writes

Quick and valuable reference material, such as a timeline of historical events and a synopsis of notable people in the country's history, is available in the featured volumes. In addition, a brief glossary, a bibliographic essay, and an index end each book (Reviewed with The History of Vietnam).

Movie Review 8th Annual Cine fest Petrobras Brazil-NY by Dr. Steeve Coupeau 13 June 2010

Coupeau, Steeve. “Movie Review of 8th Annual Cine fest Petrobras Brazil-NY”   New York 13 June 2010, Home ed: NYIHA MEDIA, Film Review Archive, 29 June 2010. http://www.nyiha.com/WORLDFILMFEST.html

The 8th annual Cine Fest Petrobras Brazil-NY concluded on June 12th with a successful performance by Os Palamares de Suceso & Maria Gadu and a screening of Oscar Niemeyer’s Life is a Blow. As in previous years, the festival featured films on environmental preservation. A comparative look at two film projects revealed best practices that made Tamboro one of the best films in the festival this year. Jorge Bodansky’s Within the River, Amongst the Trees is a fine documentary that explores the story of conservation in various sustainable development reservations in Brazil. The movie expressed the view of many native Brazilians that environmental laws should rightfully be established by local communities instead of being dictated from the outside. The film reveals widely known truth in conservation studies such the link between tree cutting and poverty. One of the best lines in the film is “People cut trees because they lack other kind of income.” Nonetheless, reservation residents are becoming increasing aware of the negative effects of tress cutting and have begun to emphasize conservation. The downside of the film is that it is largely produced by reservation members, who had no prior access to cameras. While this is a noble goal, it diluted the direction of the film. In contrast, Tamboro is a very strong contender as it exudes strong directorial emphasis on constant camera movement. The film is replete of aerial shots that move the viewer from urban to rural Brazil. It features the story of native Brazilians seeking to live in harmony with nature, while century old natural habitats in the rainforest are being destroyed by the logging industry.

Coupeau, Steeve. “Dr. Steeve Coupeau Goes One on One with Carlos Chahine, Director of “The North Road.” Rev. of The North Road, dir. Carlos Chahine. New York 26 May 2010, Home ed: NYIHA MEDIA, Film Review Archive, 7 June 2010.

http://www.nyiha.com/WORLDFILMFEST.html

Photo Courtesy: Bei Mec Film

The North Road marks the directorial debut of French-Lebanese director Carlos Chahine. This short (25 minutes) was presented on the closing night of Cinema Tuesdays Series during World Nomad Lebanon at the French Institute Alliance Française in Manhattan, New York. The North Road is a story of a man who came back from exile to bury his father. In an interview to NYIHA MEDIA, Carlos Chahine stated that, after 30 years of adaptation to France, his new country, his Lebanese roots started to appear.

Chahine recounts the challenge of accepting his old, native country (Lebanon) while engaging in tireless effort to adapt to his new, adopted country (France). The film compels consideration of the impact of war on the separation of families. One of the best lines in the film is rendered by Chahine, who also plays the role of lead actor is: “My dad died 20 years ago… but war kept me away.”  

Coupeau, Steeve. “Sweet Crude Captures the Tragedy of “Blood Oil” Rev. of Sweet Crude, dir. Leslye Wood. New York 17 June 2009, Home ed: NYIHA MEDIA, Film Review Archive, 1 July 2009.

http://www.nyiha.com/WORLDFILMFEST.html

Sweet Crude: A film directed by Sandy Cioffi and produced by Leslye Wood. Running Time: 93 minutes.

One of the best films to emerge from the Independent Film Center’s Documentary Film festival is Sweet Crude, a documentary that captures how oil affects every aspect of life in Nigeria since oil discovery in 1956. From one of the richest estuaries in the region, Nigeria is fast becoming one of the most polluted landscapes. Fishing families are hard pressed as the fishes are dying and the aquatic life is being destroyed by improper oil exploitation by multinational corporations, notably Shell and Chevron. The alchemy of oil and guns in unmistakable as more than 50,000 Nigerians have been killed by military bullets in defense of oil production. If the notion of “blood diamond” is now part of our lexicon, Sweet Crude raises the notion of “blood oil”. 

The movie gives voice to community activists, who presented their claims for (1) demilitarization as a prelude to negotiation and real investments in communities; (2) respect for the “Bill of Rights” which promised fairness in the distribution of shared revenues deriving from oil production; (3) remapping of how oil revenues are shared to ensure that revenues reach local populations, not just politicians. Some 13 percent of the 60 percent of the 60 billion annual revenues owed to the State of Nigeria are allocated to localities but seldom reach affected populations.      

