the room for votes towards radicalism to rise. So why does the option to vote online not exist, to make it easy for them? People have jobs to go to and no time to spend queueing in a polling station. Online votes need to happen soon - either that or election day is made a public holiday for us to cast our votes, or we are allowed to take time away from work without the threat of no pay - as in some US states (California). It's a suggestion, which is far better than our current system, in MY opinion. We need to make it easy for voters.

123rf.com

As I say, I don't have an answer for anything. But I see that there is a problem and I see the worth of free-speech more than ever. There are people around the world who hate the ways of the West and hate our politics. If I'm honest, I'm beginning to hate our politics too and banning whatsapp is certainly not the way to go about changing that. 1 in 6 of our population are over 65 and by 2050, that is predicted to rise to 1 in 4. Is this society the one we want to see our elderly relatives grow old in? The one that threatens the UK's position as a haven for those in need, for refugees and for asylum seekers. The one that values bigotry over equality. The one that will vote UKIP out of indecisiveness and naivety?

In my opinion, we are at war - with morality - and somewhere along the line, we have to start voting for it. We have to stop jumping on the bandwagon of the next Twitter hashtag and look around for other issues. Issues that we might ACTUALLY care about, might ACTUALLY rally to change and change people's minds in the process. Who knows, you MIGHT even solve it, someone's got to, coz it's not looking likely to be Cameron any time soon. After all, democracy means 'power belongs to the people', so let's remind our leaders just that...just a suggestion.

The Missing Picture

'The Missing Picture' is one of the most unique documentaries I've ever seen. It is told from the point of view of one man, our narrator, as he recalls his experiences of the communist oppression of the Cambodian proletariat in the 1970s.

Vividly depicted by dynamic camera moves across clay figurines and remarkable archive reels that were interestingly camouflaged within the scenes, the film does well to keep the audience stimulated. The support of some abundantly sourced sound effects and music helped those clay lifeless people become the real people of our story, as they fell victim to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. We feel among them, we feel as though the narrator is speaking to us, as he does not preach, nor teach, just tells his story as remembers it.

The only images I have ever seen of Cambodia are post 1992 and therefore, the archive reels of a once bustling city and of dancers, were reels I had not expected to come from Cambodia. The nature of the film, told through the modelling of these personified clay figures, managed to turn off my reviewing senses and allow me simply to watch, to take in, to interpret and to learn.

The film was not one of fact, it did not provide an in-depth explanation of the period or regime, but it did through one man's story, encourage me to research it for myself. I found that:

• The Khmer Rouge forced over 2 million people from their city homes, to travel to the countryside and work in the same horrendous conditions as our narrator. 
• Since the end to the regime, over 20,000 mass graves have been found, and estimates range between 2-3million dead as a result.
• It's thought that an additional 650,000 Cambodians died of starvation within the next year.
• Although the Khmer Rouge were thrown out in 1979, they existed through until 1996 when they finally dissolved. 
• What perhaps is salt in the wound, is that Pol Pot, the man in charge of running such an oppressive regime, died in 1998, having never been tried for what he'd done.

I want to know more. How is it, that I never knew the extent of Cambodian suffering during this time and how is it, that it still continues in some way today, around the world? I will certainly be devoting time towards finding out more. I hope to visit Cambodia too, where I hope to add more than just an education on it's recent history and review an understanding of what took place there.

I read once that a successful documentary is when an audience does not return with comments of how something was shown, or how it could have been shown better, but when they talk about the issue of the film. If that definition is correct, then 'The Missing Picture' remaining, is for me to agree. A brilliantly unique depiction of human suffering and resilience. One I feel I would need to watch again and again, to truly appreciate the every detail of our artist's recreation.

3 Winters

Sophie Rundle & Jodie McNee - independent

'3 Winters' has endured a barrage of good reviews being considered a 'subtle epic' by TimeOut, but having spent 2hrs 40mins in the theatre, I left just as indifferent as when I arrived. The official National Theatre rating for it was 3 stars, Though I'd knock that back to two.

Siobhan Finneran - lovetheatre.com

Credit where credit's due, Jodie McNee as Alisa was full of energy and kept the audience's attention through opinionated insults towards her sister, Lucia (Sophie Rundle) and verbal attacks on political views of her father (Rawlins). Siobhan Finneran as the mother was great on stage too; tired facial expressions that said it all, comedy moments that were played out so perfectly as to suggest the growing annoyance and banter between husband and wife over the years. She was also wonderful to watch when looking after her elderly father (Laurenson). She managed the motherly position better than I have ever seen on stage. Certainly tops Brendan Coyle's performance in Mojo last year! Although on-stage husband, Adrian Rawlins, did not act with any particular conviction. It was more saying lines than acting them. 

Susan Engel & James Laurenson - dailymail

Susan Engel was among the best, as was her younger self played by Hermione Gulliford. They captured the mentality of a woman who has been locked away for all of her life as well as capturing her class in being brought up as a lady. Karolina, feels no sense of entitlement, having sent Marsha and her mother to the streets to live. But now, she is sorry and spends the next 66yrs becoming friends with Marsha's mother and living alongside as part of the Kos family. Lucy Black as Dunya with Dunya when acting alongside Charlotte Beaumont as the younger Lucia were joyous to watch as Beaumont captured the energy and excitement of a young child with a polaroid camera. Sibling rivalry was rife and it made the early years entertaining to watch. Although entertainment, or anything else, seemed to lack from the rest of the play.

3 Winters - NationalTheatre

The tale was dry. It lacked a point. It was simply a story that I felt had no purpose and therefore just didn't need to be told. It half-heartedly made a statement about hierarchy, class and entitlement but never really arrived at the point. What was it we were supposed to learn? That entitlement is false, that hypocrisy is rife or that countries prone to revolution are almost certain to face a conflict of interest and of values?

There was no resolution. I think that's my issue. The characters just went their own way which left us waiting for something to happen. And it never did. Alisa left one way and Lucia got married and went the other. What lessons were learned, we will never know.

To hand it to them, the cast did good with what they had, but they didn't have a lot to begin with.