tagz23

Filmmaker | TED Senior Fellow | Speaker | maker of legendary breakfasts

Join Oliver Stone, Danny Glover and Stephen Fry In Supporting Global Protest Film "We Are Many"

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We Are Many, a documentary on the untold story of the biggest protest in history, launches on crowd-funding website Kickstarter and gets off to an impressive start in gathering support. 256 backers have pledged over $20,000 since the short trailer for the work in progress appeared on Kickstarter. 

   



We Are Many tells the story of the globally coordinated protests against the invasion of Iraq on 15 February 2003, and its legacy, through the Arab Spring to the Occupy Movement. The day that saw an estimated 30 million people in over 700 cities around the world march and give birth to a new global social movement.  

OLIVER STONE EDORSES "WE ARE MANY"

 Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone has joined the growing list of the film’s supporters with this statement:

"The global protest against the Iraq War on 15 February 2003 was a pivotal moment in recent history, the consequences of which have gone unreported. Amir Amirani's ‘WE ARE MANY’ chronicles the struggle to shift power from the old establishment to the new superpower that is global public opinion, through the prism of one historic day. I urge you to support this film in whatever way you can." Oliver Stone, November 2011

ROCKY HORROR SHOW’S RICHARD O’BRIEN PLEDGES $5000

 
Among the film’s supporters is the creator of The Rocky Horror Show Richard O’Brien who has pledged $5000. In giving his wholehearted backing to the film O’Brien said: “The greatest tragedy of this event and the reasons surrounding it, is that Bush and Blair drove a final nail in the coffin of democracy on that day.”

Novelist Arundhati Roy said 15 February 2003 was the “most spectacular display of public morality ever”.

 

HOW RICHARD BRANSON NEARLY STOPPED THE WAR


The ground-breaking documentary has also secured an interview with the British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson who for the first time on camera will talk about his failed attempt to stop the invasion of Iraq by flying in with Nelson Mandela to take Saddam Hussein out of the country. Branson, with the backing of the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, had a plane on stand by at Johannesburg airport for the mission, only for Britain and the US to start bombing. Branson is a great believer in the power of film to change things. On 24 November 2011 he wrote in his blog about films that make a difference.

 


STEPHEN FRY AND DANNY GLOVER IN TWITTERSPHERE

 

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Danny_glover_tweet

 

10 DAY COUNTDOWN CALL TO ACTION


Many TED Fellows and subscribers to this blog and their Facebook friends and Twitter followers have backed this important documentary by either pledging and/or helping spread the word. The production team of We Are Many are grateful for your generosity and support. Together we have raised $20,000 which is fantastic. But we still have a long way to go and need your help in reaching new donors.

We now have 10 days to raise the remaining $50,000 to reach the set target of $70,000. What you can do here and now in less than a minute:

1.     Tweet the Kickstarter link to your followers with the hashtag #wearemany

2.     Post the Kickstarter link on your Facebook wall.

3.     Or if you happen to have a personal blog or a newsletter please consider including a post about the film. You can use this Press Release.


Raising $5000 per day from today! It is a huge ask but not impossible. Our network of friends and followers, our circles of influence, can do it. This is a true test of the power of social media to do good. Let’s stretch it to its limits in a truly deserving case study: a documentary about people power crowd-funded by people.

A final thought from the  Olivier, Tony and BAFTA winning actor Mark Rylance currently in Jerusalem in London’s West End

 

Thank you!

From the Iraq war to Occupy Wall Street...You can connect the dots

We're living in a new era of mass protest by ordinary people reclaiming their democtratic rights, holding authority to account by demanding real democracy and justice. The 99% in America, the Indignados in Spain, UK Uncut, the Arab Spring... From Wall Street to Wisconsin, from Madrid to Athens, and all across the Middle East, people are rising up to make their voices heard.

 

To capture the spirit and energy of this spectacular global movement Amirani Films has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a major new documentary called We Are Many.

 

We_are_many_kickstarter

 

Directed by Amir Amirani and Executive Produced by TED Senior Fellow Taghi Amirani, the film tells the remarkable story of the biggest protest in history which took place on February 15, 2003. The unprecdented  worldwide march againts the impedning invasion of Iraq failed to stop an illegal war based on mass deception. But it drew a new map for protests to come. What happened in Cairo's Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring, and the subsequent global Occupy Movement, have a direct link to what happened on February 15, 2003. A seismic shift took place, and we are only now beginning to understand its impact.

