Documentary film makers learn from Obama campaign

TEXAS: Documentary film makers striving to spread their messages are taking lessons from the freshly crowned king of online community organizing US President Barack Obama.

Internet culture and technology are changing the business of making documentary films, from how producers find important stories to how finished works reach viewers, according to The Good Pitch chief executive Jess Search.

‘It is daunting for film makers because everything they learned about film is being taken away,’ Search said during a South By Southwest panel talk here about film and other media engaging citizen activism in ‘the age of Obama.’ The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation in Britain is behind Pitch, which puts new-age tools to work developing, funding, and distributing documentary films.

‘Where film makers are setting out with social change in mind, it is a time for becoming much more strategic about that,’ Search said.

‘Online techniques of distribution and community organizing that go into political campaigns can be put to work.’

The Pitch community connects non-profit groups and potential backers with documentary makers seeking film topics or funding.

It also uses Internet tactics to get finished works in front of audiences.

In the case of documentary ‘Chosen’ about sexually abused boys at a British preparatory school the targeted audience was a single government minister, who watched the film and initiated a formal investigation, according to Search.

In contrast, a documentary being done about overfishing of the world's seas is meant for everyone.

The Web will be used to orchestrate screenings in homes or at parties and to get the documentary posted on blogs and video-sharing websites.

Theater owners more interested in filling seats than promoting social causes can be coaxed into showing films by having people in towns sign online promises to attend.

‘It's sort of a death-of-television model,’ Search said. ‘You've been used to very bad television here for a long time.

As Brits, we come here to learn from you because it is just starting to happen to us.’ Documentaries took a drubbing under former president George W. Bush, according to Dustin Smith of Roadside Attractions, maker of the film

‘Supersize Me.’ ‘People on the right thought you were treasonous and people on the left were so depressed they didn't want to pay 10 dollars to go see a movie about what they thought anyway,’ said Smith, who took part in the panel.

Roadside partnered with a major Hollywood studio to promote its latest release about America's dangerously massive debt ‘I.O.U.S.A.’ by linking it to uncut versions of blockbuster films.

‘Before that we opened with regular commercial releases in art theaters and it just didn't perform,’ Smith said.

‘There are alternative ways of releasing documentaries, now and people need to tap into those. If you are trying to change the minds of people who don't already agree with you, then theatrical is not the way to go.’ Search said there are strong parallels between promoting documentaries and politicians since the Internet no longer lets either get away with simply beaming messages at passive audiences.

In Britain, documentary makers have started referring to viewers as ‘the people formerly known as the audience,’ Search quipped.

‘The downside is we lost the easy money and the mass audience,’ Search said. ‘The good news is that we have much more meaningful ways of reaching people.’ AFP

HAMILTON: India broke a 33-year drought when a six-wicket haul by Harbhajan Singh spun them to a 10-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first Test here on Saturday.

Harbhajan’s 6-63 wizardry, following an iconic 160 by Sachin Tendulkar, formed the cornerstone of India’s first Test success in New Zealand since 1976.

They wrapped the game up with more than a day to spare after New Zealand were all out in their second innings for 279, and India knocked off the required 39 runs in 5.2 overs.

‘It was a very special win because of a couple of players. Sachin getting a big hundred, Harbhajan getting his five wickets,’ said Indian captain Mahendra Singh Donhi.

‘It’s great to play with Sachin. Whenever he scores those big hundreds you can’t see anything better. I don’t think there were any bad deliveries that weren’t fetched for four.’

‘And Harbhajan proved a point why he is among the best and got us important wickets at the right time,’ he said, adding the next target was to win a series in New Zealand for the first time in 40 years.

A disappointed New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori admitted his side had been outplayed and would need a dramatic improvement to save the series.

‘In every aspect India showed us how to do it in this Test match,’ he said.

Brendon McCullum kept the Test alive longer than expected with a fighting 84 at the New Zealand tail, but it had been a lopsided match from day one when the hosts’ top order crashed to six wickets for just 60 runs on a benign wicket.

That highlighted the huge gulf in Test experience between the sides where India’s top six batsmen boast a combined 502 Tests between them, compared to 54 for New Zealand.

The hosts went into the fourth day at 75-3, fighting for survival after India had posted 520 in their first innings for a 241 run lead.

On a pitch which offered minimal turn, Harbhajan had India on the verge of victory midway through the middle session when New Zealand were seven for 161.

However, McCullum had other ideas, delaying the inevitable with a 38-run partnership with Vettori for the eighth wicket and 76 with Iain O’Brien for the ninth.

In doing so he ensured India would have to bat again and spared New Zealand the embarrassment of an innings defeat.

After New Zealand’s recognised batsmen had failed in the first innings, they needed to produce substantial performances in their second turn at bat.

But only Daniel Flynn offered any serious resistance, atoning in some way for his earlier dropping of Tendulkar when the Indian master batsman was 13 runs into what became 160.

