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Thank you all.
Please help me
to welcome
Sydney,
who will be leading this conversation.
Sydney is
a filmmaker
and writer,
and Nina
is an actress and activist
who is one of the people
involved with the PWD program-
Person with Disabilities and is
part of AFTRA
and SAG,
this important program to bring
more access to actors
with disabilities into
the mainstream
films and television.
And Zac,
who is from Handicap International.
Anita is also on our selections committee for ReelAbilities here.
She helps us make the selections for what we will screen here.
Okay I will give you microphones.
Hi, I had the pleasure of meeting the filmmaker not too long ago, in the fall and seeing this film. I wrote to him to say that we were all going to be together watching it this evening and he sent a message which I would like to read.
Regarding the film, I would be glad if you could convey the following information.
The film has been produced for over three years in the city of Maputo.
That the film has been screened
in open air fields,
in markets,
and street corners
and suburban areas in
Maputo city.
Including the area that Victoria, Marianna and Vasco live.
They were also
insetted after work- not sure what that means.
I continue to work for the promotion of this film
and that the recognition of this film
from the multiple selections and awards
from all the different parts of the world
is also the recognition of the inspiring messages
contained in the characters stories and attitudes
coming from Africa and with the universal appeal
He also said that we would welcome
feedback from this audience, if anybody would like to send a message, I would be glad to pass it along. Anita and Zac, would either of you like to weight in here?
Hi, I'm Anita. Issac was right, for the "I am PWD" campaign,
it is the inclusion of arts and media with the people with disabilities,
I represent it,
I am the chair of that. But I am also
the East Coast National Chair of Performers with Disabilities
for both for AFTRA and for SAG,
Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of television and radio artists,
soon to be one unit, hopefully. I'm on the national board of AFTRA so yes, I've been really involved
I'm also an equity member. And fortunately I am also
a member of the cast of Musical Chairs which screens
tomorrow night
and I am so proud of that
film.
This film was one of my favorites, this film you saw tonight.
Because
of it's
international
scope,
for us to be able to see what the culture is like
in another country,
its diversity aspect,
I love these people, watching this so many times
and I love them so much,
and hopefully some day I'll get to meet them.
It's interesting how as much as it looks culturally so different from
what we deal with living in New York
or even America,
a lot of the things they're saying aren't
much different than what we ourselves think and feel.
Reactions, even from on the bus tonight,
we still
get the same kind of thing.
We're lucky, we don't
get too many buses
that just pass by us,
but I was in a wheelchair when I was pregnant and busses would pass me by in the dead of winter.
In fact, we had many people with the same issues, and the dancing,
we did a lot
of dance
stimuli, a lot of
dance work,
and I just loved watching them because
I've done some dancing myself and singing
and acting are my major things,
but I love watching that
and I'm very interested in
hearing responses from people of what they thought and what they felt.
I hope that you will be
able to talk to us as well.
Hi, my name is Zac Hudson
and I'm the head of a French organization,
called Handicap International which has offices here in the states in DC
and runs programs in several countries around the world
so thanks for having us here.
This is a great film festival and this was a fantastic film,
and I agree with Anita, my favorite part was the dancing, that was really tremendous.
I just wanted to talk to you a little about
some of the programs that we run
that kind of give a feel for the programming in that country.
We have offices in Maputo and several other areas in
more rural parts of Mozambique.
We run three different kinds of programs, I'll just start by saying that the organization
started along the Ti- Cambodia border,
a group of people who
were working with Cambodia refuges
who were land mind survivors
and from there developed the program that dealt both with preventative work
of mine fuel clearance and then also
economic reintegration, and psychosocial support
and physical rehab for land mind survivors and then
for others in the community who had disabilities as well.
In Mozambique we have a program where we clean mine fields
in areas where there are still existing land mines
from the conflict that was in the 80s.
Mozambique is a real success story in terms of mine field clearance
The casualty rates are now down to the single digits this past year
but they were in the hundreds back in the late 80s early 90s.