 

This is the trailer for We Are Many

 

 

If this movie project strikes a chord with you in any way please give it your support. Of course Kickstarter is all about crowdfunding and you can help in that way if you wish. But we need something more valuable than money; we need your help in reaching your communities. Your Twitter followers, Facebook friends, blog subscribers, website visitors, your mailing list, your real life friends and fanily..Please take a few minutes to share this post and the links below with your network. Share the TED Fellow love and see it reciprocated in ways you can't yet imagine!

TED Fellow and Kickstarter Co-Founder Perry Chen has started the ball rolling:

Perry_chen_tweet

Special thanks to Perry, Elisabeth Holm and their brilliant team at Kickstarter.
Now it's over to you.
 
Links to share:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/733111346/we-are-many 

 

http://www.wearemany.tv/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/15-February-2003/300254259003

 http://twitter.com//15Feb2003 

Many thanks.

 

Taghi Amirani

TED Senior Fellow 2010

Amirani Films

@tagz23

 

 

 

 

Two Sides of The War Coin

In a new feature on the TED Fellows blog I am trying out my own little TED Speaker programming. In an ideal world the following two talks would have been programmed back to back.

At TED2011 in Long Beach General Stanley McChrystal gave a talk about leadership focusing on 9/11 and the Afghan invasion. I was sitting a few feet behind him on the stage. Obviously a brave man of honour and an illustrious military career that runs in the family - father served in Vietnam - he gave a talk that got him a standing ovation. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal.html

Now watch this second talk by Sam Richards. Identifying himself as "an iconoclast from Toledo, Ohio," and identified by David Horowitz as one of the "101 Most Dangerous Academics in America," Sam Richards is one of the most provocative, and popular, sociology teachers in the country. Every year 725 students at Penn State University take his course on race and ethnic relations, where he attacks, with humor and courage, questions most would choose to avoid.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_richards_a_radical_experiment_in_empathy.html

Some argue there's nothing radical about his ideas on empathy. Perhaps. What is radical is his choice of example to illustrate his idea of empathy. 

Back in 2001, I made a documentary for the BBC in Afghanistan soon after the US/UK invasion. I wanted to know about the effects of the bombing on Afghan civilians. It was a sobering experience. Here are some short clips.

 

http://amiranifilms.com/work/current_affairs/the_dispossessed

(download)


Taghi Amirani

TED Senior Fellow 2010

Amirani Films

@tagz23

 

 

Chevron Spoofed in a Fantastic Hoax by the Brilliant Yes Men

You got to love the Yes Men and their audacity in coming up with elaborate hoaxes in mocking corporations. Today they have pulled off one of their best attacks yet by spoofing a major advertising campaign launched by Chevron. 

 

Chevron "We Agree"

Chevron_

 

Yes Men "We Agree"

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And as if that wasn't enough they even issued their own version of Chevron's press release. Compare them below:

 

Chevron's press release

Chevrons_original_

Yes Men's press release

Yes_mens_version

The sweetest part of the prank is how they punked Fast Company and how well the guys at Fast Company took it on the chin. 

 

For this post I was going to reflect on BP's Deepwater Horizon fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico and the remarkable rescue of the Chilean miners, exploring themes of human incompetence below sea level and human ingenuity deep below earth's crust. But the Yes Men spoof with such a strong sense of purpose just blew me away and stole the show.

 

Taghi Amirani

@tagz23

 

"We Are Many" Picks Up Three PUMA Creative Awards at The Good Pitch

We are delighted to share the good news that our feature documentary We Are Many presented at The Good Pitch in London on 10thSeptember 2010 had an overwhelming response and picked up three PUMA Creative Awards. PUMA, through its  PUMA.Creative initiative, launched a unique long-term partnership with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation on September 10. The new PUMA.Creative Documentary Awards will provide financial support, creative counsel and industry recognition to documentary filmmakers whose work address creative, social justice, peace or environmental issues globally.

Directed by Amir Amirani, We Are Many will tell the story of the biggest peace march in human history. On 15 February 2003, in over 800 cities around the world, 30 million people protested against the planned invasion of Iraq. In telling this remarkable story, the film will harness the passion and political energy of this phenomenal movement as a force for good in giving people a voice.

See the 4-min trailer here


The Good Pitch brings together inspiring social-purpose film projects and a group of expert participants from charities, foundations, brands and media to form powerful alliances around groundbreaking films. In the new partnership between BritDoc and PUMA, We Are Many received a PUMA Creative Catalyst Award and two PUMA Creative Mobility Awards.

