The way Walters got started on her project was very similar to the way Betty Williams did. She lives in Bali and was there when the first round of bombings took place. She grabbed her camera and got right in the middle of everything. She also came across two children orphaned during the bombings. But in the midst of all the horror and sadness, Walters also witnessed the rise of heroes. This was a story she felt needed to be told and that is just what she did in her film.
One thing all the filmmakers had in common: They all took major leaps of faith and worked hard to get information they strongly believed in out to the public. They didn’t always know where the money was coming from. For some it was out of their own pockets. They learned much as they went along and were all deeply touched by their projects. What I got from them was that you have to believe your cause that much and love it that much so that nothing gets in your way.
I had the opportunity to speak with Rochelle Marmorstein with Lighthouse Films Inc. at the conference. She was there with a film crew working on a documentary showing current events focused on peace. It wasn’t until a few days later that the importance of what she was documenting really made it’s impression on me.
Sitting outside one morning looking at the beautiful Balinese landscape, I randomly picked up the newspaper sitting on the table in front of me. I rarely read newspapers or watch the news because it’s usually so depressing and gives me such a feeling of hopelessness. Sure enough, as I flipped through the pages of the paper, 99% of the headlines were negative:
“Protest in Jakarta Over Labor Law Turns Violent.”
“New Taliban Threat in Afghan South.”
“Armenian Jet Crashes in Black Sea; 113 Killed” and on and on and on until it makes it hard to remember all the good things that are taking place and all the wonderful people there are in the world. Fortunately there are people like _________ whose mission it is to keep reminding us.
Before my trip, when I told people that I was going to Bali they were shocked. “You’re going there!? Haven’t you been watching the news? Don’t you know what’s going on over there right now? Well, you’d better be very careful, that’s for sure.”
But for all those terrible warnings, I found that Bali and the Balinese people were wonderful. It is a place with such loving and peaceful people. In fact, when all the bombings happened in Bali a few years ago, and this peaceful, beautiful place was targeted, no one could understand it. But here’s the great thing about the Balinese people - when all this occurred, the Balinese asked themselves, “What did we do to have this happen to us?” For them it wasn’t a matter of “How dare you do this to us? You will pay!” Rather they looked within to discover what was it that they did. Next > 1 2 3 4
