start spreading the news...

Katty and I spent a lot of today trying out all the possible ways to let the people of Chongon know about the Media Project's cinema forum tomorrow night, a free event where one of the previous films will be screened at the community hall, and afterwards a forum will be held about the issues and questions it brings up.
We tried everything from putting the poster's inside triste-moto's (three wheel taxi's that are very popular here, 25cents per person for a ride! oh yeah!), and one guy wanted one on the front of his motor-cycle and then drove off yelling 'Vamos al cine!' 'Let's go to the movies' to everyone on the street! Hilarious! And then we went to the one and only local high school to advertise the film as part of it was filmed there (which i have to add, has 60+ students in ONE class, and really run-down facilities...major eye opener thats for sure)

crazy for the coco

my love affair with coco has begun

reflections after 7 days

Wednesday already. Exactly one week since I arrived in Guayaquil. The days feel really rich here, and much longer than in New Zealand. It's the absorption period of course, everything is still really fresh and new, and the language difference definately takes it out of you. But I'm getting by. It feels like I've been here for a month already.

I was saying tonight at the dinner table how I feel like I have finally woken up from a big big sleep. And as most people saw me back in New Zealand, for the last 6 months since leaving China it has been a major transitional time for me, full of anxiety about the direction of my life, my career and priorities - the ususal mid-twenties crisis. And now, even though physically and materially it's tough here (the power tends to go on and off most nights, to get to any major shop takes awhile, and the town I'm living in is pretty poor, lots of rubbish on the sides of the roads, and stray dogs!) but I feel like a weight has dropped off my shoulders. I don't have to worry anymore. I can be in the present and be content. That's one of my 'goals' for this year. To be in the moment and not worry about the future like I have been doing...anyways...back to the moment...hehe

We experienced some big questions today, mainly around the collaborative nature of the project. Is it possible to make a film without one major 'director' as such? Where does the role of consulation come in when making a film? How is a Baha'i-inspired film project different? What are the expectations we have on each other and of ourselves?
At the end of the day, in any collaboration, a decision must be made, and stuck to, 100 percent, even if you were in the minority of the decision. It's in the unity and attitude of the team that counts and that will be reflected in the fina product.
We are also training up others from the community to perhaps run the project in the future or gain skills to start their own similiar project, so that also brings in different questions. How to make those who are training feel a part of the team? How much of the team decisions are they involved in? What are their interests? How can we help build their capacity?
Anyways these are some of the questions I'm mulling on...and many more.

I was asked a question tonight that I know I need to clear on, 'What are my expectations of this project, and of me?' I know this expectation thing can get in the way of the work and my purpose, so it's good that I get clear on it now so it doesn't block my view in the future...so i'm refecting on that. It's a bit blurry at the moment, i can't really pin point what my expectations are right now. maybe thats a good thing...

and another quote that i liked from today, the producer of the project said 'the key is to take advantage of your test'. We were talking about the difficulties that will inevitably arise from being a part of a grass-roots project like this, and in the arena of service, how we view and work with the challenges that will come.

ok enough for tonight. tomorrow is the last day of filming for 'Abuela o yo' (Grandma or me) Hilarious title! And it's turning out to be quite comical aswell as poignant, all about a young boy from this rural town, his desire to buy the latest sneakers (its all about having the latest shoes out here!) and his family's crisis with his grandma's health. We are working with the local doctor of the town playing the 'doctor' tomorrow, and an old lady from the corner store playing the grandma. I'm quite excited, i love working with 'non-actors', they bring a freshness to the work, and perhaps will allow us to get more in touch with the community.

I wish I had a Mango tree...

Here are a few snapshots of today's filming session at a friend's farm near Chongon. I am now a giant itcy-bite. Note to self - never wear shorts and sandals when filming on a farm in ecuador...haha happy scratching!

Ahora es Ecuador!