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Maxyne Franklin, Jerry Rothwell (Director, Town of Runners), Amir Amirani (Director,We Are Many), PUMA Chairman & CEO Jochen Zeitz, Taghi Amirani (Producer, We Are Many), Jen Arnold (Director, Writer, Producer, A Small Act), and PUMA.Creative Director Mark Coetzee at the PUMA.Creative and Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation Gala Awards Ceremony

 

Together with pledges of support and collaboration from Saatchi & Saatchi, Avaaz (6 million members), CND, The Elders and Greenpeace We Are Many has received a great boost on what will be an extraordinary global journey.

To join in or simply keep up with the latest developments on this project become a fan of our FB page and follow us on Twitter @15Feb2003. There will also be news on the Amirani Films FB page.  If the film strikes a chord please spread the word.

Taghi Amirani  TED Senior Fellow  @tagz23   Amirani Films

 

 

 

 

Good News, Good Film, Good Pitch, Good People

Good News

Our feature documentary We Are Many has just been selected as one of eight projects to be presented at The Good Pitch in London on 10thSeptember 2010. The Good Pitch brings together inspiring social-purpose film projects and a group of expert participants from charities, foundations, brands and media to form powerful alliances around groundbreaking films.

Directed by Amir Amirani, We Are Many will tell the story of the biggest peace march in human history. On 15 February 2003, in over 800 cities around the world, 30 million people protested against the planned invasion of Iraq. In telling this remarkable story, the film will harness the passion and political energy of this phenomenal movement as a force for good in giving people a voice.

 

Good Film

You can see a 4-minute trailer for the film below

 

And a longer 8-minute version here. 

 

Good Pitch

The Good Pitch is just one of many fantastic initiatives run by the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, a new social entrepreneurship organisation bringing new thinking to public service delivery. This is what the good people of BRITDOC say: “Films are the best medium for changing hearts and minds and lives, by bringing stories and issues to the widest possible audiences. Films inspire people to engage and act. That’s why we broker relationships between Foundations, Charities, NGOs and Filmmakers.” Over the past three years BRITDOC have supported two projects at Amirani Films, and we love them for that. So a big shout out to Jess Search, Beadi Finzi, Maxyne Franklin, Elise McCave, Sarah Ross, Katie Bradford, Matt Jones and Sarah Mosses.

 

Good People

That’s you and your friends. Please help spread the word about We Are Many to as many people as you can. Come on board early and be part of the movement that gets the ball rolling on this important social action project. With your help we can make this film a catalyst for a global dialogue about the fundamental right of citizens to have their democratic voice heard when it comes to governments’ decision to go to war. Let’s put peace firmly on the agenda and ask: is a referendum before declaring war the only answer? Transparency and accountability must become the watchwords.

You can become a fan of the Facebook page, follow the film on Twitter, contribute to the content of the film’s website, blog and tweet about it. Even share your own story and perhaps take part in the documentary. If you have ideas for making this work we would love to hear from you. Whatever you do, however small, will make a difference. 

 

Wish Amir and his film luck on September 10th!

 

Thank you.

 

 

Taghi Amirani

TED Senior Fellow

@tagz23

@amiranifilms

Amirani Films


Iran and USA: The Gulf Between Us

There's a classic Monty Python sketch in which a bunch of men from Northern England try to outdo each other in telling tales of just how harsh and terrible a childhood they had in poverty stricken coal mining communities. On hearing a tale of misery the next character would begin his story with "You were lucky. We were SO poor..."

As I have watched the unfolding disaster of the BP oil spill; the slow death of marine and bird life, the destruction of lives and fishing communities, I have resisted sinking into the black sticky humour of Monty Python. So let's tackle it another way.

My American friends in the Gulf of Mexico have finally got something else in common with my Iranian friends in The Persian Gulf than just a "Gulf": British Petroleum (BP) and the consequences of its actions on human lives and the environment. But allow me to quote just one line form this must read article in Green Left : "No country has been ravaged by BP as much as Iran."

 

 

BP oil spill shows why we need renewables

Saturday, July 3, 2010
By Ash Pemberton
Image: Twilightearth.com

The ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the April 20 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig has exposed the obscene behaviour of the world’s fourth-largest corporation, British Petroleum (BP).

Evidence has come from many sources revealing BP was aware of safety concerns, but did nothing about them.

Its lack of preparedness for this disaster — highlighted by its series of failed, makeshift repair attempts — has shown the priorities of the oil industry. Vast amounts have been spent on extraction, but next to nothing has been spent on technology to deal with highly likely spills.

