The documentary “Kung Fu” (Gong Fu) co-produced by Beijing Wuxing Legend Production and the BBC has started shooting in Dunhuang, Gansu province. 

Mark Harris, who have won three Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, will be the executive producer of the doc. He will also write the script for the doc, which will be composed of interviews on the famous representatives of major Kung Fu schools and Kung Fu learners scattered among ordinary people.

The producer also plans to interview more than 50 descendants of all Kung Fu schools every year to form the biggest Kung Fu video library.

The entire doc will be featured with two themes — “legend” and “discovering”.

The doc shooting will run for ten years and each year will launch one new season. The doc will adopt new 3D motion capture techniques to enhance the visual enjoyment.

“Kung Fu” will adopt BBC’s classic double narration. In every single episode, two “Kung Fu seeker”, one from China and the other from Western, will lead the audience to learn about Kung Fu.

According to sina.com, National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel have had interest in the script of “Kung Fu” and plan to buy rights.

Source: sina.com (07/08/2012)

In this exclusive interview to ADN, the Canadian / Afghan director Ariel Snar speaks about his film “Boxing girls from Kabul”. He is also pushing international doc-makers to do more docs about Afghanistan and to work with emerging local film makers.

. Could you introduce yourself ?

I’ve been making films for about six years. After studying history, believing that I was preparing for an academic career, I had a life crisis during which I began making films. In a sense, I fell back on films.

At that point in my life I was unable to write or think normally and so I began using images to communicate and express myself. After this crisis moment, I had a hard time finishing my undergraduate degree, but I scraped through, and as soon as I had, I began working as a video editor, while making my own films on the side.

My work as a director and producer has focused almost exclusively on Afghanistan, including the two films I have directed for the National Film Board of Canada, “Good Morning Kandahar” and “The Boxing Girls of Kabul” as well as my early short film “My Fathers are a Foreign Country”, and a beautiful dramatic film I recently produced with director Sam French, called “Buzkashi Boys”.

. Do you live in Afghanistan or outside ?

I am a member of the Afghan diaspora, which constitutes one of the world’s largest populations of refugees. Most of my family, like many families was forced to leave Afghanistan as a result of decades of war and unrest. I was born and raised in Canada, and only began visiting Afghanistan in the last decade, after yearning to see my father’s country since childhood.

In 2008 I moved to Kabul, where I lived until spring 2012. I’ve been back in Canada since March 2012, but anticipate a return to Afghanistan this fall. Since Afghanistan is the country of my father, I have a deep bond with the place and people. But my actual experience with the country is limited to the past decade and the current conflict.

. Can you speak about your doc film “The Boxing Girls of Kabul”? 

For me, the film was not about boxing, but about observing the lives of young women in Kabul. Often in the west, people debate whether women in Afghanistan have been “liberated” by the international coalition, or discuss the relative state of women’s rights in the country. I wanted to add a level of complexity to this debate by asking viewers to simply sit and spend an hour observing the lives of real Afghan women who are trying to do something outside of the cultural norm. As a friend recently said to me after a screening of this film, as documentary film makers we are in favor of complexity, and should shy away from simple answers.

. How did you found the story ?

In 2007 I was doing research for another film about Afghanistan and I happened to come across a news article about the boxing team. Instantly fascinated, I tracked down one of the team’s founders—Kanishka Nawabi, the executive director for an Afghan NGO called Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU). Kanishka was enthusiastic about the idea of making a documentary and wanted to help.

In 2008, I moved to Afghanistan and continued researching the film from there. But there were a number of obstacles that needed to be cleared away before I could start shooting. I had the support of the NGO that had given birth to the team, but it was impossible to achieve the kind of access I needed without the additional support of the Olympic Committee of Afghanistan, the Afghan Boxing Federation, the coach of the boxing team and, most importantly, the girls and their families. I spent many months building a relationship with the team and all of the other organizations involved. Over time, I was lucky enough to gain the trust of all parties and I slowly began to shoot the film.

. Did you shoot in Afghanistan ? Did you had trouble to shoot there ? How long did you shoot and edit ?

