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Stories of Struggle
"This is a heavy panel," said Avi Lewis, host of counterSpin
on CBC Newsworld and, for yesterday morning, moderator of Cameras
and Conflict: Stories of Struggle, sponsored by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA). Heavy yes, but also electrifying.
The focus of Cameras and Conflict was to engage members of the
industry in a discussion about the roles and responsibilities of
decision-makers, broadcasters, and creators in covering the plight
of war-affected children. The esteemed panel included Leigh Jackson,
screenwriter, UK; Yves Jeanneau, Pathé, France; Jerry McIntosh,
executive producer Documentaries, CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada; Shelley
Saywell, director/producer, Bishari Film Productions Inc., Canada;
Duco Tellegen, filmmaker, Dovana Films, Netherlands; and Paul Carrick,
founder, CAUSE Canada. All have first-hand experience in making,
producing, writing, or documenting the effect of conflict on children
in war-torn countries.
What was especially interesting about the panel and the ensuing
discussion was the amount of debate as to what these roles and responsibilities
are, and how they should be carried out. Most people surely agree:
the plight of war-affected children is horrifying. Stories need
to be told. Action must be taken. So why are there so many dilemmas?
Why don't broadcasters want to tell these stories? Why don't audiences
want to listen? How much violence and disparity is too much for
viewers, or not enough? Jerry McIntosh perhaps summed it up best
saying, "You can't come up with a manual or guidebook of what
we can do in these circumstances, and I'm not sure whether this
session will deliver the answers."
The session did not deliver on answers, but it certainly raised
the awareness of what issues documentarists, producers, and broadcasters
face when trying to get these difficult stories made and aired.
Ethical questions were explored: Is there a need to shock to get
people's attention? Or, can the emotional heart of a story speak
for itself? The panel and audience were divided, with debate ranging
from the idea that graphic images serve the power of television,
to the suggestion that the shocking images are often the easiest
ones to get and hence an easy way out. One audience member had the
panel squirming when she asked about the "commodification of
sentiment. Should you pay an honorarium to your subjects, if you
are taking up their time?" she asked. Two panelists, Duco Tellegen
and Shelley Saywell, volunteered that they do make a donation or
sometimes a small honorarium, but always after the fact.
Other challenging points raised included questions as to why filmmakers
never seem to use local expertise when making their story, what
can be done to enable the viewers to more usefully process the information
they receive, and from TV columnist Antonia Zerbisias, who writes
for the Toronto Star, "How do you make people want to watch
these stories, and not 'Sex and the City'?
Once again, there were no answers, but in the words of Jerry McIntosh,
"keep up the good work."
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