RISINGSILENCE(2018)75minutes
‘Ifnooneheedsyourcall,walkalone’
Ajourneyofrelationshipsbetweenwomen,dealingwithwar,violenceanddailyprejudicetohealandcreatethefuturewithunconditionallove.
AfeaturedocumentarybyLeesaGazi
ProducedbyKomolaCollective,OpenvizorandMakingHerstory
RisingSilenceRising Silence is a journey of relationships between women. When society refuses to hear them, theBirangona,Heroines of the 1971 LiberationWar of Bangladesh; hold closely to tell their stories to eachother and the next generation to understand their identity. To never forget how as women they haverefused tobediminished as theyhave tried toheal andovercome the ravagesof conflict, violence andprejudice.Tocreatethefuturewiththepowerofunconditionallove.DocumentaryfeatureRuntime:75minutesYear:2018Format:HDInternationaltrailer1https://vimeo.com/257033832Internationaltrailer2https://vimeo.com/257034219Theprojectincludes
• FeatureDocumentary(75minutes)inBengaliandEnglishversionswithsubtitles• FilmSoundtrackalbum• Developmentofanonlineplatformofallthewomeninterviewedduringtheproduction.• DevelopmentofaBirangonasupportfundbasedonproceedsfromfeaturedocumentary(50percent)
aswellasfilmsoundtrackalongwithongoingdirectfundraisingevents.Briefcredits
Director:LeesaGaziDirectorofPhotography:ShahadatHossainEditor:TijmenVeldhuizenExecutiveProducer:AbbasNokhasteh(Openvizor)Producer:LeesaGazi(KomolaCollective),Co-Producer:OnjaliQ.Rauf(MakingHerstory)Productionpartners:KomolaCollective,Openvizor,MakingHerstory,ThenandalStudios(TSL)Countries:UnitedKingdom,Bangladesh,IndiaAllRightsheldbyKomolaCollective,OpenvizorandLeesaGazi
RISINGSILENCEIntroduction
AfeaturedocumentarybyLeesaGazi'Ifnooneheedsyourcall,walkalone’
Ajourneyofrelationshipsbetweenwomen,dealingwithwar,violenceanddailyprejudicetohealandcreatethefuturewithunconditionallove.InDecember1971,EastPakistanbecametheindependentnationofBangladeshafteranine-monthwarwithWest Pakistan. During the LiberationWar, the Pakistani army adopted the rape and torture of Bangladeshiwomenasamilitarytacticacrossthecountryand incampsbuilt throughoutBangladesh.Overthecourseofninemonthsof conflict, thePakistanimilitaryand their local collaborators rapedandmade sex slavesofanestimated200,000-400,000Bangladeshiwomenandchildren.Facedwithahugepopulationofhundredsofthousandsofsurvivorsofrapeandtorture,thenewBangladeshigovernment,onlysixdaysaftertheendofthewar,publiclyhonouredeverywomanandchildsubjectedtorapeintheWarasBirangona(bravewomanorwar-heroine).However,aftertheassassinationofthefounderofthenationin1975,everythingwenthorriblywrongforthem.Indailylife,Birangonawereostracisedandattacked,seenonlyassymbolsofpoliticsandviolenceratherthanaswomenandfreedomfighters.Whensocietyrefusestohearthem,theBirangonaholdcloselytotelltheirstoriestooneanotherandthenextgenerationtounderstandtheir identity, tonever forgethowaswomentheyhaverefusedtobediminished.Theyhavetriedtohealandovercometheravagesofconflict,violence,andprejudicetocreatethefuturewiththepowerofunconditionallove.RisingSilence is the firstdocumentary featurebyLeesaGazi, aBritishBangladeshiactorandplaywrightandfoundingmemberofatheatregroupKomolaCollectivededicatedtotellingstoriesfromwomen’sperspectives.ThehistorybehindthemakingofthisfilmisaverypersonaloneforLeesa.Hefatherwasafreedomfighter.Shegrew up hearing the stories of theWar.When she turned 17, her father told her a story about Birangonawomenthatneverlefther.In 2010, Leesa met with 21 Birangona women in Bangladesh. She then started collecting their personalaccountstodocumenttheirstoriesandfromthis,workingwithKomolaCollective,atheatricalpieceemerged.Shelaterco-wrotetheplay‘Birangona:WomenofWar’.In2014,LeesarecordedreactionsanddiscussionstotheplayinBangladesh.TheBirangonashemet,afterwatchingtheirownstoriesonstage,wereoverwhelmedandsaid,“Youheardus,butnowweneedyoutoknowus”.Leesa then foundherselfdrawn into close relationshipswithnineBirangonawomen. In2015, thesewomenbroughtLeesaintotheirhomesandvillages,beyondhistoryandpolitics,toshareintheirlivesandexperiencesaswomen.Theyshowedherthevital importanceofcreatinganintimatejourneyofwisdomgainedfromthefearlessgenerosityofsharing.They remain defiant as freedom fighters, citizens, daughters, sisters,wives,mothers, and grandmothers. Byliving, theyovercomeandgrowbeyond themonstersofwar anddaily prejudice that refuse to accept theirhumancapacitytohealontheirownterms.Thistheydowithextraordinarycourageandthemostprofoundexpressionoflove.
