Indigenous Voices of Climate Change Film Festival @ COP15

Goddag! I am writing to you from Copenhagen, Denmark--home to the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference- which begins tomorrow. I'm here to support my colleague Citt Williams who for the past year has been tirelessly making films in some of the most remote parts of the world for the Indigenous Voices on Climate Change film festival which we have organized at the National Museum of Denmark.

The film festival which kicks off on Wednesday is a collection of not only UNU Media Studio produced documentaries, but stories form around the world on how local and indigenous people's are feeling the effects of changing climate. A short version of my most recently produced documentary on climate change adaptation strategies taking place in Bangladesh will be screened at this film festival.

Here are the basic details of the film festival or you can go straight to the Our World site for more info.

Indigenous voices on Climate Change Film Festival

National Museum of Denmark,Copenhagen

9th – 13th Dec

16.00 – 18.00

Free Admission

Fifteen of the films screened at the festival can be viewed in the customized youtube play-list below. Use the button second from the left to scroll through the films.

If you happen to catch this post and are in Copehagen, please do stop by and check out the films. Otherwise, follow my twitter feed for more regular posts on COP15 and the film festival.

Hometown Baghdad on the Sundance Channel this Thursday night

Hometown Baghdad, the web-based documentary series that I wrote my thesis on, will be making its debut on the Sundance Channel on Thursday March 19 at 11:30pm. It's airing coincides with an important date--the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Let's take this opportunity to re-reflect on the costs of war. For international viewers, look for it listed on the National Geographic International channel. I hope to catch it there!

From Chat the Planet's email blast:
"Hometown Baghdad follows three Iraqi college students based in Baghdad as they try to maintain a semblance of normal existence amidst the escalating violence and chaos around them. The online version of Hometown Baghdad drew over 3 million viewers worldwide when it launched in March 2007. The series won three 2008 Webby Awards, and in the categories News and Politics Series, Public Service and Activism, and Reality. In an article about the online series for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pop culture critic Cary Darling wrote that the series' scenes of ordinary lives "offer a glimpse into a society few knew existed: young Iraqis who are clinging to a global, middle-class identity while the world around them crumbles into chaos."

My First OW2.0 Video: Will you eco-marry me?

My first Our World 2.0 story is up on the ourworld hompage. To read the article that goes a long with the article click here. Please visit the website and leave your comments there! Thank you!

Will you eco-marry me? from UNUChannel on Vimeo.

"Tokyo couple Shigeru Komori and Tomoko Hoshino embraced the chance to create a beautiful wedding day without leaving behind a huge environmental footprint. Both of them are passionate about the environment and so practicing their eco-philosophy on their wedding day was a true reflection of who they are and what is important to them."

Up sleeve number one (as promised in my previous entry)

As this message posts, I will be onboard a plane to Sydney, Australia. I'm headed there to do a freelance video report for Associated Press. The topic of the five minute video for AP's Horizons programming is on the current Peace Boat voyage in which 102 atomic bomb survivors share their anti-nuclear testimonies as they travel around the world. What an incredible journey they must be having as they connect with locals in 20 plus countries. It's a story that is much needed to be documented and shared with as many people as possible--as for some of the hibakusha this may be their last chance to share their story.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Nervous about my continual push to challenge myself as a storyteller, to meet AP standards, and to handle all the technical aspects of this shoot. Excited to be going to Australia (a first for me!), to meet with the Hibakusha and tell their story as best as I can. I hope that this will be first of many experiences like this in my lifetime. Wish me luck and see you back in Tokyo on the 8th!

(photo credit: Peace Boat)

Hometown Baghdad wins 3 Webby awards!

Hey, I just found out the exciting news that Hometown Baghdad, the case study for my thesis, has just won three Webby awards! The Webbys are considered the Oscars of the Internet, so this is a huge recognition of a show that used the web as platform to create dialogue between young Iraqis and the rest of the world! HB won in the categories of Best Reality, Best News and Politics: Series and Best Public Service and Activism.

Congrats to the Chat the Planet the producers of Hometown Baghdad!

Rotary International Peace Park and Hiroshima film

On April 17 and 18th, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Rotary International will be inaugurating the Upstate Rotary International Peace Park. Kola Badejo, the senior adviser on Africa in the United Nations Global Compact Office, will be the keynote speaker at a Peace Symposium as well as two Rotary World Peace Fellow alumni Carla Fantini and Jenny Favinger. My documentary film on Hiroshima will be screened on the 18th. To find more about this event click here.

Refusenik film: Trailer

Please click on the image below to watch the trailer for the documentary film Refusenik:

Refusenik film: Theater Release!

