DUBAI - Last night's Operation Cultural Bridge panel at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) saw panelists, including American actor and activist Richard Gere and filmmaker Oliver Stone, debating the use of film as a medium for intercultural understanding and reconciliation.
Also at the head table for the highly attended event were Brazilian filmmaker Julia Bacha, Ethiopian film producer Majida Abdi, Egyptian film legend Mohammed Khan and Indian media personality Ronnie Screwvala. The discussion was moderated by Riz Khan of Al Jazeera International.
The Operation Cultural Bridge panel discussion, which grew out DIFF's objective to present films that stimulate intercultural dialogue and reconciliation, saw a diversity of opinions on using film as a medium for cultural understanding.
Mohammed Khan, one of Egyptian cinema's most prominent directors, suggested the filmmaker cannot bear the onus of building cultural bridges. "This bridge thing puzzles me. I make movies about people and they come from the heart. It is not for me to go and tell people about what this bridge is about," he said.
Endorsing Khan's view, Stone said: "I follow that. You make films as best as they can. You follow your conscience."
However, Julia Bacha, co-writer and co-director of Encounter Point, a documentary that takes a different look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said filmmaking has the power to tell stories that are not usually told: "I'm very interested in trying to tell the stories that you don't usually see."
Encounter Point presents people from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide who refuse to give in to hatred and vengeance despite grievous loss.
Her view was echoed by Majida Abdi, a consultant of the African Union on African Cinema and producer of the film Bamako. "Films can bring people closer and give a voice to the voiceless," she said.
Talking about the empowering role that films have played in India, Ronnie Screwvala, founder and CEO of UTV, Asia's leading media company, said, "films and television have shown young people in India that they can make a difference without being in power. They have been a strong influencing force," he said.
"We were thrilled with the Operation Cultural Bridge Panel, and thrilled to have the participation of people like Richard Gere, Oliver Stone and Riz Khan. We look forward to repeating it in the years to come as an integral part of the festival," said Hannah Fisher, Programmer for DIFF's Operation Cultural Bridge segment.
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© Press Release 2006
