Tonight we headed to the Alamo Ritz to see a film that was made in a Northern Kurdish village in Iraq. The village of Goptapa was one of many that experienced the poison gassing that obliterated thousands of Kurds under Hussein's rule. The filmmaker, Mark Cousins, was born during the horrific turbulence of Northern Ireland 40 plus years ago. He lives in Scotland now and his narration is with a blended Irish/Scottish accent that is lyrical and captivating.. He looks through his lens with the eye of a child and he captures the pure happiness and natural joy of the children in this village. These kids are literate, love nature, know their history, and girls and boys play on equal footing. They are willing and able to take flip cameras and tell their story. The filmmaker brings them their first films to view and you share their jubilation at ET and THE RED BALLOON.
The Ritz wasn't crowded tonight and once in a while there were technical difficulties. So trivial when watching a film that made me even more aware of the power films have in bringing us closer to a world we know so little about. Even though we hear "Iraq" daily in our conscious lives. Thank-you Mark Cousins for this gift of a film. Thank-you as well for the beautiful music throughout. And as always, thank-you Chale Nafus for bringing these wonderful films to Austin.
Not only do I always appreciate your reviews, but I love your acknowledgments, too.
ReplyDeleteMore to the power of learning life through film!
Pam