What you see in the film took place over approximately one year, though I was shooting on and off for perhaps a year and a half, mostly in Kabul, Afghanistan. The edit took between three and four months.  There were many complications and difficulties associated with shooting in Afghanistan. I never felt that making this film put my life in danger.  But of course if you live in Afghanistan for long enough you are eventually confronted by the war.  I always try to keep in mind that whatever I experienced there, pales in comparison to what Kabul has been through in the past.

. How did you get the funding and support from National Film Board of Canada ? Did you have other International partners?

The National Film Board (NFB) is not a funding body for film-makers, but a producer of documentary films (as well as animation). So instead of simply granting funds, they work with directors to produce films, similarly to any production company. I have a working relationship with an NFB producer, Annette Clarke, and together we pitch film ideas, which go through a rigorous process of selection. The process is broken down into stages of research, development, and finally production. Although the NFB does partner with international organizations on occasion, this film was entirely an NFB production.

. Is it only for TV? You haven’t done a theatrical version ?

The film is just winding up it’s festival run (including Hot Docs in Toronto where it picked up the Inspirit Foundation Pluralism Prize), and will have limited theatrical release in Montreal. But most people who see the film will watch it on one of the TV stations that acquired it: France Televisions, NHK (japan), TV5 (Quebec), InDemand (US), 24DOC (Russia), DBS (Isael), KBS (Korea), and Latin America Pan Regional TV.

. Will you be able to show the film in Afghanistan ?

The film will not be broadcast in Afghanistan due to concerns about the safety of the film’s subjects.

. The film has been sold to broadcasters in many countries such as the US, French Canada, Latin America, Israel , France, Russia, Korea and Japan. Did you expect a so great distribution ?

I will use the National Film Board’s response: “In addition to the NFB being a producer we also are a distributer and sell international rights on some of our slate. Our distribution dept. saw something in the film that would appeal to international audiences. So this is not by accident. It was strategic industry practice.”

. Do you have new doc project in or about Afghanistan ?

Yes I am currently editing an experimental documentary about Afghanistan’s capital city, called “People of the 21st Century”. I aim to show the beauty and complexity of the place in a way that helps dispel some of the myths we Westerners hold about Afghanistan.

I am also finalizing an interactive documentary with the National Film Board of Canada (called “Portraits of Kabul”). It should be ready this fall.

. Are you looking for Asian or International partners for your experimental doc about Kabul ? will you have again the support of NFB Canada on this project ? 

“People of the 21st Century” is an independent project.  So far, the funding has come from the Canada Council for the Arts, but I will be looking for finishing funds later this year.   On all projects I am looking for partners wherever they may be.  I would encourage it.

I am always looking for new partners to help realize great films. I also hope to have a long and productive relationship with the NFB. Film projects are selected by the NFB on a case by case basis. I have been very fortunate to have the support of the NFB up to this point.

. After these 2 project about Kabul, do you have another doc project ?

After “People of the 21st Century”, and the interactive documentary “Portraits of Kabul”, I do not have any firm commitments.  I am currently discussing another film in Afghanistan, but it is only in the earliest stages.  I am always looking for new collaborations and connections with other filmmakers.

. Is it still possible to make doc in Afghanistan ? Are there independent doc makers (producers or directors) ?

Afghanistan does have many talented film-makers, and the film industry there is developing all the time with new film academies and programs for young film makers. I myself co-founded a small NGO to help develop young film makers, called the Afghan Film Project, and there are other organizations that do the same. It is to be hoped that one day Afghanistan will have a vibrant and thriving film industry. Certainly there is an appetite in the country for home-grown films.

International film makers who want to make documentaries in Afghanistan should think about forming partnerships with Afghan film-makers. This will help develop the Afghan film industry as well as resulting in better, more informed film-making.

. What do you think about the evolution of the Asian documentary industry?

Many of the best documentaries in the world are made in Asia, by Asian film-makers. Documentary has no boundaries. It is about perspectives. When people from across the world share perspectives with each other in a meaningful way, it can change the way they think about each other and result in lasting change.

. In the last 2 years, have you seen any Asian documentaries or docs about Asia which impressed you? 

Perhaps the Asian documentary that has impressed me the most in recent years is “Planet of Snail”, which I saw at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam last fall. It does what I believe documentaries do best: takes us into another person’s world and shows us our shared humanity.