So a tremendous amount of people were either killed or hurt by the mines
over time.
So we cleared the remaining mine fields that were still there to prevent new casualties
and we also provide survivor assistance programs
For example a program that might need a small micro credit loan, like you saw in the film,
for a land mine survivor,
we are also doing some sort of
psychosocial
support.
We had programs that had soccer school programs
for people with disabilities.
Then we also run
in Maputo, a program where we
built up the capacity of local
organizations
who provide services to people
that are affected by ***/AIDS.
Particularly orphan children who lost their parents
but also psychosocial support or economic loans
and also building the capacity of local
organizations to help them
actually supply services.
And finally working with and partnering with local organizations to
run literacy programs for people
that have traditionally had problems
accessing educational services because of
their disabilities.
So running literacy programs, so that kind of
combination of different types of programming gives an example of the
type of resources that are available for people with disabilities
in Mozambique and the
kinds of programs that we run elsewhere.
If you want more information about this you can ask me questions, if I
don't know, I'll send you to the right person. You could also check out the programs on our website which is at www.handicap-international.us
Thanks.
One of the reasons that I find this film compelling
and important for me to watch is
the way it generates dedication, as you said, with
the disabled people in the film
and it's also
a film that looks out
at the social positioning of disabled people
in the society.
It looks at the obstacles
that directly
come from their social, their signifiers
their disabilities, bodily configurations
and also
because it
is a film that speaks
to the community.
Of the films that we've seen, here,
so far this week, or rather I should say, the
films I've seen so far this week,
there have been some compelling individual stories,
and one of the things that
I feel strongest
about, feel strongly about
this film
is the way that it shows
the bonding experience.
Non disabled people
bound together in our place,
but coming together in a sense of
community,
in a sense of
solidarity, in a sense of
working together
against the
discriminatory forces
that often are the meat of our conversations.
But then also to see the creative output
of a group of disabled people coming together
and using their
bodies in very
unique and
interesting ways
that are expressions of
how their bodies work, how they feel towards them.
That's part of what made it exciting.
So, shall we open this to comments, questions, thoughts?
Hi, my name is Rosangela. I am originally from Brazil,
and I lived in Mozambique for many years,
working with disabled people there, with a federation of Portuguese speaking countries,
and with other organizations from African countries that
also speak Portuguese.
I think that just watching the movie,
it is interesting that the main message,
and the main issues people face,
are the same wherever they are.
Knowing Mozambique a little bit,
I think it's interesting because you see
people overcoming, and working with the communities,
and just thinking that they have the same rights
and that they find their ways through the
process, even though we know that there is nothing there.
The guy can not even use a wheelchair,
because a wheelchair will not go over the sand
from
his house,
to the car,
to the
store,
even if
he will
have education of
artificial legs,
it is much easier to not use the legs,
and all that stuff,
and people continue surviving and struggling.
You don't have any education or immunization
from the government,
you don't have any education for your kids,
and people are still surviving.
So people survive for sure.
But I think how this film shows really really something strong.
So my question for the director would actually be
how the film is being used in this country and in other places to raise awareness
and what's the response that they are having, and
even commitments from
governments,
saying whoa, they are really strong,
what's next?
To give dignity, in another level for the people,
not only for the important ones.
Thank you.
I love what you've had to say,
I'm so glad you're here, it's great to hear from you. It's interesting that while you were speaking,
I realized what I love so much about this
is that it is from the perspective of the people with disabilities.
There's no narrator,
there's no voiceover.
I've watched this so many times and it was only tonight that I realized,
there's no narrator. Nobody actually speaks for these people; they speak for themselves.
I love that that's what it is.
But it took me, what, four or
five viewings to realize that.
We're hearing everything from their perspective.
That's a great question to ask the filmmaker,
how this film is being used to open people's
awareness.