From day one, BP has acted desperately — not to stop the estimated 100,000 barrels of oil a day spewing from its destroyed well — but to stop bad publicity affecting its corporate image.

BP has gone out of its way to lie about the scale of the disaster and to stop media investigations of the clean-up effort.

CNN said on June 10 that the US National Guard had been mobilised to prevent media access to oil-covered birds that had been rescued. Clean-up workers are banned from speaking to the media and are carefully watched by private security contractors.

BP’s sheer arrogance during the Gulf crisis has shocked many people in the First World. But for those in the Third World, this kind of behaviour would actually mark a step up in the oil industry’s standard practice.

Spills on the scale of the Gulf of Mexico disaster occur each year in the Nigerian delta, the British Guardian said on May 30. The difference is that, in a Third World country like Nigeria, neither the company nor government even bothers to clean it up.

BP’s approach is not unique. Nola.com said on June 29 that a survey of oil multinationals ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell and Chevron by the US House Energy and Commerce Committee found that each of these companies’ oil-spill response plans were more or less the same as BP’s.

BP’s long history of destructive behaviour in its pursuit of profit is far from unique to the oil industry. But it is emblematic of the approach these companies take to people and the planet.

There are other, lesser known, examples of BP’s approach. BP was implicated in massacres near the Ocensa pipeline in Colombia in the 1990s, an October 1998 Guardian article said.

The company armed and mobilised government troops and paramilitary death squads against locals under the guise of protecting the pipeline against guerilla attack.

BP’s operations in places such as the Niger Delta, Kuwait, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Algeria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Aden have all been accompanied by horror stories of exploitation and misery.

No country has been ravaged by BP as much as Iran. BP originated in 1902 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). It was set up to exploit the oil reserves of Iran.

The British government bought a 51% stake in the company in 1913 to secure fuel for its military in World War I. It took advantage of the extremely generous contract terms to make millions in profit while paying a pitiful amount in royalties.

Iranian oil workers were forced to work for tiny wages and live in squalid shantytowns.

APOC more or less controlled Iranian politics for decades, removing and installing leaders at will.

This domination came to an end in 1951 after a mass movement brought nationalist democrat Mohammad Mossadegh to power. His government nationalised the oil industry.

An outraged APOC convinced the US and Britain to organise a coup to overthrow Mossadegh and return control of the oil to multinationals. These events have affected Iran ever since, leading to the revolution in 1979.

The US and British governments are still kowtowing to the oil giant.

The June 27 British Daily Telegraph said US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron had agreed to bailout BP in case of significant financial damage caused by clean-up costs.

They declared in a joint statement that BP should “meet its obligations to cap the leak, clean up the damage and meet legitimate compensation claims”. But they added, “it was to both countries’ advantage for BP to remain a strong and stable company”.

British chancellor George Osborne put it more bluntly: “[BP] has many investors in the US, it is the largest oil company in the US and it is both in the US interest and the UK interest that BP has a strong future.”

In other words, the British and US governments’ are pledging to protect the interests of the company responsible for the US’s worst environmental catastrophe ever — the scale of whose damage is unknown but will be felt for generations.

As if all of this was not bad enough, the oil industry poses an even bigger threat to all of human society than the devastation wrought by the spill. Largely missing from the debate is the reality that the oil industry is not simply destructive of local environments at its points of production, but is also a major driver of climate change.

The horrible truth is the oil still pumping into the ocean is less destructive there than if it was burned and transformed into greenhouse gasses — which would contribute to the extreme danger of runaway climate change.

A “strong and stable” BP might be important for capitalism, but it is a nightmare for people and the planet.

A rational society would take this opportunity to confiscate BP’s resources to fund a transition to renewable energy. Small-scale investors could be compensated and the government could ensure retraining of affected workers into new, green industries.

Oil companies such as BP need to die so that the planet may live.

 

Taghi Amirani

TED Senior Fellow 2010

@tagz23

Battle Between iPhone 4 and Google's Android Nexus One Cracks Me Up

Confession: I don't have an iPhone. This will come as a surprise to those who know me as an Apple nerd. But something really weird happened today. Something that makes me believe in the supernatural powers of Steve Jobs and his global marketing campaign.

Today, June 24th, 2010, saw the launch of iPhone 4 in the UK. You don't need me to say a word about the religious zeal with which us Mac geeks worship at the altar of Jobsfulness. Just see this great cartoon strip. And I wouldn't dream of attempting a review of iPhone 4 when the Maestro Chief of Geek Kingdom himself Stephen Fry has done it so well, calling it "an object of rare beauty".