Interview by mail on 6 August 2012

On August 17, EBS will open its 9th International Documentary Festival. As usual, EIDF will showcase a selection of film and TV docs from all over the world. Some of these films will be part of the 2 official competitions (Festival Choice and Edu Choice ). Others will be shown in different non competition sections such as KOrean Panorama, World Showcase, Docs on sports, Music Docs or Short Docs.

The Opening film will be “Bully” (USA/2011).

A total amount of 40 000 US$ will be awarded in the main competition sections (22 000 USD for Festival Choice and 18 000 USD for Edu Choice)

Festival choice

Jury: Ross Mcelwee, Nino Kirtadze, Likka Vehkalahti, Jacob Wong, Yi Seung Yun

10 international films have been selected :

. The Ambassador (Denmark/2011)

. Big Boys Gone Bananas! (Sweden/2012)

. Going up the Stairs (Iran / 2011)

. High Tech, Low Life (USA / 2012)

. Mama Illegal (Austria / 2011 )

. Private Universe (Czech Republic / 2012 )

. Putin’s Kiss (Denmark / 2011 )

. The Reluctant Revolutionary (UK / 2012 )

. The Virgin, the Copts and Me (France – Qatar / 2012 )

. The World Before Her (Canada / 2012 )

3 of them are from or about Asia :

. Going up the Stairs (Iran / 2011)

Rokhsareh Ghaem MAGHAMI

Akram, an illiterate Iranian woman, discovered her talent quite by chance at the age of 50, when she was helping her grandson with his homework. She was married off at the age of nine to the then 28-year-old Heydar. When her authoritarian spouse is out, Akram paints
as if her life depends on it. But then her “hobby” is discovered and an exhibition of her work is organized in Paris. This beautiful comedic documentary unravels the magic of art. Iranian woman Akram happens to find her talent in painting at the age of 50 while helping her grandson’s homework. She married when she was nine to a man 19 years older than her. Typical Iranian woman, she is illiterate, but with the language of painting, she starts to express herself. At first, she paints while her husband is at work, and hides her secret under the carpet. But when this amateur painter is invited to a Paris exhibition, the story turns towards a whole different direction. Since Iranian women must obtain their husband’s official permission to take an overseas trip, Akram, now officially a painter, earnestly persuades her husband. She coaxes him, threatens him, and decorates their house with her paintings to travel the world as a painter, but her husband thinks her dream is useless. The tension between this old couple, whose power situation has now been reversed, is comical; and Akram’s paintings are amazing. The camera faithfully captures this interesting quarrel and the old artist’s passion. Akram’s paintings embrace the hard yet fertile life of an Iranian woman. From the perspective of a young Iranian female filmmaker, the portrait of this old woman in the film contains all the colorful issues from the patriarchal culture, common in Islamic societies, to gender differences and to cultural identity. What message would this old, humorous and charming artist convey to Parisians who use a different language? It is somewhat consoling to look at an old woman who “goes up the stairs” to make her dream come true. (JEONG Minah)

Film page on EIDF website

. High Tech, Low Life (USA / 2012)

Director Stephen MAING

Film page on EIDF website

. The World Before Her (Canada / 2012 ) 

Film page on EIDF website

Edu Choice 

5 international films have been selected. None of them is about or from Asia.

. Deaf Jam (USA / 2011 )
. In My Mother’s Arms (Irak – Netherlands – UK / 2011 )
. Inocente (USA / 2012 )
. Tall Girls – A Story of Giants (Germany / 2011 )
. We Will Be Happy One Day (Poland / 2011 )

EIDF website

Source: EIDF

The outpouring of Chinese documentaries over the past decade has inspired and impressed audiences all over the world. However, the problem for audiences on the Chinese mainland is that accessing such films isn’t always easy. 

One forum in particular that provides a platform for such work to be enjoyed while at the same time giving Chinese filmmakers an opportunity to discuss their work with the public is the Indie Film Forum, which hosts monthly screenings at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in the 798 Art Zone.

Meng Xie, UCCA’s art cinema programmer, helped launch the Indie Film Forum two years ago. Since then, he’s witnessed growing interest from the public in new works from domestic filmmakers.

