Sunday, August 16, 2009

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.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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

Sunday, August 9, 2009

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

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"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