Brought to the crease after Tim McIntosh fell on the third ball of the innings, Flynn stood defiant in the middle for nearly five hours and faced 183 deliveries for his 67.

He survived one chance on 55 when dropped by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Harbhajan.

But the relief was short-lived as he only added 12 runs before the wily spinner had the final say with a bat-pad catch to Gautam Gambhir nine overs after lunch.

New Zealand had lost the wickets of Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder before lunch.

Taylor laboured for an hour to reach four when he ran out of patience and slashed at a short, rising delivery from Munaf Patel and was caught in the gully by Virender Sehwag.

First innings centurion Ryder attempted to knock the confidence out of the Indians, belting a six and a four off a Zaheer Kahn over.

This only hastened the introduction of spin, and the arrival of Harbhajan hastened the fall of wickets.

In his second over Harbhajan had Ryder trapped leg before wicket for 21 and he followed with the dismissals of Franklin (14), Flynn, Vettori (21) and O’Brien (14).

It was the 23rd time the off-spinner had claimed a five-wicket bag and took his career total to 321 dismissals.

But it was Yuvraj Singh who ended the New Zealand innings with a quicker ball to McCullum which was top-edged to VVS Laxman at short fine-leg and his defiant 168-minute stand was over.

Gambhir, not out 30, and Rahul Dravid with eight then wasted no time wrapping up the match.

The second Test starts in Napier on Thursday.

PML-N’s Shafiq Khan: ‘We expected a big crackdown’

According to reports PML-N party workers have gone into hiding near Lahore and Islamabad in large numbers. Dawn.com’s Musadiq Sanwal meets with one of them to share his views with Dawn readers.

Dressed in a white shalwar qameez and black waistcoat, PML-N Bahawalnagar’s General Secretary Shafiq Khan looks like any member of a Provincial Assembly. I met him on Friday in a Lahore restaurant, where he arrived within 15 minutes of my calling him on his mobile phone. Speaking confidently, Khan claims that PML-N has already achieved 70 per cent of its targets and that all party workers are in hiding near Islamabad and Lahore. For obvious reasons, Khan does not elaborate on the innovative transport techniques that the workers are using. But he assures me that a hide-and-seek game is underway between the party and police and intelligence agencies. In his opinion, the party workers are proving quite successful in being elusive

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani says that he has brought a message of reconciliation and goodwill for Nawaz Sharif.

Talking to reporters at the Lahore airport here on Saturday evening, Gilani said the PPP wanted reconciliation to strengthen democracy. He said he would comment on his meeting with Nawaz Sharif after meeting him on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) says it has no objection in forming a coalition government with the Pakistan People’s Party in Punjab if Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani desires so in his meeting with Nawaz Sharif scheduled for Sunday.

In a related development, a majority of the PPP provincial legislators also voiced in favour of going along with the PML-N at a meeting in Lahore here on Saturday. It was presided over by former senior minister Raja Riaz.

After the restoration of deposed judges our confidence in the prime minister has improved immensely and we don’t see any problem if he wants the PML-N to again join hands with his party in Punjab,' PML-N leader and former provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told Dawn.

Praising Gilani, Rana said there was a positive feeling in the ranks of the PML-N for the prime minister. Moreover, he said the party had no issue with the PPP either which was very comfortable (with the PML-N) as a junior partner in the province before the imposition of the governor’s rule on Feb 25.

Rana Sanaullah said the prime minister had a reconciliatory approach and his role during the crisis remained highly appreciable.

'We see Governor Salmaan Taseer a main irritant in future PPP-PML-N alliance. Taseer is still taking a different line and the PML-N knows it is not the PPP’s line,' he said and added that during the coalition in Punjab none of the PPP legislators had any issue with the PML-N.

On the other hand, Raja Riaz also confirmed that the reconciliation process between the two parties could once again kick off in the wake of Gilani-Nawaz meeting at Raiwind. He, however, clarified that the prime minister was meeting Mr Sharif with the consent of President Zardari.

To a question whether Mr Gilani would convey president’s message to Mr Sharif regarding reconciliation, Raja said there was a possibility.

Raja Riaz further said that the PPP supported the Shujaat formula of three-party government in Punjab. The PML-N however outrightly rejected the idea saying that in the parliamentary system it would not work in the absence of opposition.

'This is also against the spirit of democracy,' Rana said.

Over 100 PPP legislators attended the Saturday meeting. According to some legislators Dawn spoke to, a majority of them wanted restoration of the previous set-up – PPP-PML-N coalition while others stressed for joining hands with the PML-Q.

Those against the PPP-PML-N alliance were of the view that after breakdown of the relations with the PML-N there was no point in sitting with them on the treasury benches. While those in favour of it said in the presence of a ‘bloated’ PML-Q forward bloc it would be unwise exploring possibilities of alliance with it (PML-Q).

Joining hands with the PML-N would help in strengthening democracy and allowing PPP complete five-year term, they said and cautioned, otherwise the PML-N would continue to be a ‘stumbling block’.