“Every month for this series, we present rarely seen Chinese indie and non-fiction films. I discuss the film selection each month with our event partner, along with filmmaker Liu Shu and film critic Zhang Xianmin,” Meng told Metro Beijing.

Last Saturday, the Indie Film Forum screened two documentaries from Guangzhou filmmaker Huang Weikai. His films were chosen because they feature “true stories of ordinary people,” Meng explained.

“Like most of the filmmakers we’ve already invited to this series, Huang’s films focus on issues not in mainstream media coverage. However, he doesn’t only document reality; he also experiments by manipulating reality, like with his film Disorder,” Meng said, referring to Huang’s 2009 documentary that examines Guangzhou’s rapid urbanization.

Another one of Huang’s films, Floating (2005), follows street musician Yang Jiwei, a rural-born guitarist and songwriter who moves to Guangzhou to eke out a living as a busker. Viewers learn about Yang’s hardships and his past love life as the film goes in reverse, beginning in January 2003 and ending in October 2002.

Huang drew inspiration for the film from his own emotions at the time. “The age of 30 is important for Chinese men, and I was 30 when I made it. The key objective for me was understanding how a man behaves at the age of 30 as a street singer,” he said. The documentary is a portrait of desperation and survival, two themes that run throughout his work captured without the use of music or narration.

Huang’s sophomore effort, “Disorder”, saw him break new ground as a director by experimenting with different techniques.

“I tried something new and edited material shot by other directors, and then took everything and put it into one film,” he explained.

Huang, who studied landscape painting at the Guangdong Academy of Fine Arts, admits he was unsure how to shoot documentaries when he made his foray into filmmaking. However, Guangzhou’s breakneck pace of development that he witnessed while younger put him in good stead.

If it weren’t for specialized film programs, a lot of smaller and low-budget films would remain unnoticed. Promoting such films at the grass-roots level supports filmmakers and gives the community a chance to experience something different in terms of cinema, Meng said.

“Our art cinema also screens over 200 films annually, including indie films, documentaries, retrospectives of cinema masters, video art, and experimental films,” he said.

Source: Global Times (08/08/2012)

Picture: A scene from experimental documentary Disorder directed by Guangzhou filmmaker Huang Weikai. Photo: Courtesy of dGenerate Films

The Traverse City Film Festival, the Michigan-based fest founded by Michael Moore, has wrapped and given out prizes to 10 docs, including “The World Before Her”.

At the eight annual festival, which ran from July 31 to August 5, The Founders Prizes were handed out in three categories.

The best picture award went to “5 Broken Cameras”, from Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, the Kubrick prize went to “The Story of Film: An Odyssey” from Mark Cousins and Nisha Pahuja’s “The World Before Her”, which claimed awards at Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs, took the world jury grand prize for best foreign film.

In a statement, the judges said: “The filmmaker had amazing access to the subjects, clearly earning their trust and getting them to open up to her and therefore to us. The result is an intimacy that forces us to pay attention, no matter how shocking the images.”

World jury statement about Best Foreign Film: “The World Before Her” | Nisha Pahuja

“The World Jury Grand Prize is given to a film that deftly portrays the search for identity by women who live in a culture that is constantly suppressing them. The plight of women in Indian society is hardly unique in that women are treated as second class citizens or worse in many countries around the world. The women portrayed in this film are yearning to find a path to some kind of self-determination, but their choices are horrifying to the western eye, further underling the limited choices they have available to them. The filmmaker had amazing access to the subjects, clearly earning their trust and getting them to open up to her and therefore to us. The result is an intimacy that forces us to pay attention, no matter how shocking the images.”

Full festival results

Film page on ADN database

Sources: Traverse City Film Festival, realscreen.com (07/08/2012)

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China Education TV, National Geographic Channel and Yunnan TV celebrated the opening of a summer camp they initiated together in Beijing on Aug 7.

It is the first time National Geographic has launched such camps in China in cooperation with local TV stations.