I had seen enough iPhones in the hands of everyone cool around me to make me want one. But earlier this year, just as I was about to place an order, two things happened. Word gets out that there's soon to be an iPhone 4, and at TED2010 Google goes and surprises us all by giving away an Android Nexus One. See my dilemma? Why get an iPhone 3G when you can get a free Nexus One. 

So over the last few weeks I have been getting used to hanging out with the green Android - looks more like Kermit the Frog to me - and having people ask me "what's that?". Even though my filmmaker friendly network Orange offer the iPhone, I have resisted switching. So far.

Today I was cycling to a meeting in the London afternoon rush hour. I was also expecting a call back from a very important producer about my TED Senior Fellowship project. We've been playing phone tag for the last 4 weeks, and I was eager not to miss his call should it come through while I'm on the bike. So instead of putting the Nexus One in my jeans pocket where I wouldn't hear or feel it vibrate while pedaling, I put it in my shirt's breast pocket close to my heart. A symbol of how I feel about my film. The gridlock had left little room for maneuver. Running late, I did what any self respecting urban cyclist does; hop onto the pavement to bypass two double decker buses spewing their fumes at me.

I land onto the pavement but hear the unmistakable sound of metal hitting stone. Skid to a halt and look behind to see my Nexus One kissing the pavement. Its face cracked up, the Android looked back at me sorrowful scars all over.  I gently stroked it clean and turned it on. It still works. Looking at the date, 24th June, I realized it's no ordinary date. 24th June has been splashed all over the web, papers and billboards. Of all the dates in the calendar on which I could have cracked up my Nexus One, why should it happen on the day Apple launches its iPhone 4? What powers are at play here? Is this a sign? Drop me a line if something terrible happened to your Google phone today.

 

 

 

 

 

Taghi Amirani

Amirani Films

@tagz23

 

 

 

Algeria 0 - England 0 - A great movie CAN make a difference

Wondering why Algeria, expected by English football fans to be an "easy win", managed to nimbly dance around the England players pulling off an impressive draw? Puzzled by why the English fans were booing their own side off the pitch last night in Cape Town?

Ever question the power and influence of a great movie? I cannot tell you how much as a filmmaker The Guardian article below warms my heart, even though it has a real sting in the tail.

Gillo Pontecorvo's "Battle of Algiers" is on constant play and replay in the Amirani house as is Paul Greengrass's "Bloody Sunday".  Both movies based on real events and essentially about oppression and injustice are sources of inspiration to me as I work on my current film project. 

 

 

Algeria prepare for World Cup battle by watching The Battle of Algiers

Footballers aim to draw on spirit of Gillo Pontecorvo's revolutionary classic ahead of tonight's match with England

Paul MacInnes  Friday 18 June 2010 13.13 BST

Scene from The Battle of Algiers (1965)Scene from The Battle of Algiers (1965). Photograph: Kobal
 
 

When football players seek inspiration they normally opt for a round of golf. Not the Algerians, though. Ahead of their big match with England tonight, the north Africans have made a trip to the cinema to watch a screening of The Battle of Algiers.

    Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 classic is set during the Algerian war of the 1950s and details the emergence of the native resistance against the imperial French. It's a gritty, troubling film that shows the moral compromises that war forces on all sides. It's also over two hours long, but that doesn't appear to have stopped the Algerians from being inspired.

    "I had never seen it before. It was very moving, and it was very moving to spend the time together. This is the kind of thing we need to do to feel together," said Hassan Yebda, the 26-year-old midfielder who played in England last season with Portsmouth.

    The screening was arranged by Algeria's coach, Rabah Saâdane, and Yebda believes it will help the side forge a new mentality after losing to Slovenia in their opening World Cup match last Sunday.

    Yebda compared their new attitude to that which helped Algeria qualify for the World Cup in a playoff with Egypt. "When we were in Sudan we had an obsession to win and that is what enabled us to beat Egypt. Had we lost that match, we would have been eliminated. The same goes for tomorrow. We must go on to the pitch with the same obsession to win."

    Quite whether "an obsession to win" would be the message most viewers would take from The Battle of Algiers remains to be seen. Indeed, the movie's history as an educational tool is a chequered one. It was also the subject of an infamous screening for Pentagon staff shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

     

    Taghi Amirani

    TED Senior Fellow

    @tagz23