| The Suffering Grasses: When Elephants Fight, it is the Grass that Suffers (52 min) Syria/USA |
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Director/Producer: lara Lee
Description:
With thousands dead and counting, the ongoing conflict in Syria has become a microcosm for the complicated politics of the region, and an unsavory reflection of the world at large. Against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, this film seeks to explore the Syrian conflict through the humanity of the civilians who have been killed, abused and displaced to the squalor of refugee camps. In such conflicts, large and small, the civilians—whole communities—who suffer at the leisure of those in power and get caught in the crossfire of the hegemons. When elephants go to war, it is the grass that suffers!
Biography:
lara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent, is an activist, filmmaker and founder of the Cultures of Resistance Network, an organization that promotes global solidarity and supports peace with justice projects. As an activist, Iara has collaborated with the International Campaign to Ban Cluster Munitions, the Conflict Zone Film Fund and the New York Philharmonic's groundbreaking 2008 music for diplomacy concert in North Korea. In May 2010, Iara was on the MV Mavi Marmara, a passenger vessel in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla which was attacked in international waters by the Israeli Navy, leading to the murder of nine humanitarian aid workers. From 1984 to 1989, Iara was the producer of the Sao Paulo International Film Festival. From 1989 to 2003, she was based in New York City, where she ran the mixed-media company Caipirinha Productions to explore the synergy of different art forms. Iara has directed short and feature-length documentaries including Synthetic Pleasures, Modulations, Cultures of Resistance, The Suffering Grasses. Iara Lee is a member of the International Council of Advisors of National Geographic Society and longtime supporter of Greenpeace Intl, Amnesty Intl and many grassroots organizations around the world.
Contact Information:
Cultures of Resistance Network
e: info@CulturesOfResistance.org
w: films.culturesofresistance.org/suffering-grasses