The camp, which wants to help more than 10 members from around China get firsthand experience of wildlife and waken the public’s ecological awareness, will be headed by Brady Barr, a celebrated reptile zoologist and field anchor for the National Geographic Channel.
They will go to the tropical forests in Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan province, on a journey to discover and film wild plants and animals, including the wild Asian elephants.

Two film crews of Yunnan TV will follow the camp. The program will be broadcast on Yunnan TV, Channel 3 of China Education TV and the National Geographic’s Chinese programs.

Source: chinadaily.com.cn (08/08/2012)

KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) and the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) have decided to join forces for the creation of two K-pop projects.

A representative of KBS stated on August 3rd KST, “The president of KBS, Kim In Kyu, met with the current director general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, and soon-to-be director, George Entwistle. He received an offer to hold a K-pop concert co-hosted by KBS and BBC, to which he suggested the co-production of a high-quality K-pop documentary.”

Kim In Kyu, Thompson, and Entwistle have all agreed to co-create the K-pop concert and documentary, and are currently making plans to make the projects a reality.

Sources: allkpop.com, kpopstarz.com (03/08/2012)

In this exclusive interview for ADN, the Canadian/Pakistanese director and producer Mohammed Ali Naqvi speaks about his last and new documentaries. He also explains the difficulties and importance of doing docs in and about Pakistan.

. Could you introduce yourself  ?

I was born in Montreal in 1979. After about four years my family moved back to Karachi, Pakistan. We spent the next several years of my childhood living between New York and Karachi, until we decided to settle down in Karachi in 1991. After completing my secondary education in Karachi, I went for my undergraduate degree to the University of Pennsylvania where I was a double major in Economics and Theatre Arts.

After college, I moved to New York in the summer of 2001 and formed an off-off Broadway theatre company by the name of B.L.A.H Productions. I worked with it full time either producing, directing, or acting in various plays from established American playwrights, or exploring new works.

Around the same time I also started pursuing film as a profession. I always was fascinated by the art-form of storytelling- stage or film or tv- were all just different mediums to explore within storytelling. Since then I have worked in a variety of genres and content: from feature fiction films, reality series, news, scripted comedy, feature length documentaries, and even web series.

. You have been actor, art director producer for MTV. How did you get involved and why are you so interested by documentary production ?

I always knew I wanted to work in film- in what capacity was something that I would ascertain for myself from trying out various roles. Aesthetically, the grit and rawness of documentaries appealed to me from an early age.

I remember spending much of my preteens and adolescence watching HBO’s non-fiction specials- being completely blown away by their specials or series. Sure there was the obvious “Real Sex”, “Taxicab Confessions”, or “Hookers and Johns” that would appeal to the voyeuristic sensibilities of any boy; but then I also saw amazing verite work – “Lock-Up: The Prisoner’s of Rikers Island” or “Hoop Dreams”. Non-fiction work of that time, demonstrated a human complexity not easily manufactured in scripted work. It offered a refreshing alternative to the black and white caricatures that mainstream tv or film offered.

. When and what was your first documentary as a director and / or producer ? 

My first film was “Terror’s Children”, in 2003, for Discovery-Times Channel.

The film is a profile of Afghan refugee children growing up in Pakistan in the aftermath of war and the US Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001

It received several awards: “Overseas Press Club Award: The Carl Spielvogel Award” for best international reporting in any medium showing a concern for the human condition and “South Asian Journalist Award”.

I started to think about this film after moving to New York in the summer of 2001, a few months later 9/11 happened. Prior to this point, my Pakistani heritage, or being raised Muslim was inconsequential to me. I think like many bi-cultural people, I lived a fairly compartmentalized life, adapting to my environment as needed. 9/11 put a stop to all that and forced me to be fully present. 9/11 was a tragic event. People were angry understandably, and Americans to their credit, made attempts at that time to cool down enraged reactions towards Muslims (not always successfully). Despite this, it was the first time in my life I really felt demonized for being a Pakistani or Muslim.

“Terror’s Children”, my first film, was a chance to go back to my home country and really explore the ground realties of this ideological rift between the West and Muslim people from my region. It was chance for me to look at questions in my own life, which I had never really carefully examined.

. After this first doc, how many documentaries have you directed ? produced ? 

