Documentary Shorts At The Riverview, Droid Shots, original photograph edited with Paper Camera, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2012, photo © 2012 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
When Liz was asked what movie she wanted to see before a belated birthday dinner at Blackbird, she chose the Oscar Nominated Short Documentary films at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. The filmmakers took us around the world, Baghdad to Birmingham, Pakistan to Japan. The presentation included four of the five films nominated for an Oscar in the Short Documentary category for 2012: Incident in Baghdad, Saving Face, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, and The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement. (The fifth nominee, God Is The Bigger Elvis could not be shown due to licensing issues.)
In 130 minutes, I swept through a full range of emotions. Saving Face moved me to tears one minute; the next I was smiling with the big hearted doctor who traveled to Pakistan to reconstruct the acid scarred faces of women attacked by their husbands. Incident in New Baghdad horrified me and reminded me how sheltered most Americans have been from the ravages of two wars.
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom had a visual yin and yang quality. Grief, destruction, devastation, and loss following the tsunami in northern Japan; delicate blossoms of centuries old cherry trees restore hope in ways “beautiful but not showy.” James Armstrong, The Barber of Birmingham, walked steady and strong through decades of the Civil Rights Movement, and listened closely when he cut the hair of Dr. Martin Luther King. His mantra: “Dying isn’t the worst thing a man can do. The worst thing a man can do is nothing.”
The men, women, and children in these documentaries survived against all odds. They are impeccable warriors who teach me to pay attention, find my voice, and not be afraid to speak out. They teach me to show gratitude for the gift that is my life. They teach me about courage. Through hardship and injustice, they show up and tell their stories to filmmakers who ensure their stories are heard. I hope you take the opportunity to see these films. They will inspire you to live life to the fullest, to take risks with your art and writing, and walk the way of the peaceful warrior.
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Incident in New Baghdad – 25 minutes – USA – James Spione
One of the most notorious incidents of the Iraq War – the July 2007 slayings of two Reuters journalists and a number of other unarmed civilians by US attack helicopters – is recounted in the powerful testimony of American infantryman Ethan McCord whose life was profoundly changed by his experiences on the scene.
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Saving Face – 40 minutes – Pakistan/USA – Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Every year hundreds of people — mostly women — are attacked with acid in Pakistan. The HBO Documentary SAVING FACE follows several of these survivors, their fight for justice, and a Pakistani plastic surgeon who has returned to his homeland to help them restore their faces and their lives.
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The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom – 39 minutes – Japan/USA – Lucy Walker
Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins. A stunning visual poem about the ephemeral nature of life and the healing power of Japan’s most beloved flower.
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The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement – 25 minutes – USA – Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday
Mr. James Armstrong is an 85-year-old barber, a “foot soldier” and a dreamer whose barbershop in Birmingham, Alabama has been a hub for haircuts and civil rights since 1955. The dream of a promised land, where dignity and the right to vote belong to everyone, is documented in photos, headlines and clippings that cram every inch of wall space in his barbershop. On the eve of the election of the first African American president, the Barber of Birmingham sees his unimaginable dream come true.
-posted on red Ravine, Wednesday, February 22th, 2012. Read more about the films at the links and watch a trailer at the Riverview website.
-related to posts: And The Oscar Goes To…, Eloquent Nude At The Riverview
Seeing those four films changed me, and that doesn’t happen very often these days. I left feeling differently about my life, and how I want to live it. Moment to moment.
I think Saving Face will win the Oscar. We’ll see on Sunday, right?
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Changed me, too. I am not sure who will win. I think of the people in these doumentaries often, can see their faces fresh in my mind. The films were all powerful, each having a different feel about them. I would love to hear the filmmakers talk about their experiences making the films, too. And all of the support people. Will look forward to seeing who wins. There is a lot of buzz about it this week.
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“Saving Face” won! I was delighted.
Now, how can we get our hands on the one we didn’t see? God is the Bigger Elvis?
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Thanks Quoin . Great article.I would like to see the Tsunami vignette. We were in Hawaii last March and got a glimpse of the terror, but we were never in any real danger and the Tsunami formed just a ripple in Kaneohe Bay on west Oahu.
