Petr Lom had some unbelievable access into the lives of Iranians in this film. It is so rare to watch a film about people in a foreign Muslim country that seems genuine, but this one sure does. Lom had a film permit from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself. There is only one man more important in Iran, or so says the bouncer at the front gate of the mosque, the Ayattolah Khomeini, as it was his mosque they were trying to enter with their cameras. Ah, ok, I’m gonna say that I don’t think we should be disrespecting Muslim religious spaces. Seriously. Thank goodness the filmmaker backs off and we cut to another scene. I hope that is how it went in real life.

The most moving scene for me was between two women who were waiting to have a face-to-face meeting with Ahmadinejad, and as they sit and chat, the camera and mic are on. They move from adoration of Ahmadinejad, to their lives, which include having to save for 3 weeks to buy strawberries for her daughter and having to pay $17 for a hunk of meat for family dinner. The women held their scarves up to their faces either to hide themselves or unconsciously, I’m not sure which, but they didn’t seem to know there was a camera on them. I felt the pain of their poverty. Beautiful work by Lom in letting that moment happen.

I will be knee-deep in our annual fundraiser on March 5, but I got an event invite on Facebook that I thought you should know about. This is from Tom Capello about his fim A Powerful Noise:

As many of you know, my documentary feature debut, A Powerful Noise, premiered at Tribeca last year. Now everyone will have a chance to see it March 5, 2009 for one night only as we roll the film out to 450 theaters. I know what you are thinking, “But Tom, this is a documentary without Al Gore in it. How could it possibly be in 450 theaters?” Well, it has been a long climb and through the magic of satellite broadcast by Fathom Events we have made it happen in Regal, AMC, and Lowe’s theaters everywhere. After the film, there will be a live panel on solving global poverty and injustice that everyone can see and be a part of that night. Please make every effort to support this movement of women changing the world and support independent documentary film… And bring 5 friends with you! Since this release is nationwide, please invite at least 5 Facebook friends to go to the film. I am curious to see if my FB friends alone could sell out the film just by telling their friends to go and invite their friends. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! WE WILL ONLY SELLOUT IF EVERYONE BUYS A TICKET!

Panel Will Feature:

Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright
New York Times Reporter, Nicholas Kristof
CARE Ambassador/Model, Christy Turlington Burns
President of CARE, Dr. Helene Gayle
[Removed Unconfirmed Guests]

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