National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid, takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world countries, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am traveling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

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Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling…

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National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am travelling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking. 

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention.

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am traveling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid, takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

 

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am travelling with him to this unchartered territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

 

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

 

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

 

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

 

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doc Diary-Part 3

I have more respect for filmmakers now than I ever had before. The glamor part of the profession is more of a perception than reality. Behind that glamorous facade, there is hard work, persistence and a passion to make something meaningful (I can say that at least for me and my team). Carrying those 30-plus pounds equipment is not fun at all. And light kit that light kit is a curse from god. Every time we check it out, I re-think about my decision to do documentary. So the moral of story is, if a light kit cannot make you leave your documentary class, then nothing else will. Also, later you might find out that setting up the lights is actually fun.

But the kit is just one of many hiccups in the process of making a documentary that you hope you will be proud of one day and of course that people will like it. There is no dearth of what can actually go wrong while the work is still in progress. Almost anything. Rain on the day of shooting, parts of shooting-equipment missing, source cancelling on the day of the shoot and so on and so forth.

Filming at and about the Ewing Men’s hotel in South Loop has brought in some ethical issues too, for us. Yesterday, we went with manager of the hotel Michael Bush to a homeless shelter where Bush distributed the flyers to spread awareness about the hotel. He said many don’t know that the men’s hotel even exists. As we started to film him outside the shelter, what I found most disconcerting was the vulnerability of the homeless people in front of the camera. Some raised objection to be filmed while some did not care. Some did not even look at us. They were too concerned about securing a place inside the shelter as not everyone gets to spend the night there. What made me uncomfortable filming was that we did not have the time to explain to them about what was going on. In order to capture the action, we had to start shooting right when we reached at the place because Michael had already told us that he will be done distributing the flyers in a matter of minutes. It felt odd to be encroaching someone’s privacy. Because of my past experience while I worked on the issues of homelessness in Chicago, I know that many people do not want to be recognized as homeless. Will talk more about this in class.

The film is also taking a toll on me personally. Meeting and talking to people with little or no resources, I sometimes become disillusioned with all the materialism around me. I recently went to a black tie event with my husband. As much as I thought I would enjoy at the event that did not happen for sure. I felt so out of place with people just talking about themselves, drinking expensive wines and wearing some of the best dress and suites I normally see in movies. These people have everything, I thought to myself. Family, money, kids, social life everything and still some of them it seemed wanted to be accepted, just blabbering words over loud music. Whereas people at the men’s only hotel seem so content with what they have in those chicken wire cubicles. They are frustrated and lonely but still most of them are like that at least they have a roof over their head and that they are independent.