Yes, hi. I just think that with that last question,
about where
you could go with,
I thought the beauty was that it shows
that these people are still finding that quality of life
in the truly meaningful stuff without even needing
those next
steps, which
I think is the truly
inspiring fact of the whole movie
and the beauty of it is that they have all these
circumstances, that there are far less fortunate,
they still have the same problems and that they are still
ultimately finding their purpose in their lives.
So it's inspiring to see that,
what the potential
would be if and when they do get that kind of support.
One thing I want to say about film, on the cinematic level,
the way it was shot, it's a gorgeous film,
and I think this film both
the way it's shot
and the way it identifies the characters within the film,
definitely has potential as a mainstream
film festival film.
By that goes back to the first comment, it really helps
get people talking and with raising
awareness around the world, and I know this film
is making attempts to get into
film festivals
based on still merit alone
and that would definitely reach an
audience that can get
things into
people's minds.
Hi, now I have the mic.
One of the things that struck me about the film is the
dancing, it started so slowly
and suddenly we don't even know what we're looking at, we are in a rehearsal, and then we're in a performance,
and we understand the formation of the company coming out
of this highly criticized narrative.
So one question I have is,
and I don't really expect answers to this, but I'm going to sort of ask them,
What is the dance doing there,
more specifically, why is
it that body movement is the
quote on quote, natural outcome
of this kind of political action?
The second question I would have,
because we could have seen them in an orchestra,
we could have seen them playing music, we could have seen them doing any a number of things,
but we saw them dancing, so my second question is, why dance?
And then the next question that comes out of that is
if dance has any kind of political motive going on there,
do we need to worry, or ask questions about
why the movement that is going on
is more closely identified with
North American modern dance,
and is that because there are
different kinds of questions about
cultural movement,
or were they culturally taboo, or untouchable,
so I'm just
kind of curious
about why we went there,
because there were so many places it could go,
it's beautifully shot,
it's highly adventurous,
but I don't get, don't have the understanding,
of why dance, why this particular family?
why here, why now?
Coming out of that,
my final thought is this is absolutely incredibly gorgeous.
May I respond to that? I would just like to add to that comment, because I was thinking about the film a lot,
along the lines of dance as well, and that
one of the things that I loved about this film,
is that we got to experience these people as individuals
and their spirits first,
and their bodies were quite evident,
but what was
revealed to us
throughout the course of the film
was their soul, you know,
and we develop a person relationship
with them along the way.
The dance for me was quite a surprise,
I had not seen it coming, nor was
I expecting anything
along these lines.
And when they finally did congregate, I was
pleased that they all knew each other,
but more specifically I felt that
the dance was simply
a choice by which they could all participate.
And simply asked to do, as I experienced it,
anything they wished,
in terms
of the
movement.
That became very expressive
and exceptional by the fact
that they were able to reveal
something else about themselves through the movement. We have time for two more comments.
Thank you, my name is Sidiki,
I am a dancer with the studio,
I am from
West Africa.
The one thing that I see, I see
the guy with the wheelchair
and we are the same, he doesn't know what to do with it
and with the dancing
he can learn
how to use this wheelchair.
It makes his face more happier, and with a smile.
Thank you.
Can I say something? Hi Sidiki,
you were with Terry right? I've seen you perform!
Isn't that amazing? He's a musician, welcome!
I'm not sure if this is what your question was,
but as far as the wheelchair was concerned,
he did mention that he goes without it because first of all,
he can't get on the bus, they won't let him on the bus, that's the problem.
I related to that because I wore my artificial leg when I do performances,
acting in roles where I need to have the leg, or
for some reason having two legs means something,
or if I'm tap dancing as a nun,
it's easier with an artificial leg,
but in other performances,
and in my every day life, I just don't wear it.
Or even when playing Risabella in Cats,
I did it as a three-legged cat.
And you know, the movement was much more interesting, much more beautiful,
that it would have been when I'm-
I could control my artificial leg well, it's beautiful, it's great, it's lightweight,
but it's a huge thing.
You're grabbing it, and pulling it around with you.