Since the United States purchase more than 42 percent of Nigerian oil, advocacy for fairness in the treatment of local populations can play an important role. In this regard, Laura Livoti of Justice in Nigeria Now suggests specific actions that Americans can take to ensure achievement of justice. To take action:

New Yorkers Enjoyed Self-Discovery In Therapy at Cine Fest Petrobras New York by Dr. Steeve Coupeau

In Therapy by José Alvarenga Jr.

Comedy/35mm/Color/93 min/2009 in Portuguese with English Subtitles

The 7th Cine Fest Petrobras New York opened with an outdoor movie screening of If I were you 2 on August 2nd 2009 at Central Park Summerstage and ended on August 7th 2009 at Tribeca Cinemas. There were many powerful movies screened at this film fest.  Amongst them, one stands out, In Therapy, a comedy that captured transformations in the life of lead actress, Mercedes, while undergoing therapy. The 40 some year old Mercedes lives through a cascade of life changing experiences in both her private and professional lives. Moviegoers enjoy the comical and spicy encounters between Mercedes and people, new and old, in her life including Mercedes’ best friend, Monica. In the end, Mercedes discovers her new self and the public enjoyed the complexity of modern life in urban settings in Brazil including an all too brief scene on interracial dating.  This enjoyable comedy, beautiful shot in high definition, would appeal to a broad American and Western public accustomed to self-discovery in therapy.

Movie Review of The Miraculous

by Dr. Steeve Coupeau

The Miraculous / La Milagrosa

Rafael Lara. Colombia - Mexico. 2008. 35mm. Fiction. 105 minutes.

The film entitled The Miraculous (La Milagrosa) debuted in New York on April 17, 2009 as part of the 10th Havana Film Festival New York. The film narrates the story of Eduardo, a young upper-class dweller of Bogota who has been kidnapped by a guerilla group in one of the “miracle” abductions that occurred in that country in the 1990s. During his captivity, Eduardo faced many challenging situations and characters, which ultimately reshaped his outlook on life in Colombia.

The Miraculous, which enjoyed a theatrical release in Colombia in August 2008, is the first feature film completed by Mexican filmmaker Rafael Lara. Conversations with Rafael Lara reflected a deep connection to Colombia. The fact that Antonio Merlano, the young and talented lead actor in The Miraculous wrote a personal story about kidnappings in Colombia was a major incentive to focus on this subject. For Rafael Lara, this painful subject interfaces both with human rights and rejection the armed conflict. He adds “This is a story that had to be told because it is no longer a Colombian matter. It is a human issue.”

The film reflects valuable production achievements including Hollywood type action-packed sequences, explosions and special effects. It also reveals religious undercurrents including beautiful scenes of a church replete of butterflies. This is an intense film with characters on the edge, turning to religion as they face life or death situations. As many abductees are completely isolated and disempowered, they rely on faith to stay alive.

While The Miraculous reflects Colombia’s past 40 years during which the military, guerillas and paramilitaries have been involved in armed conflict, it is not meant to be a political film. For the filmmaker, “the film is about fundamental human values. It is meant to be universal as kidnapping is not restricted to Colombia and occurs in many countries.” The filmmaker strives to tell the story from an intimate point of view, with many angles, in order to place the audience into very real situations faced by victims of kidnappings.

 About Rafael Lara:

Lara’s production record also includes the television success “At the Edge of the Law” and the direction of a series of documentaries for Disney Channel Latin America. His forthcoming productions include “The Fifth Commandment” and “Red Lips”.

One on One with Jeremy Robbins, Co-Director of The Other Side of the Water

Magali Damas served as Co-Director

What were the cinematic challenges that you faced in shooting this movie and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge had more to do with the editing – finding a coherent story line through all the layers and angles and side-stories and characters.  We left a lot out, and the story is still pretty complex, but I think it came together well.  The cinematic challenges had to do with filming a moving procession that happened late at night.  We had to figure out portable lighting solution, and a camera stabalizer to follow the band in motion.

Is this your first movie? If not, how did previous work helped you make this a better documentary?

This was the first feature documentary for both Magi and me.  We had each done short projects on our own, and worked together on some short projects – so that experience all helped.  But a feature documentary is its own huge challenge, and there’s a lot that has to be learned along the way.

Do you see this movie accomplishing the task of transforming the ways in which Haitians are viewed in New York?

I hope so.  The goal was not to present a one-dimensional picture of the musicians as heroes.  I think that by revealing all the complexity and nuance and the different perspectives and different voices in the community, a viewer has to come away with a much more realistic and sympathetic understanding of the community.  And my hope is that viewers can also come away with a better understanding of the political, cultural, and class struggles that ALL immigrant communities in America have to deal with in some way.