RISINGSILENCE
Director’sStatementLeesaGaziThehistorybehindthemakingofthisfilmhasbeenapersonaljourneyforme.I grew up hearing the heroic and harrowing stories of the LiberationWar.When I was 17, my father, afreedomfighterintheWar,toldmeabouttheBirangonawomen.Thewomenhesawhadbeencapturedbythe Pakistani forces and their local collaborators and held in rape camps. He told me he had witnessedhundredsofwomenandgirlsstandingback-to-backonaconvoyoftruckslikesacrificialanimals.Thatimagestayedwithmeforever.In 2013, I travelled to Bangladesh towork on a play about theBirangonawomen - a dramatised accountbasedontheexperiencesofthewomenwhohadbeensubjectedtooneoftheworstcampaignsofrapeasaweaponofwarinthe20thcentury.Timeaftertime,audienceswouldcommentonhowshockedtheyweretodiscoverthesewomenactuallyexisted,howsuccessfulsocietyhadbeeninwipingoutahistorythatimpactedpeople-particularlywomen-alivetoday.ButIfeltdeepinmyheartitwasnotenough.Ibeganthisjourneytomakeafilmaboutthem.Attheendofthejourney,Irealisedthattheirsharingoftheirlives and how they have tried to heal has shownme how to findmyself andwhat I am capable of as awoman.I wanted to see these women on their own terms, beyond labels and statistics. They are real women:someone’sdaughter,orsister,ormother,oranywoman.Eachofthemhadachildhood,andeachofthemhasaname,astorytotell.Fourofthewomendiedwhilewewereinthepost-productionstageofthisfilm.Theirexistence,inspiteofbeingignoredandshutoutforsolong,isatestamenttotheirresilienceandtheirrefusaltobediminished.Theyacceptedmewithnojudgmentandwithanunconditionallovethatcomessonaturally to themas theirway tobuild their lives. They celebrateexperiencing thewonder andbeautyoffriendship,nature,andmusicbecausetheynevergiveuponlife.Backgroundinks:
LeesaGaziTedXTalkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr5UJMG5DGc
ArticleinTheGuardianreLeesaandherplayBirangona:WomenofWarhttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/15/silence-bangladesh-birangona-women-of-war-play
LeesaGaziinterviewinHuffingtonPosthttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/onjali-rauf/sexual-violence-summit_b_5487075.html
TheBirangonaWomenofourdocumentary
JharnaBashuHalder(late60’s),Barasat,Kolkata-LeftBangladeshin1978.Sheneverthoughtshewouldhavetoleaveherowncountry.Afterthefounderofthenationwasassassinated in 1975, she witnessed collaborators of the Pakistan Army beingrehabilitated politically and socially in independent Bangladesh. One day, shemistooksomeoneforthecollaboratorwhobroughttoherhousesoldierswhorapedher.Jharnacouldn’tbeartoliveinfear,sheleftthecountry.
AminaBegum,MukhlesaBegumandMalekaBegum(late60’stomid70's),Ranishoinkul-Threeoffoursisters,all foursiblingsweretakentorapecampsbythePakistaniarmyand kept for more than six months. The youngest sister died shortly after liberationowingtointernalinjuriesandinfection.Whenthewarendedtheywerenotacceptedintheirvillage.Theywerebeatenupandthrownoutoftheirhomesbythepoliceandthevillagers.
MukhlesaBegumdied10thofSeptember2016inherhomeatRajbari,Ranishoinkul.RajuBala(late60's),Shodanandapur.Aged23-24atthetimeoftheWar,Rajuwitnessedthemurderofherchild,aged2yearsold,andwasrapedrepeatedlybysoldiersinfrontofherhusband.FollowingtheendoftheWar,Rajuwasostracisedbyherin-laws,butherhusbandstoodbyher.
Rajubaladied11thofDecember2017inherhomeatShodanandapur,Sirajganj.
ShurjyoBegum(mid60’s,Sirajganj.Aged16-17duringtheWar,ShurjyowasmarriedoffovernightwhentheArmysetupcampsintheirvillage.Villagerswarnedherfatherthatifshewasn’tmarriedshewouldbe takenaway.Shurjyocanstillhear thesoundof theirboots,shecanstillseethemcoming.
