“I thought by going there and actually taking the time to watch and taking the time to film and taking the time to contemplate the complexity of what is happening, we might have a powerful tool. The film might be a powerful tool to initiate a dialogue between the different communities, to demystify, un-demonize something that is taking place and that people just don’t want to look at. And they don’t keep saying, ‘Ok, we cannot share the country with these people. There is no way we can be in the parliament, etc.’ So we hope the film will contribute to this dialogue.” — Karim B Haroun

Recently, I sat down with Karim Haroun in our office to talk about the making of MYSTIC MASS, his new film documenting the final day of the Ashura ceremony as it is practiced in Nabatiyyeh, Lebanon. Thousands of Shia Muslims convene to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein for this important religious event. Karim’s film focuses on the dynamics of the mass from its formation to its dissolution, sensitively portraying the community’s highly coordinated and heartfelt experience.

– Alice Apley, DER Executive Director

“That first time I went there was really heavy. It was emotionally heavy and I felt so confused, and I did feel like I had to do something, but I wasn’t able to process it all very quickly. I wasn’t mature enough as a filmmaker to deal with it, and I wasn’t mature enough as a person I don’t think… so I kept going back.”

— Jeff Silva

On one of Boston’s first beautiful spring days of 2015, I had the opportunity to meet with artist, filmmaker, and my former professor, Jeff Silva, to discuss his film, Balkan Rhapsodies: 78 Measures of War. Jeff had been working on his latest project in a dark edit room all day, and my visit was a good excuse for a breath of fresh air. We ventured to a park near his house to talk, so please forgive noises from the outside world!

Having studied under Jeff, I know his style of critique and have heard his thoughts about others’ films. We’ve had terrific and thoughtful discussions in class, but this was my chance to pick his brain about one of his own films, and one that had a strong impact on me. Jeff began filming Balkan Rhapsodies in 1999 and finished in 2008, and after nearly a decade of filming in the Balkans during a time of conflict and uncertainty, I was eager to hear about his experiences.

— Harris Khan, DER intern

“People can make a difference. By working together from the grassroots, as a collective community, we can make a change. Even though my films deal with a variety of different issues the common theme in all of them is grassroots empowerment – that we as citizens, if we come together in a collective way, can make a difference. And so, I’m really trying to, I guess, inspire people to be engaged citizens.”

— Robbie Leppzer

Recently, Executive Director Alice Apley sat down here at the DER office with filmmaker Robbie Leppzer to discuss the Turning Tide Collection. Released as six individual DVDs, this collection spans thirty years of Leppzer’s work documenting social activism at home and abroad.

When I started, it seems like I should have thought about this, but I didn’t really think about the universality of that story — of Feliciano’s desire to leave the village and move to the city. But, during the making of it, I became more aware of how that story is happening everywhere… And, even at some point in the making of the film, I realized it was kind of my story, too, because I grew up in a town of a thousand people and never considered staying there. I can’t remember a time in my life when I thought, “Well, this is where I will live.” There was always something better. — Jason Burlage

When I was at Hot Docs last month, amidst all the chaos and excitement, I ran into DER filmmaker Jason Burlage. Jason directed Mi Chacra, a gem of a film that explores rural Peruvian life through the story of Feliciano, a Quechuan farmer. The film is beautiful and sensitive by any and all counts, but I particularly like how it offers a counter-point to typical narratives of tourism which begin with the cross-cultural encounter. It is only as the the film’s story progresses through the seasons — and we come to understand Feliciano’s history and his hopes for a better life for his son — that we learn Feliciano also works as a porter on the Inca Trail. Listen to the podcast to learn how Feliciano came to be the central character in Jason’s film — through equal parts hard work and good luck.

— Alice Apley

Download the transcript (PDF)

Who am I to say to people that you can’t have malls [in India]? I mean if that is what you want, if that’s what expats want, or if somebody else wants, why not? Who am I to say this is wrong or this is not the way progress is, or whatever. Am I being objective? And that’s why I felt conflicted and in many ways this film was a great way for me to deal with some of those questions that I had within myself. Is there a part two? …The fact is there could be a part two. Last year, all the vendors went on protest. They closed down all the shops. Completely. Can you imagine that? — Lalita Krishna

Director and Producer, Lalita Krishna, received an Honorable Mention Award at this year’s Margaret Mead Film Festival for her film, Mallamall. While the closing night party carried on upstairs, Lalita and I snuck down to the echo-y 77th Street lobby of the American Museum of Natural History to talk about the film.

Lalita spoke to me about Mallamall’s inception, and why this was an important project for her. The conversation illuminated her ability to offer a balanced perspective on the clash between Western-style malls and street vendors. Her own background — born and raised in India — shapes her feelings of sentimentality to an old India, yet she is influenced by the desires for progress expressed by friends and family. Listen to my entire interview with Lalita for more on how her identity as both a Westerner and Indian influenced the making of the film.

— Alice Apley

A couple of days after Framing the Other screened at the Margaret Mead Film Festival — alongside Cannibal Tours, one of the inspirations for the film — the film’s director, Willem Timmers, and I took a walk on New York City’s Highline. We stopped to chat about the film, its NYC screening, and current and future plans for showing it in Ethiopia. Willem described the awkward feeling he had had working as a tour guide in Ethiopia, which led to him making the film; how he and his filmmaking partner gained trust in the community and went from “tourists” to “guests”; and how they found their main characters.

Listen to the complete interview for this and more on Willem’s experience making Framing The Other.

— Alice Apley