I'm immersed in Auckland's International Film Festival. Prepare yourself for reviews and critiques. To begin I want everyone to go see this movie.....
Watchers Of The Sky
If movies were gems, then Watchers of the Sky is a diamond. The
film is about Raphael Lemkin who was
nominated 7 times for the Noble Prize for Peace without success. He was born at
the beginning of last century and suffered the fate of so many European Jewish
people’s horrific tribulations, but survived. He spent the rest of his life
attempting to convince the international community to specially prosecute
crimes against humanity and coined the word genocide.
His work in the movie is paralleled by that of 4 living modern-day champions of
justice. The audience is taken through a compelling journey of the last 100
years of mass ethnic, religious and political exterminations. We cover ground
from Nuremburg to Rwanda, from Bosnia to Dafur – as well as visits to the
United Nations and more. The session I attended was sparsely populated as
obviously this is not a topic many wish to reflect upon.
And yet as horrible as the content
was, this movie was uplifting and deeply beautiful. We were not spared the
crimes committed or the footage of evidence. Yet this film is art at its best.
The belief in and perseverance of the human spirit shone through such
nerve-wracking material. I left the cinema feeling subdued but not overwhelmed.
It has affected my thinking profoundly.
Apparently the movie was a decade in
the making and assembled from 800 hours of original footage – plus the archival
materials. The realities of what we were shown were counter-balanced by lyrical
ink-watercolour-styled animation illustrating Lemkin’s life, writings and
causes. The music was haunting, melancholy, evocative. The voices of these
remarkable heroes of law and peace from different nationalities are compelling.
They command our honour and love. Each courageous champion fighting in their
different ways for human law to prevail in the face of the banality of evil.
The United Nations and the Court of
International Law are flawed. Someone described our behaviour as a global
species as ‘primitive”. It surely is.
Yet Lemkin and these others are
pioneers in providing humanity with new conceptual frameworks for global
co-operation. Humanity must learn to prevent criminals who exercise total power
over their sovereign nations. Turning a blind eye always results in more
violence and more suffering. We must try to make Justice prevail so barbarity
does not.
These people are stars who
shine like diamonds in our dark sky.
In this film, suffering –
indescribable suffering - is turned over and made meaning of. This movie is
like a diamond, reflecting every vibrant hue of light, despite its formation from
the dark matter of genocide and war. The eons of tons of pressure of human pain
and perseverance succeeds in transforming the black into a translucent jewel. Edet Belzberg and her extraordinary crew
have gifted the world a radiant piece of art. Time and suffering reveal an inner
radiance of meaning - a diamond that will last forever.
I urge you to see this film.
The film was inspired by a book A Problem From Hell; America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
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