“Shame” – 2007 (Showtime/ CBS Paramount)
The true story of international human rights icon Mukhtaran Mai, a Pakistani peasant who was gang-raped and publicly shamed in her village, but used her trauma to spark a legal revolution that exposed centuries of brutal tribal conflict and government mismanagement.

Awards: Television Academy Honor, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Special Emmy Award) 2008, Development In Literacy Honoree 2007, 2009, San Diego International Film Festival, Best Documentary 2008, Invited Participant US-Islamic World Forum, Doha 2007, Full Frame Documentary Festival, Women In Leadership Award, Durban International Film Festival Amnesty International Award 2007, Winner at the Chicago Documentary Festival, Human Rights Award 2007, EBS Documentary Festival Korea, Special Jury Prize 2007, Selected participant of AFI Project 20:20 – Film fellowship program sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts, Nation Endowment for The Humanities, The US State Department, and American Film Institute 2006, Pusan Film Festival, Pusan Promotional Plan Candidate 2005, Selected participant at the Berlinale Talent Project Market – Berlin International Film Festival 2004

. “Shabeena’s Quest” (2012) (Al-Jazeera World) (will be released later this year)

. “Two Children Of The Red Mosque” (currently in production)

For this new film, we already received many supports: Ford Foundation Grant Recipient, Tribeca All Access, Tribeca Film Festival – grant recipient, Tribeca-Gucci fund recipient, Independent Film Week, IFP Participant and Center of Asian American Media Grant Recepient

. “Pride” (currently in Production)
Hot Docs Forum Participant

. You start as a doc producer and then you produced and directed your second doc film. Do you consider yourself more as a director or a producer ? what do you prefer to do ?

My first documentary was an hour length tv special and was made for Discovery-Times, a joint venture channel at the time between Discovery and New York Times Television. Since this fell under the gambit of more news production, there was no ”Director” credit for the film. For all intents and purposes though- all creative and narrative construction decisions were shared by me and my partner in the film, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. (A fellow Pakistani and friend, who recently won an Oscar for “Saving Face”)

In today’s world of indie filmmaking- I think each member of your core team wears several hats. I prefer directing and consider myself more a director, but I end up fulfilling many different roles, from shooting, writing, editing, fund raising, promoting, and selling my films. I would love to sit on a director’s chair and wear an ascot and yell “Cut”- but that is just not a reality in today’s filmmaking world. Producing my own films as well as directing them is a necessity- at least at this point in my career.

. You were born in Canada, you speak urdu, hindi and little bit French, you live in NY and Karachi. Do you consider yourself as a doc maker without country or without border ?

I should hope so- at least it opens my options for approaching various film funds!!! At the risk of sounding idealistic, I at least aspire to be as you state, without country- without border. For me multiculturism is happenstance, purely by virtue of my upbringing. Having said that, I think by nature documentarians have an acute case of wanderlust and an anthropological curiosity.

. All your docs has been about Pakistan. Could you imagine to make a doc about another area of the world ? Do you have any idea ?

Everytime I finish a doc- I say, “This is the last time I make a doc in Pakistan- never again! The next one will be in Hawaii- or some other resort area and it will be about dolphins” I of course, eat my words a few months later, and find myself on top of some mountain in North Pakistan running after a terrorist. At the risk of sounding cliché, the stories I end up making pick me.

I have worked on projects outside of Pakistan, for example I produced “Big River” which was a Narrative Feature film in co-production with Office Kitano (Japanese Director Takeshi Kitano’s Production House)- but have not gotten the chance to work on feature doc projects not related to Pakistan. I have also developed reality shows and non-fiction series in the US that have nothing to do with Pakistan. I am very open to the idea of exploring different countries through a non-fiction lens, but I also know that I will keep also coming back to Pakistan- it is a country that disappoints me and inspires me all at once.

. During all your doc shooting, what has been your worst or toughest experience ? best souvenir ?

Worst Experience: I had been following gang rape survivor and human rights icon, Mukhtaran Mai for several years during the production of “Shame”. Since her own brutal attack, Mukhtaran had lead a countrywide crusade- empowering women who had been victims themselves to fight back. Four years after her attack and during the course of production, a 10 year old girl was raped in Mukhtaran’s own village. It was devastating. Mukhtaran of course, helped in convicting the girl’s attackers and supporting the girl and her family; but it was just so heartbreaking to see that after all her efforts, these atrocities could still take place.

