BRAVE NEW WORLD

As we usher in a new decade, with hopes of world peace and economic recovery, lets remember to continue supporting our friends around the world who are using their voices to fight for the greater good. On New Years Eve, 1500 people from around the world will attempt to hold a peaceful demonstration in Gaza to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the siege, and in hopes of ending the crippling blockade against the Palestinians. So far, they've been held back by the Egyptian government and ignored by most of the Western media. Voice, e-mail or Tweet your support and help them prove that one voice can start an echo.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/228177/output/print

FIXER SCREENING SUCCESS

Congratulations to Ian Olds and Christian Parenti for creating such a fantastic documentary, Congratulations to HBO for distributing it, and thumbs up to the Asia Society for hosting the screening.

EchoChamber was proud to be a part of the event with these inspiring filmmakers and organizations.

Tune in on Monday to catch the premiere of Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi on HBO at 9 pm EST.

A message from Laura Ling and Euna Lee

We received this from Care2 and wanted to share this message with you:

Hi Smriti,

For Laura Ling and Euna Lee, these past days since their return to America have been filled with great experiences and love from their family, friends and supporters. Laura has written a brief message that she would like to share with all of those who signed the Care2 petitions. Thank you again for helping to build the grassroots movement calling for the release of Laura and Euna!

---

Dear Friends,

While in detention in North Korea, isolated and scared, one of the things that gave me strength and sustained my faith was hearing about the groundswell of support for Euna and me. You were a part of this incredible movement and for that I will be forever thankful.

Through the letters that I was able to receive, I learned about the many beautiful vigils, the LauraandEuna.com website, the Care2 petition, the Facebook group, and all the other grassroots efforts to bring us home. I am deeply humbled.

In times of extreme darkness and depression, I thought of all of the people, united together, sending us messages of love and hope. I envisioned the light of the candles at the vigils and it brightened my soul.

I would not be here today, home and free, re-united with my family (my sister is actually asleep on the couch right by my side), if not for the support from so many extraordinary people. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Words cannot adequately express my profound gratitude.

While my experience was the most challenging time of my life, I do believe that something beautiful came out of it, and that is the way in which so many people united around a cause for hope and peace.

I'd like to share with you an entry from my journal that I kept during my time in captivity:

Thursday, June 11, 2009 Day 87, 3:00 PM
"I've been so overwhelmed and touched by the outpouring of support from so many people. Loved ones, friends, people I haven’t been in contact with in ages, and even total strangers. It makes you have faith in humanity. I hope that I would be as good of a friend or human to someone else in a similar situation."

Euna and I are two of the lucky ones whose story of captivity resulted in a happy ending. But there are so many journalists imprisoned around the world whose fate is still undecided. It is my sincere hope that the energy ignited around bringing us home will be harnessed into raising awareness around these fellow journalists and their struggle for freedom.

With all my love and gratitude,

Laura

FIXER Screening - Asia Society + HBO + EchoChamber - 8/12/09

As we've all been reminded of this week, with the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee from North Korea, journalists very often risk their lives to bring us stories from the world's most troubling places. They wouldn't be able to do so without the help of local "fixers," who usually are not as protected as their Western colleagues when things get dangerous. We saw an extremely powerful documentary that tells one such story at the Tribeca Film Festival this year (where it won the Best Documentary prize) , and we knew we had to bring it to you. It's a new perspective on Afghanistan, journalism, and the human cost associated with what you read in your newspaper every day.

EchoChamber in association with Asia Society and HBO cordially invite you to a premiere screening of the HBO Documentary Film

FIXER: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi

"This work is dangerous, I bring one enemy to meet another."
-Ajmal Naqshbandi, six months before he is kidnapped by Taliban fighters.

At 24, Ajmal Naqshbandi was one of Afghanistan’s top “fixers” – aides who help the foreign media gain access to government officials, ordinary citizens, and armed rebels. Through vivid insider footage and exclusive interviews, this feature documentary focuses on the relationship between Naqshbandi, and one of his clients, American journalist Christian Parenti, as their paths converge and separate, with tragic results, over the course of six months. This is a story of a likable, highly intelligent young man who was forgotten in the crossfire, as well as an unflinching look at the ongoing problems facing his proud yet troubled nation.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009
6:00 – 6:30 pm Registration & Reception
6:30 – 8:30 pm Screening followed by Q&A with Ian Olds, Director/Producer and Christian Parenti, Producer, Journalist

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street
New York, NY 10021

Reservations are required and seating is limited.
For tickets, call the Asia Society box office at (212) 517-ASIA or visit https://tickets.asiasociety.org

Kim Jong is Illin'

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Anthology Film Archives and made our screening of Kimjongilia a HUGE success! We think it was our best post-screening discussion yet, with director NC Heikin, activist Steve Kim (a HUGE inspiration), Amnesty International's David Hawk--who pulled himself out of bed rest after spinal surgery to join us--and our moderator John Delury from the Asia Society.

And a big thank you to Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky) who co-hosted the event and made some amazing limited edition prints and t-shirts in honor of the film.

Kimjongilia is playing DocuWeek next month. We'll post venues and showtimes here soon. In the mean time, watch the trailer!

UPCOMING EVENT - KIMJONGILIA SCREENING WITH DJ SPOOKY

We are excited to invite you to the fifth EchoChamber event of the year, a very special screening of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival documentaryKIMJONGILIA, directed by NC Heikin and executive produced by Mike Figgis. The date of the event is Monday, July 13th at 7:30pm, at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Your donations at the event will benefit the Citizen's Alliance of North Korean Refugees, and your attendance will be an invaluable show of support for the families of US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have been trapped behind North Korea's iron curtain since March.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with:

• NC Heikin, director
• David Hawk, former executive director of Amnesty International, member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch- Asia and author of Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps
• John Delury (moderator), Asia Society's associate director for US-China Relations

Kimjongilia is the first film to fully expose the humanitarian crisis of North Korea through a tapestry of defectors’ stories, North Korean propaganda, and original performance. This artful, avant garde doc shows why the defectors fled, describes their hair-raising escapes, and recounts the dangers they face in China, hunted by Chinese as well as North Korean police. Their stories all speak of body-and-soul killing repression and paint a picture of a country so far off the rails it defies belief. The Sundance Institute describes the film as "stylish and deeply moving...totally original and utimately inspiring." The LA Times says Kimjongilia is "visually striking" and "inventively constructive." 

PAST EVENTS

Our past screenings/events encouraged us to create EchoChamber. Here is a glimpse into our work and partnerships:

About EchoChamber

EchoChamber is committed to creating discussion and action around areas of conflict through cinema.

Our curated events comprise of a hand-selected audience and speakers paired with a topical film (discussion), and a non-profit organization that can benefit through suggested donations (action).

Our blog also aggregates news stories on the topic and collects first-person, on-the-ground reports. So far, we have covered post-cyclone Myanmar (BuildBurma.org), India/Pakistan (IndiaUnite.org) and Israel/Palestine (SamaraNow.org).

Considered a "modern adaptation of a film festival", EchoChamber events are unique and powerful mobile experiences-

The films we select for our New York screenings have usually never been screened in the city, let alone in the country. And we work closely with film festivals and the filmmakers in bringing their movies to an influencer audience.