Monday, October 20, 1997
‘Lifting the Veil’ opens to great reception at Salon
FILM Rising popularity of documentaries give their creators a
voice
By Ash Steffy
Daily Bruin Contributor
Frequently banned and censored because of their potentially
volatile content, documentary films have proven to be the driving
art form behind world change in the 20th century.
However, in the United States, watching a documentary is a
dreaded chore among most moviegoers. Its mere mention drums up
memories of health education class and that loud, rumbling
projector that skipped every 10th frame.
Despite America’s popular perception of these films, visiting
UCLA film and television professor Marina Goldovskaya believes that
documentaries will be "the art-form of the 21st century." She is
the creator of UCLA’s new monthly screening and discussion series,
the Documentary Salon.
On the night of Oct. 13 at James Bridges Theater, 150 people
gathered to screen "Lifting the Veil," an hour-long exploration of
the effects of economic globalization in India.
The impressive turnout was higher than Goldovskaya expected.
"I had a feeling that people would be interested," she said
happily.
Afterwards, audience members talked with the film’s creator,
UCLA alumna Shonali Bose, about the problems facing that
country.
"The influx of money (into India) from foreign investors has
been touted as fantastic," Bose said. "In reality, the economic
gains being reaped are only felt by the top 1 percent of the
population.
"For everyone else, prices are going up," she added. "Women and
older children are being forced into work to support their family.
And even then it’s a struggle. There are really two separate Indias
now."
Bose’s film explores these "two Indias" by alternating between
footage of harsh slum life and offices of polished politicians and
industrialists, who assure Bose that India is just going through a
period of adjustment.
However, India’s working-class believes that the economy
exploits their labor without giving them fair compensation. Workers
she interviewed told not only of economic inequality, but also of
human rights abuses.
"The police chase us around like we were animals," said one
frustrated worker. "When a boy from a neighboring community broke
the law by defecating in a field, they jumped him and beat him to
death."
The screening and subsequent discussion was the first in what
Goldovskaya hopes will become a monthly event. One of the benefits
she sees in the Salon is that it will give students a chance to
interact with documentarians already in the business.
"Students live in such a refined and beautiful world,"
Goldovskaya said. Goldovskaya should know how tough it is. She was
one of Russia’s leading documentarians during the harsh Soviet
regime. In 1986, she made a film about the privatization of farms
that was banned by Mikhail Gorbachev.
"In Russia, documentaries were taken very seriously," said
Goldovskaya. "Everything was so heavily censored that the
filmmakers were forced to express their grievances indirectly, or
face controversy."
Bose also met with controversy while shooting "Lifting the
Veil." During her interview with India’s finance minister, she was
nearly thrown out of his office when the man got angered by her
line of questioning.
"The industrialists and politicians (of India) were a very
arrogant bunch," she told audience members after last week’s
screening.
Another benefit Goldovskaya hopes will come out of the
Documentary Salon is that documentarians will get much-needed
feedback from their colleagues.
"Our documentarians in Los Angeles don’t really have a
community," Goldovskaya said.
Betsy McLane, executive director of the International
Documentary Association, agreed on the need for more informal
gatherings such as the Salon. She said, "L.A. is so spread out that
its documentarians often wouldn’t know where to find each other
without the IDA."
The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles is the
only organization in North America devoted solely to promoting
documentary filmmakers. Their combined efforts, along with
Goldovskaya’s, helped create the Documentary Salon.
In addition to the Salon, the IDA plans other festivals honoring
the world’s best documentaries. Perhaps most importantly, the IDA
gives its members invaluable information of where and how to get
funding.
Bose’s film could not have been made without a $10,000 grant
from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Using the
money, she traveled around India for three months in early 1996,
shooting over 65 hours of footage.
"It was just me, my (director of photography) and our hi-8 video
camera in the slums," Bose said. The tiny camera allowed her to be
less conspicuous and more mobile.
What emerged, after one year of post-production, is a story that
seems to have topical relevance even outside India.
"I showed ‘Lifting the Veil’ to a group of Austrian laborers,"
Bose said. "They watched it and afterwards told me, ‘your film
shows exactly what is going on here!’"
After its official premiere at UCLA, Bose and her film will tour
the continent. "Lifting the Veil" will screen at Boston University,
Yale, Columbia, NYU and Toronto.
Fifteen thousand workers are being assembled in what could turn
into an important discussion on how India’s move to globalization
has affected their lives.
Having personally witnessed 25 years of documentary film
history, Goldovskaya offers some insights on how the genre has
changed.
"In Russia, documentaries no longer have the same impact,"
Goldovskaya said. "Anyone can say whatever they want on television.
Yeltsin is called a ‘traitor’ everyday. The ‘truth’ there now is
dictated by the dollar sign."
However, Goldovskaya said that in the United States,
documentaries are growing more important everyday.
"People are sick and tired of beef-up movies," she said. "I flip
through the TV channels before I go to bed and all I see is
violence and pornography. People are starting to look for something
more."
McLane sees America’s newly found obsession with reality
entertainment as a multi-level phenomenon.
"One part of this new trend is that the general public has
embraced TV shows like ‘Cops’ and the tabloid newsmagazines,"
McLane said. "But we’re also going to see the rise in importance of
documentary films."
McLane cites examples of this growing trend, such as new cable
channels devoted completely to documentaries, the growth of film
festivals and the current state of world affairs.
"This is the most amazing time in history," she said. "We’re
going to need documentaries in the 21st century to help us
understand each other."
The next Documentary Salon is on Nov. 22, featuring Laurdes
Portillo’s "The Devil Never Sleeps," about the Chicano filmmaker’s
journey to her native Mexican homeland. In January, the Salon will
hold a workshop and screen films by Albert Maysles ("Gimmee
Shelter," "Meet Marlon Brando").
And for those who would still rather watch a Hollywood fiction
film than a documentary, Goldovskaya quoted the Russian writer
Dostovesky:
"Imagination can never be compared with what ordinary life can
suggest."
FILM: All Documentary Salons are open to the general public. For
more information on the International Documentary Association, call
(310) 284-8422, ext. 61.
Shonali Bose
The documentary, "Lifting the Veil" depicts recent changes in
India.