Hello~!
I am happy to announce a documentary film that I worked on back when I was living in LA will have a theatrical release. Please go to it if you can, not only for my sake, but because it is an inspiring story of a grassroots movement that spanned 30 years and which ultimately lead to the human rights victory and freedom of 2 million Soviet Jews.
To find more about the film, visit:
http://www.refusenikmovie.com/
and forward this information on!

love,
Megumi

----------------

RELEASE DATES:

SEATTLE

April 11th, 2008

Landmark Varsity Theatre

4329 University Way N.E.

Seattle, WA 98105

(206) 781-5755 http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/Seattle/VarsityTheatre.htm

SAN FRANCISCO

April 11th, 2008

Landmark Lumiere Theatre

1572 California St. at Polk

San Francisco, CA 94109

(415) 267-4893 http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/SanFrancisco/LumiereTheatre.htm

PORTLAND

April 18, 2008

Regal Fox Tower Stadium 10

846 SW Park Avenue

Portland, OR 97205

(503) 221-3280

NEW YORK

May 9th, 2008

The Quad Cinema

34 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

(212) 255-8800

link: http://www.quadcinema.com/

LOS ANGELES

May 23, 2008

Laemmle's Music Hall

9036 Wilshire Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90211

(310) 274-6869

Film: Rotary Peace & Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia

Here is the completed version of the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia 2007 video.

Rotary Peace & Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia
Uploaded by imagesofpeace

I'm very happy with the outcome of this video in which I spent the last several months editing. May this film open doors and lead to future opportunities in which I can use my skills to create awareness about great organization, people, and programs making a difference in this world.

"View from the Bridge" film at Slamdance!

Hi, here is another update on a documentary film that I worked on while I was living in LA.

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: STORIES FROM KOSOVO

Seven centuries of ethnic violence.

Seventy-eight days of NATO bombs.

One symbol of perilous peace.

The most critical political moment in Kosovo's history coincides with the SLAMDANCE 2008 PREMIERE of the groundbreaking documentary, VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: STORIES FROM KOSOVO. With Russia and the United States squaring off over the future of Kosovo, with the threat of renewed bloodshed looming over the province, and with all the world looking to Kosovo as a test-case for other war-torn areas, Kosovo is once again headline news. Within days or weeks, Kosovo may unilaterally declare independence from Serbia, a declaration that could re-ignite cold war tensions - or lead to civil war.

http://slamdance.bside.com/?_view=_filmdetails&extFilmId=viewfromabridge_slamdance

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE: STORIES FROM KOSOVO - the first feature documentary about post-war Kosovo. Confused with the earlier Balkan conflicts and overshadowed by Afghanistan and Iraq, Kosovo’s story may hold the most compelling lessons of all. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes tragic, the struggle to make peace in Kosovo exposes the human cost of the politics of hate, and reminds us that the ultimate responsibility for peace lies within us all.

SLAMDANCE 2008 SCREENINGS

Treasure Mountain Inn

255 Main Street, Park City

Monday, January 21, 7:00PM

Thursday, January 24 12:30PM

http://www.kosovomovie.com

Refusenik- Documentary Film World Premier

I am happy to annouce a documentary I worked on while I was in Los Angeles just had its world premier at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival on Thursday, December 6, 2007. Having worked as an assistant editor on this project, I poured over hundreds of hours of interviews and historical footage and the last cut I saw really shows the power of people coming together and standing up for human rights. It's a truly inspirational film and highly recommend you see it if you are interested in the triumphs and struggles of peoples' movements.

Synopsis:
REFUSENIK is the first retrospective documentary to chronicle the thirty-year movement to free Soviet Jews. It shows how a small grassroots effort bold enough to take on a Cold War superpower blossomed into an international human rights campaign that engaged the disempowered and world leaders alike. Told through the eyes of activists on both sides of the Iron Curtain - many of whom survived punishment in Soviet Gulag labor camps - the film is a tapestry of first-person accounts of heroism, sacrifice, and ultimately, liberation.

The campaign to free Soviet Jewry is a major event in Jewish history. By 1992, one and a half million Jews had left the Soviet Union to live in freedom as a direct result of what was likely the most successful human rights campaign of all times.

REFUSENIK illustrates how individuals can utilize the power inherent in a tolerant democracy and literally change the world. The tactics and methods developed by activists in this struggle became examples to the rest of the world, forever changing the human rights landscape.

One of the proudest chapters in Jewish history, the story of the refuseniks demonstrates the need for Jewish solidarity, the importance of the State of Israel, and the responsibilities we face as individuals living in a democracy.

Much of the material used in REFUSENIK is unique and exclusive to this film. Interviews with key leaders in the movement are some of the first ever to be recorded. Many of the photographs and covert film footage – some of it smuggled out of the Soviet Union – have never been seen before by a large audience, and help make REFUSENIK a unique portrait of this amazing story.