Best Experience: On the same movie- “Shame”, which had a production period of four years: when I shot my last scene (which also turned out to the ending of the movie). When I first began shooting, Mukhtaran Mai’s village was a place from some other century- it had no electricity, no roads, and men and women lived separate lives; any intermingling between the genders could be met with severe punishment by the tribal council (Punishment that could include death or rape as retribution). Fast-forward four years, the village has three schools, a woman’s crisis center, a clinic all made by Muktharan Mai. But what truly left me in awe was that I attended a speech day Muktharan had organized for the students attending her schools. There in front of me were boys AND girls sitting together reciting poetry and applauding one another. This would have been impossible four years earlier and for her to have achieved this shift in her village’s mindset, is nothing short of remarkable. When people say that one person really can make a difference- it is TRUE, I have had the privilege to have seen in it with my own eyes.

. Your films have been selected by major doc festival all around the world but they have been mainly cofunded by US broadcasters. Is it more difficult to show your films and raise funding in Europe ? Did you managed to show your films in Asia outside Pakistan?

I have not actively pursued funding in Europe so maybe that is one reason I have not had any European co-producers (although this will hopefully change on my current projects). Outside of festivals, my films have been broadcast in Europe and have even been released theatrically. “Shame” was released theatrically in Germany by EYZ Media and the German Lotto Fund.

In Asia- EBS broadcast my film in Korea. YES Docu broadcast it in Israel. There were also several film festivals throughout Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia that have shown my work. “Terror’s Children”, since it was produced under the Discovery umbrella, had a large world-wide release as well. I think the world of documentary funding has changed in the last few years and broadcast commissioners are forced to take less risks in acquiring projects, especially foreign projects.

. You have already produced and you are currently preparing the production of several docs about Pakistan. How is the situation of documentary industry in your country ? in term of shooting condition, funding and broadcasting. 

There are several documentarians from Pakistan with a prolific body of work. There is no feature documentary market in Pakistan unfortunately. Funding is non-existant so most of us have to look abroad to get sponsorships. I am continuously pleased by the level of talent that many local crew members demonstrate.

Many local filmmakers will agree though, and it is a shame- most of our work is rarely shown here. Outside of our local film festival, my work has never shown here except for a 20 min severely edited version of one of my films on tv. The topics I tend to explore with my work are not easily digestible by many local audiences. A rallying cry for many local audiences and media regulators here is – “Why are you washing our dirty laundry in public!”, “Why do you always have to show this side of Pakistan, why not make a film about our local fashions or beautiful mountains” and my favorite “You obviously work for the CIA”, or something equally ridiculous. It is this attitude and state of denial that is pervasive throughout Pakistan, and it inhibits a lot of quality work from ever being shown here. I personally feel that I have never shamed Pakistan- if anything I have celebrated its people and its resilience, which is truly astounding given the socio-political climate of Pakistan.

Having said that, some of my work’s biggest supporters and its inspiration are Pakistanis as well !

. One of your new project, “Two Children Of The Red Mosque”, has just received the support from Gucci tribeca Fund. What is the story ?

Amid suicide bombings and U.S. drone attacks in Northwestern Pakistan, twelve-year-olds Zarina and Talha are pursuing different dreams. After attending madrassahs of the Red Mosque – they make different choices that promise to define their adult lives. Zarina recently escaped the madrassah, and her struggle to attend secular school and avoid marriage stands opposed to Talha’s journey over the next two years. Their stories personalize the hard choices facing modern Pakistanis living in rural areas, where on going ideological battles between fundamentalist and moderate Muslims are shaping Pakistan’s future.

. You have 2 other doc projects, “Shabeena’s Quest” and “Pride”. What are their subjects ? Are you still looking for extra partners ?

. “Shabeena’s Quest” – Shabeena, a school principal in rural Pakistan, is on a mission to educate an entire generation of girls and boys in her village, despite the threat of Taliban attacks and dangerous misogynistic attitudes.