I've seen you move, actually, when you just leave the chair behind and go on stage and you work!
I do the same thing, and I think that's what
he was saying,
that when he sits in the chair,
it doesn't really help him too much. He can go on his leg,
watching this guy, move the way he does, crawling down the road,
across the busy highway,
I'm sitting there going, oh no! what's going to happen?!
But then I think, but that's me too, I could get there faster,
if I could just get on my crutches and go, and forget about it, you know
we have these, and we only need me things, we all-
you probably do this too, I make myself arm bands, and anything that will get you there easier,
that won't, you know, irritate your skin or something like that.
It's a great point, I also think,
I do relate to him, just leaving the thing behind and moving whatever way.
I think you missed the point. -I missed the point! Sorry!
His problem was the sand, somebody had delivered him the wrong wheelchair for that place. -Ohh!! -So he couldn't make it through the sand.
Oh! I know that there are beach wheelchairs,
ah, got it. Thanks for clarifying.
Also, I've just spoken for a long time on the wrong subject. Sidiki, I love you, I really do. Thanks for clarifying.
Hi, my name is Arna, I want to appreciate,
I want to thank everyone for the opportunity
to see this movie,
and there are many others,
that unfortunately not everyone will get the chance to see.
My question,
again involved
the dance.
It was a surprise to only see one kind of disability.
I was thinking, why there was no blind people,
I think then we would see it a little bit differently, I was thinking, why there was only one kind of disability.
It would have combined the emotions. Or why not people without disabilities, -right, well there were a couple of dances without disabilities.
I guess it's not a question, just a comment.
Let's grab one more comment over here.
Hi. I thought there was a fairly wide variety,
granted they were people with a disability inheritance,
there was a fair variety of disabilities represented. And the question is unanswerable, that's the way it is.
I like watching them interact and perform together.
Hi, I'm Zoe. I'm actually filming a documentary, and spent a lot of time in Mozambique working, and it's something every very close to my heart. I loved the film and I'm actually really excited. I loved what the filmmaker said,
that he's been showing it in football stadiums, and all over the country, and communities,
because I think there's two discourses that are now happening. One is- the problem with a lot of African films, is that they don't stay in the country. Other international film makers set to play them at festivals,
and it's so important to keep the discourse within the country, to address the stigma that
is so problematic there.
But what I felt so much,
watching it here in New York, is that
it's educating us on a completely different level as well.
The moment when she spoke about her relationship with her aunt,
and the kinship ties, the community,
I stepped almost out of the discussion
of stigma, or even thinking about that
to just that of
a real learning experience, to realize that it really just opens your eyes to really a different way of participation.
I want to throw in one thing-
One thing I have not seen a lot of,
is people with mobility disabilities,
who have children, who have babies, I have a 22 year old daughter, who I had on one leg, and
it's so wonderful to hear when Victoria says that
people think that if you are
pregnant, and
you have one leg,
or a limb missing,
or a disability,
that for some reason you must have been duped.
It must have been a mistake, it must have been..
maybe you were ***, it couldn't possibly be because you met someone,
loved them, and you can have a baby, got married,
and I get this from cab drivers, from people
all the time,
on the street, whoa your husband must be really special. It's like, huh?
And I've spoken to people in India, journalists,
who want to open people's eyes about this.
It's not done, if you lose a limb, you're un-marrigable,
you won't be married, you won't be leaving the house much.
I love that you're here also,
that this is an audience
full of really great people, who know much more than I do
about all of these things, but I loved that aspect.
Sydney, Zac and Anita, thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you all for being part of this conversation,
and really adding so much to it.
At 8:45 we're starting "Princess" in this room,
so we need to
clear this room so we
could test, and then you're all welcome to come back to see "Princess".
Do not miss "Musical Chairs" there are still come tickets left, so be sure to join us for that, and you'll get to see Anita up on the big screen.
Yes,
Please fill out survey forms.
Please give us your opinions, you could pick them up in the back.