Also they talked in Hawaii also about the cherry blossoms and their link to the Samurai mentality of life-its beauty, brevity and sacrifce They had a special name for this I can’t recall.
“If the cherry blossoms can hang in there
Mike.B
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Teri, I taped the Oscars and did not have a chance to watch until very late last night. I, too, was delighted for Saving Face and Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy! What a delight to see them accept the Oscar. And the doctor (I just had to look up his name) London-based, Pakistani-born plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad was in the audience last night. It must have felt satisfying to know that people are paying attention and want to make a difference. Bravo!
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Mike, I would like to see The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom again, for sure. The people in the short documentary did address the Samurai mentality of life, as you say, its beauty, brevity and sacrifice, and how it related to the ancient cherry trees. There was an elder wise man in the film who cared for a cherry tree orchard, someone I remember thinking was the Guardian at the Gate, who talked about the wise nature of the trees. They are long-lived and tough. Delicate when the blossoms fall.
There were a couple of scenes when the blossoms were falling everywhere all around people strolling under the trees and I saw nothing but joy in their faces. The closest I have felt here is when the cottonwood trees shed their seeds and the skies are filled with cotton snow. I’d love to visit there one day and see what it’s like to experience the cherry blossom season.
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Thanks QM. University of Washington also has a nice collection of cherry trees in their Quad. I have been meaning to ask you about the Pinon trees? What are these and they are in Taos?
Mike
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Link for UW cherry trees slide show.
http://www.washington.edu/externalaffairs/mediarelations/cherry2007
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Some commendable shorts in this Oscars list. Nice yto hear your views. Glad you had a belated birthday movie treat with Liz.
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Mike, beautiful slideshow of the cherry trees on your campus in Washington. I like how they supply the details:
What: Yoshino cherry trees
Moved to campus: 1964
Estimated age: 58-68 or older
Life expectancy: 60-100 years
I read that the trees are nearing the end of their life expectancy and they are making plans already to replace them. Love how they are thinking ahead. That’s a form of green. We planted a small cherry tree at the end of our lot near the road after losing another tree three years ago. Every year when she blooms, I run down to take photographs and give her a hug. She is an endless source of joy.
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Bo, we had a great celebration. And not a day has gone by since seeing these short documentaries that I don’t think about one of them. Very powerful films. Film is powerful in general. I watch a ton of movies. They inspire me.
Oddly, I watched one of the Oscar nominees last week — Tree of Life. I have to say, I was strangely disappointed. I wonder if anyone that visits here has seen it. I’d love to hear other view points. It seemed long and drawn-out and a little preachy. Normally, I like when films go out on the edge. But this one was a little too far out for me. I was left feeling disjointed and empty. I know other people really liked it. It had a lot of potential in the storyline but just fell short for me.
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Thanks QM. Yes have not been up there in a while, but they are starting to replace these. Interesting their life span is similar to ours- (60-100 yrs.).
Jodi Picoult is doing a reading here on Thursday at Seattle City Hall. Not that familiar with her work. Any thoughts on her?
MC
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Mike, I thought the lifespan was interesting, too. I thought that the cherry trees in Japan in the documentary lived to be hundreds of years old. But now I wonder maybe if I misheard that. Or do different cherry trees live different amounts of time.
I know of Jodi Picoult from her interview on Ellen. But am not familiar with her work. Intrigued, I just looked at her website. Here’s a link: Jodi Picoult. To be honest, she sounds like a person who would have a lot of good things to say about writing. I read one of her interviews where she says she doesn’t work on weekends, starts a new book the day after finishing the last, and it takes her 9 months to write a book. She’s got a unique niche, writing novels that revolve around controversial subjects. It does make me want to pick one up and check out her style. She’s been very successful. Let me know if you end up going. Would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
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Mike, I neglected to answer your question about the piñon trees. The piñon pine is the state tree of New Mexico and the state has thousands of acres of piñon pines. In the recent past, they’ve been threatened with bark beetles. I love learning about trees so I just looked up a couple of sites. I guess there are four species of piñons. Here are a couple of links. Are you planning to visit New Mexico?
Piñon Pines at Tree New Mexico (LINK)
What’s happening to the Piñon trees? (LINK)
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Thanks QM,
I will plan to check her out and see what she has to say, especially about the writing process.
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