A number of you may have heard of Pangea Day (www.pangeaday.org), the event that recently took place around the world and was billed as the Earth’s first global campfire.

But you may not have known about the Pangea Day Filmmaker’s Retreat — an event which only certain selected filmmakers were invited to participate in. Fortunately, there were three Bahá’í filmmakers in attendance: Bita Haidarian, Josh Homnick and myself.

The following is summary of my experiences at this phenomenal and historically unprecedented event:

In the evening of Friday May 8^th, there was a poolside reception for all of the filmmakers. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails were served, and it was a very impressive display indeed. Actually, I must add, the filmmakers were very well treated and well fed for the duration of the event. When I entered the reception area, I felt very much at home, surrounded as I was by filmmakers from all over the planet, and over the next few hours I met many more filmmakers, talking to them about their projects. I was deeply humbled to be in the company of so many accomplished film artists, all of whom were passionately committed to serving humanity in some way.

The next day was the Pangea Day Filmmakers retreat. To begin with, documentarian Jehane Noujaim and Chris Anderson, curator of the TED foundation, addressed us. It was highly significant to hear from these two individuals. Jehane’s work as a filmmaker was launched into the public’s consciousness with her documentary “Control Room“.

Soon after this newfound renown, Jehane won the TED Prize from its namesake foundation which gives winners $100,000 — and the opportunity to fulfill a wish. In Jehane’s case, her wish for world peace is a bit beyond TED’s mandate, so instead she chose to work towards it with Pangea Day — a live, global event simultaneously broadcasting from locations on every continent. The idea behind Pangea Day, Jehane explained, was to bring people from around the world together, through the universal language of film.

Chris Anderson reinforced this idea, sharing a thought I’ve really only heard articulated in depth in the literature of the Bahá’í’ Faith: “Whenever we look at the big problems we face, we see that they are global in nature. Therefore their solutions also need to be global. But in order to adequately meet these challenges we must unite humanity.”

He then said he regarded us as founding members of a movement of global filmmakers whose purpose is to build bridges into a new world.

After this stirring address, we were broken up into various groups with our own group leaders, all of who were accomplished in the world of cinema in some way. My group leader was Matthew Modine, the actor probably most known for his role in Full Metal Jacket. Matthew proved to be a truly lovely human being. Surprisingly, he had never heard of the Bahá’í’ Faith, but he seemed very interested upon hearing about it. We introduced ourselves and spoke about culture and how it informed our storytelling, as well as addressing the question of whether or not there was a universal narrative that connects us all…

[to be continued]

[Continued from Part I]

The next talk we heard was from Deborah Scranton, Matthew Modine and Lee Daniels on finding hope in telling terror tales. I very much appreciated this talk. Deborah has made a documentary on soldiers in Iraq called “War Tapes” and when she spoke of the need for her to remain non-political in her work, in order for people to listen to her, it resonated with me as a Bahá’í’. Matthew Modine addressed the tremendous changes wrought in the world since the American nation came into being, and how with less technology than is in your cell phone, we had landed on the moon. The theme he really brought home, which again resonated with my understanding of the Baha’i Faith, was how we as a species had been pulled together through technology. He added that the overriding narrative of our time is a global narrative. One thing in particular that Matthew said stays with me: “Your dreams as filmmakers can alter the way we live on this planet.”

Duncan North (“The Tao of Steve”) and Ondi Timoner (“Dig”) spoke about finding truth in a story. I was struck by Ondi’s comment that “Truth is achieved through a prism.” It reminded me of the Baha’i conception of consultation:

The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 87)

Following this was a talk by Udi Aloni (“Forgiveness”), Haile Gerima (“Sankofa”) and Marco Williams (“Banished”), who spoke on the subject of “Who tells the Story of the Other?” There was a lot of anger at the injustices in the world, as well as their lack of representation in the film industry. Haile, a Somali filmmaker, spoke at length on the difficulties faced by filmmakers of color. What impressed me greatly was her unifying statement that — while it is true that there is injustice — she had been touched by filmmakers of every hue and race, and that many different voices had empowered her as a filmmaker.

The last panel discussion was by Caroline Baron (“Capote”) and Alex Gibney (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”). Together they spoke of the impact of film on our society. To that end, Alex cited an example he learned of in making “Taxi to the Dark Side”. He told the story of how the U.S. military begged the producers of the show “24″ to change the hardball tactics of Jack Bauer, since it was giving new recruits the wrong idea about how to conduct interrogations. That was interesting I thought, and spoke of the complexity of the world we live in.

The last activity we did in our groups: shoot little films with these new and very high quality camera phones. So now I can honestly say I made and co-starred in a film with Matthew Modine!

The next day was the Pangea Day event itself, pulled off with tremendous aplomb. Everywhere I looked, everything I saw, seemed to embody a world-embracing vision. I won’t bother describing the remarkable program of inspiring short films, world music and edifying talks, but I do encourage you to check it out at www.pangeaday.org. I felt deeply humbled to attend both the Pangea Day Filmmakers Retreat and Pangea Day itself, and to be in the company of so many visionary individuals. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to teach the Baha’i Faith in a few instances.

I left inspired and aware of my solidarity with those likeminded groups and individuals who also see the world as a single homeland and all of humanity its citizens. And as a result, I felt a greater sense of empowerment and obligation in my work as a filmmaker. A great yearning came to me. A yearning to see more work from Bahá’ís, both infused with spiritual vitality and made for a global audience. The world is waiting for us and doesn’t even know it…

FILMMAKER AIMS TO DEMOCRATIZE SOCIAL ACTION
Technology Puts a New Twist on Mobilizing Fans

Iranian-American documentary filmmaker Bita Haidarian, whose work has been described as “the best hope for film and politics in Australia,” launched a groundbreaking project this week, giving her fans a deciding voice in the new initiative.

After placing a rough trailer of her upcoming film Finding Bibi online in December, Haidarian was inundated with positive responses. The film itself, which follows Haidarian around the world as she documents the lives of Middle Eastern women and interviews notables like human rights activist Mukhtaran Bibi, already serves as a clarion call for women’s empowerment. But her fans wanted more.

In response, Haidarian, the daughter of Baha’i religious refugees from Iran, announced the Finding Bibi movement this week. But unlike many documentary activists, Bita decided to bring her fans in at the very beginning. Rather than craft a program in isolation and mobilizing supporters around it, she is offering them the chance create the first project themselves. Using the ranking technology Slinkset, similar to applications used in social bookmarking sites like Digg, Finding Bibi fans are able to submit project ideas and other comments which their peers can rate by clicking simple up or down arrows. Over time, the most popular ideas rise to the top. After submitting the top five projects to a final vote, Haidarian has committed to working out the logistics and obtaining the resources to transform the best idea into a reality.

“By giving our fans an active role in building the organization and its projects from the get-go, we know they’ll be even more committed to seeing it succeed later on,” said Todd Brogan, Head of Creative Expansion for Finding Bibi. “We’re creating a cycle of empowerment. We give fans ownership in projects that will in turn empower women and girls to act against the attitudes and practices negatively affecting them.”

The website, FindingBibi.com, also features updates on the film and its most recent trailer, as well as regular blog posts on the constantly innovating organization. The film is slated for completion late this year.

To read more about this initiative, as well as watch the trailer and have a say in the selection of the project, please visit FindingBibi.com.