It's day 5 of my Ecuadorian adventure. It's incredible how much can happen in such a short space of time. To sum up the last five days into a blog post...ah where to begin...so much change in such a short amount of time!
Well firstly, its HOT. And I mean sticky, sticky hot. 33 degrees at least and 75% humidity. And we haven't even hit March yet which is the hottest month in Guayaquil, the city I am living in. I have arrived at the hottest time of the year, but locals call it 'winter' because it's the rainy season, and well, there is no winter here!
So there will be showers of rain, thunder and then intense sun on and off the whole day. I feel like I'm adjusting to the warmth pretty well, i hear the words from a book by Ruhiyyah Khanum, 'People in the west pay so much money for sauna's, when in the tropics you can live in one for free!'
The warmth of this place is matched by the people. Friendly, warm-hearted and out-going.
Since arriving here on Wednesday it has been bang bang bang, busy straight away! Meetings with script-writers writing the next series of films for the project, consultations with the production team, rehearsals with the actors for the project, and tomorrow we begin filming the next installment.
What is this 'project' you may be wondering. It's called 'Medios para la Transformacion' - Media for Transformation. It was born out of consultations at the Baha'i World Centre about the role of Media and Social Change. The project here in Ecuador is working at a grass-roots level with the people of Chongon, a poor rural area outside the large city of Guayaquil, in creating a deeper discourse and reflection on various social issues that affect them, by using the mediums of video and other art forms such as posters and theatre, and then providing community forums where the video is presented and a dialogue begins.

The project has been running for just under one year already. My role is slowly evolving each day, today I helped direct and train the actors as well as consult with the producers about the overall running of the project.

This is the first stage of the film forums, so there is a lot more learning to be had about engaging the community of Chongon more, especially in the forums, finding ways to really get them reflecting on the issues...I'll be experiencing my first forum this Friday night, can't wait!

It's getting late so thats all for now, we're up early tomorrow filming at a near-by farm. I hope to write a lot more questions and learnings on here, and for you to share your thoughts too!
Hasta pronto!

taking shade

a little story, been on my mind for some time now.

so, last sunday, a small group of us headed to a northern shanghai park (hour plus out of the city) for a birthday picnic.
now a park in china, isnt just like any old park. this park had a rollar-coaster, a flying fox/rope type contraption that swings you over a lake strapped in like a butterfly, acres of green grass to SIT ON (a rarity in china, most parks you can look at the grass but not touch), roses to smell, horses to ride, brides to watch their wedding pictures being taken, bamboo forests to explore, and views on the huangpu river to see...

a beautiful warm shanghai summer day. we sat and ate a gorgeous lunch of mediterrean bread (non sweet bread in china!! OH MY!) olives, dumplings, and filipino spiced kebabs, sitting on a blanket, watching parents play with their kids, flying kites and kicking soccer balls. bliss. it has been years since i have had a picnic in the park. and i miss it. something so utterly relaxing about it. and just to touch grass again...ohhhh after life in haifa and a year in china its a shock to actually find a massive patch to rest on...hmmm childhood memories of lazy weekends by the waiwhetu stream, or running in the bush tracks behind my old house...yum.

the five of us casually strolled around the park, taking it all in, hiring peddle boats and laughing as we exhaust ourselves, and crash into fellow riders...my steering skills were never great!
and as we got off the boats my friend's phone rang.
he picked it up.
it was his family, calling from Iran to wish his wife a happy birthday. you could hear the excitement in his voice, he passed the phone onto his wife, then something happend, a quietness in her voice, a silence, she walked away from the group as tears rolled down her eyes while talking.
Her mother-in law was now on the phone, calling from Evin prison, where she has been held for over a year because of her Baha'i beliefs. The prison allow her to make the occasional phone call. She had called her family in Iran, who were now holding up the phone to another phone (the line that called my friend in Shanghai).
just imagining this.
they had not spoken for a while and were waiting to hear news about her. and now on my friend's birthday she rings from prison barracks in Iran.

What an incredible contrast.
A reality check. As I stand here, free and content with my friends in a park in China.


Her spirits were high, they told me after the phone coversations had ended, but still no word on a trial or any hint of a release. The whole situation is entire breach of human rights.

For those of you reading this and know little about the terrible situation facing Bahai's in Iran refer to this website:
http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update/

Then I thought more about it, her son, being here in China, and the bounties we have, the service oppurtunities, and her connection to it all, crisis and victory, light and darkness...imagining her praying for her son in her prison cell and now being on the other side, seeing the light and radiance that both he and his wife eminate.

a friend reminded me of this quote of Baha'u'llah that i would like to conclude with...