For more info visit http://www.refusenikmovie.com

Cambodia doc- Walking Through the Killing Fields

On our third day of in Cambodia, we visited the Khmere Rouge killing fields at the Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial. Please click on the image below to watch the video or click here.



I have found some resources on the web for creative commons or royalty free music:
http://www.podsafeaudio.com/
http://shockwave-sound.com./
http://stockmusic.net/
http://neosounds.com/
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

Though I haven't found any pieces of music that has jumped out and grabbed me, I'm very hopeful and thankful to these resources. I've also been talking with some composers who either work under the creative commons license or are just starting out and are willing to work for credit. So there's hope, there's hope!

Also this pieces is 5minutes long, which so far of the things that I have cut (including some footage of the slums, which I'm not ready to post) over 12 minutes. For the final 15-20 minute product, I wonder what will get cut?
You can always have you say if you comment below ;).

Cambodia doc- On our way to Cambodia

Waiting to get through check in at Bangkok airport, the Fellows comment on what their expectations are as they head to Cambodia. 1min
FYI. Blogger is distorting my aspect ratio.. not too happy with that...



So, what I desperately looking for is music. Does anyone know any creative common licensed music sites, where I can download different types of instrumental music- upbeat, down-beat, funbeat?
Music is such an important part of filmmaking, and I realize that the music that I select has a tremendous affect on my cutting.

Now, I'm on to the more serious sections of this project: the slums and the killing fields...

Cambodia doc- What Russ takes away from Angkor Wat

This mini movie is about the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program's last day on their trip to Cambodia. After a grueling week of looking at the many difficult issues of post-conflict rebuilding, these fellows take a day to enjoy one of the seven wonders of the world- Angkor Wat. Enjoy!





Progressing forward on my journey of editing this film- I am editing out of order at this point, this section will probably be the second to last as part of the greater whole, but in a way it has excited me about the over all project, as I hope it is exciting you as well. I already have a sense that in the final production, I will be re-editing some aspects of it, but this is definitely serving it's purpose for now.

So far this project has been a great lesson in how much more my camera work needs to improve. Of course, I think better equipment will help a little and thus my wish list is growing... anyone want to help out on that?

Getting started on the Cambodia doc

I have begun to edit the Cambodian documentary project that I shot for the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program in August. For my own motivational purpose, I will be posting stills from the footage.

The following images are from our first day in Phenom Phen, in which we visited two slum areas. First, we visited a highly-valued commercial property that is being occupied by both the original land -dwellers as well as encroachers. The government and their corporate partnerships are evicting these residents and relocating them. Unfortunately, the re-location land that my group visited (the other group had quite a different experience) paled in comparison to the eviction site. We met with entire families that lived in 4x6 shacks, they lacked adequate water and many of the children looked as if they were suffering malnutrition.

Well, not to paint you a too grim picture of the situation there.. here are some still images... as always the spirit of children to find happiness in any circumstance never ceases to amaze me...







From the re-location site:

Headed to Cambodia

Cambodia! Wow, what an incredible gift from the universe. I have been invited by the Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict in Thailand, to make a promotional documentary about their program.

When I was in Vietnam earlier this year, I thought of taking a few days to go to Cambodia since I wanted to learn more about the Killing Fields and visit Angkor Wat but now I am blessed with a full ten days packed with meeting NGOs, visiting museums, and seeing how Cambodians have dealt with restoring peace to their country. I find educational tours far more interesting then any tourist trip.

I am leaving Berlin on August 8th and will return on the 21st. I will be bringing my video camera only, so no slide show upon my return but hopefully with a month or two I will have a film to show you. I'm excited for the opportunity to make a film in such a beautiful country and to push my skills even further.

love,
Megu

Film: View from the Bridge

Hello, my friends. Here is an update on a documentary I worked on last year. I'm so happy to see the progress this film has made. I feelso blessed to have been able to work on this film that examines what happens after the worlds attention leaves a place of conflict. I'll keep you updated on any screenings in your neighborhood, please check out the website and help this film be seen around the world! xo, Megumi

View from the Bridge will premiere on January 16 at 7PM (CET) at the Kosovo National Theater in Pristina, Kosovo.

(Directed by Laura Bialis and John Ealer)
What happens after the bombs stop falling?
When news cameras turn away?
When America changes channels, or just loses interest?
In 1999, before Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and NATO went to war in Kosovo in an unprecedented exercise of military might to end ethnic violence.
Six years after the bombs stopped falling, we returned to Kosovo to see if a society, once riven by ethnic division, can build a lasting peace.
In the scars and the tears, in the nightmares and the dreams of the Kosovars, we trace a portrait of a remarkable people trying to build a future while inextricably bound to the past. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes tragic, yet always unnervingly honest, the struggle to make peace in Kosovo, captured eloquently in VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, provides a remarkable window into the profound human impact of the politics of hate.