ShurjyoBegumdied14thofMarch2017inherhomeatSirajganj.Chaindau Marma (late 70’s), Mohalchhari. Chaindau was kept in a rape camp for 6months. She used to be taken from camps to camps as a sex slave. Chaindauwas anindigenouscasualtyofwar,althoughshewasnottheonlyone.Therapeof indigenouswomen is a little-known fact even amongst thosewhohaveworkedon theBirangonaissue.
ChaindauMarmadied29thofJuly2016inherhomeatThalipara,Mohalchhari.TepriBewa(late60's),Thakurgaun.Tepriwasmarriedatthetime,herfamilygaveherup to the soldiers to save their lives.When shewas released, shewas pregnant. Herfamilyandvillagerswantedhertoabortthechildbutshehaddecidedtokeepit.Sudhir,herson,hasagreedtobefilmedtodiscusshislifeasachildofwar.RijiaBegumMohon (early70’s),FakinnirBazaarSlum,Dhaka.Rijiawasaged27duringthewar.Herhusbandwentmissingandshewascaughtwhenshehadgoneoutlookingforhim.Afterafewdays,shewasfoundunconsciousinadump-yard.ShehasadaughterandgrandchildrenandsheliveswiththeminasluminDhakacity.Rijiausedtoworkasacleaner inamarket.Everyotherdayshegoestoher localbazaarandspeakshermind.Shedoesnotcarethatpeopledon'tbothertolistentowhatshehastosay.
Biographies
LeesaGazi(DirectorandProducer)actor,writer,andco-founderofKomolaCollective.Sheistheconcept developer, co-writer, and performer of ‘Birangona: Women of War’ theatre production,nominatedforTheOffiesin2014.Leesawrotetheplay‘DaughteroftheForest’thattouredtheUKin2016. She is the scriptwriter and performer of ‘Six Seasons’ and ‘AGolden Age’ at the SouthbankCentre.Sheworkedasascriptinterpreterforthe2012Globefestivalon‘TheTempest’andworkedasthecultural coordinatorandasavoiceartist forAkramKhan’sOlivierAward-winningpiece ‘Desh’;and for ‘Chotto Desh’. Leesa recently wrote and directed three CVE (counter violence extremism)shortfilms.http://www.komola.co.uk/leesaAbbas Nokhasteh (Executive Producer) is a producer and founder of Openvizor arts organisationbased in London, UK, Abbas has produced both documentary and fiction features which havepremieredatSundance,RotterdamandCannes,includingAlejandroJodorowsky’slatestfilmEndlessPoetry’,‘ChuckNorrisvs.Communism’and‘BalladofExiles’.Heisalsoco-founder/directoratParaaart and architecture practice in Dhaka, Bangladesh and a director at Studio 174 arts academy inDowntownKingston,Jamaica.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4451299
OnjaliQ.Rauf(Co-Producer)founder/CEOofhumanrightsorganisationMakingHerstory.FollowingWomen’s Studies at theUniversity ofWales,Aberystwyth (BA) andOxfordUniversity (M.St)Onjaliwas a staff writer and Assistant Editor for Emel Magazine; Campaigns Manager for Women forWomenInternationalUK,andforthepastsevenyears,workedwithgrass-rootscharitiesinLondon,UKtodevelopprogrammes,initiateresearchandraisefundsforthemostvulnerablecommunities.In2011launchedMakingHerstoryfollowingthemurderofabelovedaunt.In2014wasshortlistedfortheCare2ImpactAwardandEmmaHumphreysMemorialPrize.https://makingherstory.org.ukShahadat Hossain (Director of Photography), with over eight years of experience working oninternational and domestic media projects as a director, assistant director, cinematographer andphotographer.HehasworkedforBisharifilms(Canada),Lotusfilms(Austria),MortalCoilMedia(UK)Big Blue Communications, Jigsaw Productions and VG Network Norway. Shahadat worked ascinematographeronSundarbansdocumentarybyTigerTeamUKandonRanaPlazadocumentarybyNorwayTelevision.HerecentlyworkedastheDirectorofPhotographyinthreeCVE(counterviolenceextremismshortfilms.Hedirectedandfilmedtwodocumentaries.http://shossain.com
Tijmen Veldhuizen (Editor) Dutch filmmaker who moved to London in 2007 to study film aftercompletingaMAinmarinebiologyintheNetherlands.AftergraduationfromLondonFilmSchool,hestarted to work as a freelancer, editor, cameraman and DoP on documentaries and commercialswhile simultaneously working as a director. His work has been broadcasted and screened atinternational film festivals,winningawardsat festivals like theRaindanceFilmFestivalandLondonLift-OffFilmFestival.http:/tijmenveldhuizen.com