"Should they cast Him into a fire kindled on the continent, He will assuredly rear His head in the midmost heart of the ocean and proclaim: "He is the Lord of all that are in heaven and all that are on earth!" And if they cast Him into a darksome pit, they will find Him seated on earth's loftiest heights calling aloud to all mankind: "Lo, the Desire of the World is come in His majesty, His sovereignty, His transcendent dominion!" And if He be buried beneath the depths of the earth, His Spirit soaring to the apex of heaven shall peal the summons: "Behold ye the coming of the Glory; witness ye the Kingdom of God, the Most Holy, the Gracious, the All-Powerful!" And if they shed His blood, every drop thereof shall cry out and invoke God in this Name through which the fragrance of His raiment hath been diffused in all directions."

(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)

Acting up...

It's one day before opening.
My first 'proper' play in China.
California Suite by Neil Simon (not exactly chinese but hey!)
Last night we moved into the space for the first time. Big theater, seats 350+ people,in an old art deco style building, big bannisters, furniture that looks like it came out of a vintage film (smells like it hasn't been aired since then also!).

It has been a while.I have been chomping at the bit to act. ever since graduating drama school in 2006, but Haifa called, and then China so acting hasn;t been at the forefront for some time... but it's been constantly in my thoughts,that dream, that vision, that career
goal that you have never really kick started...so finally...here I am. About to tread the boards again...now in Shanghai. exhilarating.

There is something magical about theatre. Both as an actor and as an audience member. It requires a quality of listening,of total mind body and spirit engagement,of deep empathy, that society sometimes steps over its its rush to 'progress'.
That's what's drawn me to it, even as a kid, to be in someone else's shoes for a moment, to see life from their perspective, to hear their stories, to see and feel the struggles that unite us, or divide us, that make us human. The magic of being transported to someone else's world for just an hour or two...

I'm acting with East West Theatre, a semi-professional theatre group, the only english speaking group I have come across so far in Shanghai that consistently puts on shows.
We are a mix of nationalities - from the US, to South Africa, to China, to England, Singapore and New Zealand (hehe). Most of us come from a background in drama, either having studied it at uni or worked professionally in the field before coming to China. It's a transient group, the nature of Shanghai, people always coming and going, but there is a real gun-ho attitude that keeps this company going from strength to strength, I mean it's totally voluntary, and everyone is there because they love it and want to build up more of a scene in Shanghai. And the support is great, from the sponsorship deals with Marks and Spencers, to the set being donated by Sofatel, to stage managers and techies that stay up all hours even when they have their day job early start the next day...that spirit of unity in theater, i love it, a random assortment of people, from all walks of life, coming together for one common love...

So the show we are doing is 'California Suite' a 70's Neil Simon Play, the master of American wit. It's set in a hotel room in LA, and there are four acts of various incidences that could only happen in a hotel room...I'm in the opening act, playing Hannah Warren, a 42 year old New York editor meeting her ex-husband whom she hasn't seen for 9years to discuss the custody of their 17yr old daughter who just ran away from her to LA. It's written like a round of gun fire, with witty bantering back and forth nearly the whole time,it's all about the timing, the rhythmical language of Neil Simon, but the layers of sadness and desperation that you start unpacking from the seemingly 'light' text...wow...that's what i love about this process...nothing is what it seems...just when you think you have understand a line, another meaning comes...all depending on the quality of listening and responding...yum.
The other scenes include a wife who catches her husband cheating on her, a closet couple from England on their way to the Oscars, a group of friends who have been holidaying together for too long and things start to get very tense...yep, the joy's of hotel life.

We had a very short rehearsal period, only like three weeks...but as theater tends to do, it is coming together nicely...
And as fate would have it, this weekend the director of NZ Drama school, my old stomping grounds, and the head of acting + fellow students just happen to be visiting Shanghai for a conference...and may pay a visit...slightly nerve wracking considering this is my first 'big' theater gig since graduating, but also a kinda blessing in a way...to get honest, clear and concise feedback and support from those who know you and witnessed your growth in the rigorous (and sometimes horrific) three year drama school training process...
Time to put it into practise...heheeeeee