"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

Thesis update: Chat the Planet

Alright, there's a little over four months to go before I complete my 100 page thesis and turn it in. AHHHHHH!!!! Scary at the same time but incredibly exciting, as I will able to compile all that I have learnt and thought about for the past year and half. I've also just switched advisers (the previous one is retiring so I had to get a new one anyways) and I feel good about getting guided down a path of successful thesis writing.

My larger topic is media and peace but that as you can imagine is a pretty broad subject. I've seemed to have successfully ordered every book on Amazon.com that came up while searching for those keywords. Media and peace includes: peace journalism or sometimes called conflict-sensitive journalism; the role news media plays in peace processes; hate and propaganda media; radio-drama peace building media; information communication technology; citizen journalism and so and so on.

And while there is important information to be taken from all the above areas, I'm particularly interested in an uncharted area of media and peace. And that is, how does new media technology contribute to a culture of peace?

What do I mean by that exactly? Well, I'm interested in understanding first what is peace building media. What are the theories behind it? What has to be considered when making media that will effectively contribute to peacebuilding? and then how is the Internet or Web 2.0 being used to distribute this peacebuilding media (ie. through Youtube etc)? and because of the internet acceptability, does it allow for more interactivity and dialog between people (possibly people from opposite sides of conflict)?

My main case study for this thesis will be an organization called Chat the Planet. They are a youth media dialog organization based in New York and for sometime now they have been making media that brings youth together to dialog about issues that are important to them. Right before the war on Iraq began, Chat the Planet organized a two-way satellite TV show that brought young Americans and young Iraqis to talk with each other.

Their latest project is Hometown Baghdad is a webisode about three young Iraqis living under the US Occupation. Originally, they sought funding and distribution from the major US Networks but when they were turned down with reasons such as, "No one is interested in Iraq anymore," and "By the time this airs, the war will be over." They then privately raised money to hire an Iraqi crew to capture these every day stories and distribute it through Youtube. Well, their show was widely popular, so much so that they got a distribution deal with NBC later on.

Anyways, here is the first episode of their series which aired on the 4th anniversary of the war.




I'll be posting more thoughts on media, web 2.0 and peace over the next couple of months. Excited to be moving forward on this~!

Good Morning 2008!

There is nothing like the new year to reset your intentions and get clear about what you really want out of life.

I believe that this is the year that I fully step into my power. There are some big changes to be made this year and at times it may seem daunting but I feel that something truly positive is waiting for me.

For the past several years I feel that I have been "in school" and not just literally, as I have been pursuing my Masters degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, but also in that I have been training myself on many levels and gaining life and work experience so that I may step into what I came here to do and that is to use the power of media to create positive social change.

Over the next six months, it is my intention to finish a well-written thesis on new media's role in peacebuilding, to build a website and game plan for my "career," and finish a few more video projects that will be part of my filmmakers reel. I also intend to make the most of time left in Japan by spending as much time with my friends, many who will disperse far and wide to do good in this world.

I ask the Universe for guidance and strength that will pick me up when I am down, give me strength through challenging times, and open the right doors that allows me to do the work that I came to do. I see my biggest spiritual lessons of 2008 are letting go of control, stepping out my own way, staying in the present moment, and having trust in the universe and my purpose.

May your year be filled with many blessings!
love and peace,
Megumi

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

Thank you 2007!

I have had an amazing year and I just wanted to say thank YOU and thank the universe for all the fruits it has brought me. Here are some of the highlights:

• This year I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn to Vietnam. There I deepened my understanding of Buddhism: its practices and insights that create both inner and outer peace.
  
• I directed a 12 minute documentary film about my fellowships trip to Hiroshima to learn about the atrocities of the atomic bomb. Which can be viewed here.
  
• I spent my summer in Berlin, German this year to work for the amazing media organization Dropping Knowledge, which uses new media technology to incite dialogue on some of our most pressing social and global issues.
  
• I was invited by Rotary's Peace and Conflict Studies program in Bangkok, Thailand to document their field study trip to Cambodia. You can see the latest version here.
• I am focusing on my thesis on media and peace and every day I'm getting clearer and one step closer to it.
  

I have met some amazing people along my journeys this year and I am truly grateful for their presence in my life. I also look forward to seeing how the fruits of the lessons I've learnt and experiences I've had will continue to blossom in my life. Over the holidays, I will be refocusing and setting my intention for the new year. Until then, have a Happy Holidays!!

love and peace,

Megumi

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...