This is a documentary short- Essay Style piece, in HD. Al-Jazeera World is the commissioner. This is for the Al-Jazeera Witness slot. We are completing delivery this month. I am co-Directing this project with Hemal Tridevi.

. “PRIDE” is a fly-on-the-wall exploration of one of the world’s most polarizing leaders: Pervez Musharraf. A former dictator of Pakistan, Musharraf lives in self-exile in Dubai, longing to return to Pakistan, but haunted by his persona as a corrupt double dealer. Pride chronicles Musharraf’s attempt at returning to politics, as Pakistan destabilizes and begins transforming into a hard-line Islamic state.

Currently in production and I anticipate completing it by sometime next year. I am looking for co-producers and funders for this project.

. Do you have new documentary projects outside Pakistan ? about/in Asia? If so, in which country and what subject?

Not yet

. In the last 2 years, have you seen any Asian documentaries that impressed you?

Well this one may be slightly older – but I was amazed by Burma VJ, stunning and beautiful film.

More info about Mohammed Ali Naqvi:

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Interview by mail on 26 July 2012

Distributor TVF International has acquired several new Asian programmes, and made a number of UK documentary sales.

It has picked up “Special Forces” from History Channel Asia, a documentary series that looks at Asia’s elite special ops unit; “Asia’s Underworld” from C&I Network Asia, which looks at the face of crime in the region; “Property Hunter” from Channel NewsAsia and “Martin Yan: True Passion” from the Asian Food Channel.

In Japan, TVF has sold one-off documentary “War Horse: the Real Story” to broadcaster NHK while Nippon TV has acquired wildlife titles “Common Ground: a Human Elephant Story” and “Facing the Storm”. Meanwhile TFC has picked up BBC science documentaries “Everything & Nothing” and “The Secret Life of Chaos”.

TVF has sold some 60 hours of content to True Visions in Thailand while India’s AETN18 has secured a range of titles including cookery series “Galleons of Spice” and cutting-edge special “Forced Marriage Unit”.

Will Stapley, senior sales executive at TVF, said Asia has a “hugely varied appetite for factual programming” and that “despite an increasing desire for ‘local’ content, our documentaries are more popular than ever with Asian buyers”.

Source: rapidtvnews.com (03/08/2012)

]]> http://www.europe-asia-documentary.com/2012/08/tvf-secures-major-asian-deals-rapidtvnews-com/feed/ 0 http://www.europe-asia-documentary.com/2012/08/taiwan-public-television-joins-asian-pitch-taiwantoday-tw/ http://www.europe-asia-documentary.com/2012/08/taiwan-public-television-joins-asian-pitch-taiwantoday-tw/#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:59:28 +0000 Editor http://www.europe-asia-documentary.com/?p=5828

PTS President Sunshine Kuang (second left) and representatives from Japan’s NHK, Singapore’s MediaCorp and South Korea’s KBS shake on their future collaboration in The Asian Pitch July 31. (CNA)

Taiwan Public Television Service has been invited to take part in The Asian Pitch to assist in the selection of high-definition documentaries for funding, broadcast, marketing and distribution, according to PTS July 31.

“We hope to have more contact with the international community and help our production team learn how documentaries are shot in other countries,” Sunshine Kuang, president and CEO of PTS, said.

Initiated by Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) in 2007, The Asian Pitch is a collaboration between NHK, Singapore’s state-run MediaCorp Pte Ltd. and South Korea’s Korean Broadcasting System. 

“Taiwan has been invited to join us because it shares similar Asian values with Japan, Singapore and South Korea,” said Junko Ogawa, head of NHK’s Global Content Marketing. “Documentary films from Japan are more scientific, while their counterparts from Taiwan demonstrate more emotion,” she said. “We can learn from each other.”

The program’s mission is “to uncover compelling human-interest stories that will make the world sit up and take notice,” as well as “discover new and hidden talent in Asia,” according to The Asian Pitch website.

The broadcasters finance three to four documentary films every year. Since 2007, more than 600 proposals have been submitted, with 17 receiving backing, including Taiwanese director Yang Li-chou’s “The Red Box,” about puppet master Chen Xi-huang. (THN)

Source: taiwantoday.tw (01/08/2012 )