SohiniAlam (Vocalist,MusicDirector) leadvocalist for thebandKhiyoand forKishonKhan'sAfro-Cuban-BengalijazzbandLokkhiTerra.Sohiniisaco-founderofartscompanyKomolaCollective.ShehasbeenacclaimedforherworkwithTaraArtsandAkramKhan’sUntiltheLions.Shealsoprovidedvocals forJocelynPook’sscoreofAkramKhan’sOlivierAward-winningpieceDesh.She ispartof InPlaceofWar’sGRRRL,acollaborationwithinternationalfemalemusicians.AppearanceswithLokkhiTerrahaveincludedRonnieScott'sJazzClub,WOMAD,theclosingceremonyofthe2010SouthAsianGamesinBangladesh,theBarbican,andthefirstDhakaWorldMusicFestival.http://sohinialam.comOliver Weeks (Musician and Composer, Music Director) read music at Clare College, Cambridge,studyingcompositionwithRobinHolloway,obtainedaPh.DincompositionfromtheRoyalAcademyofMusic.HisworkshavebeenperformedbytheLondonPhilharmonicOrchestra,thePhilharmoniaOrchestra, the BBC Singers and theMercury Quartet, amongst others. His interest in South Asianmusic has led to the forming of Khiyo, British Council-funded tours of India and Bangladesh withParapar(acollaborationwithMoushumiBhowmik)andmusicfortheMumbaiandKolkatatheatres.http://khiyo.com
ProductionpartnersKomolaCollectiveisaLondon-basedtheatreandartscompanydedicatedtotellingthestoriesthatoften go untold - stories fromwomen’s perspectives. The company was formed in 2012 by fourwomen theatre practitioners from diverse backgrounds: Leesa Gazi, Filiz Ozcan, Sohini Alam, andCaitlin Abbott. They are writer, director, actor, musician, illustrator, facilitator, composer, anddesigner. Komola wants to revisit history, challenge social taboos, unearth myths, retell knownstories,andquestionacceptedbeliefs.‘Birangona:WomenofWar’wasKomolaCollective’stheatredebutproductionanddocumentary. InAugust2013,KomolaCollective travelled toBangladesh toworkon theR&Dstageof theplay. In2014,KomolaCollectivecompleted theUKandBangladeshtourof ‘Birangona:WomenofWar’,whichwasnominated foranOffieAward in theUK.Website:http://www.komola.co.ukOpenvizor is an international arts organisation, based in London, UK, founded in 2006 by AbbasNokhasteh. Openvizor produces and presents works and research at cultural and academicinstitutions including Cannes (Director’s Fortnight), Rotterdam IFFR, Sundance Institute, VeniceBiennale, Documenta, The Louvre, The SerpentineGallery, The Victoria and AlbertMuseum, TateBritain,TheNewMuseumNYC,TheJewishMuseumBerlin,TheBritishLibrary,TheBarbicanCentre,TheSouthbankCentre,TheWhitechapelGallery,Goldsmiths,UniversityofLondon,IstanbulBiennial,IDARTES,Museo Nacional de Colombia andMuseo de Arte del Banco de la República, Colombia.Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/openvizorIMDB:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4451299/?ref_=nv_sr_1MakingHerstory is ahuman rightsorganisation, founded inAugust2012byOnjaliQataraRauf, ahumanrightsactivistwithovertenyears'experienceinthewomen'srightssector,andgovernedbya Board of Trustees from a range of legal, media and grassroots' fields. The organisation has agrowing global support base, and delivers all works from its headquarters in London; working totackle the abuse, enslavement and trafficking of women and girls worldwide. One key way is topartnerupwith individualsandagenciesworkingtoraiseawarenessofviolenceagainstwomen inanyform.RisingSilenceisthefirstfeaturedocumentarytheorganisationisworkingtosupportandproduce.Website:http://makingherstory.org.ukThenandal Studios (TSL), Chennai-based Sri Thenandal Studios (TSL) is the fastest growing filmentertainmentcompanyinIndiathatiscurrentlyworkingonits100thfilm,hasnowsetitseyesonexpanding its global footprints by exploring new co-production opportunities with like-mindedstudiosinNorthAmericaandChina.TSLhasafirmfootholdinthefilmdistributionbusiness—bothfordomesticandoverseasfilms.TheyhavedistributedbigblockbusterHollywoodfilmsinSouthernpartof India.Foundedbyveterandirector-producerRamaNarayanan,ahouseholdname inSouthIndiainthe80s.Website:https://www.thenandalfilms.com
ContactAbbasNokhastehOpenvizor36MeltonCourtOnslowCrescentLondonSW73JQUnitedKingdomMobile:+447733115872Email:[email protected]:www.openvizor.comFb:http://www.facebook.com/openvizorTw:http://www.twitter.com/openvizorIMDB:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4451299/
