TRADE

Saw this on the WITNESS listserv and thought it was worth posting.

On September 28, 2007, the film TRADE, a gripping tale of the dark web of sex trafficking starring Kevin Kline, will open in theaters nationwide. Equality Now, along with three other organizations, will receive 5% of the opening week box office receipts from Roadside Attractions, the film's distributor. TRADE follows the story of a 13 year-old Mexican girl and a young Polish woman as they are kidnapped by sex traffickers in Mexico and transported for sale in the United States. It is a powerful film with the sobering message that the global sex trafficking industry operates in our own towns and cities. We need to take action and stand against those who enslave women and children as commodities in the sex trade.

As part of Equality Now's work to end the commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls around the world, Equality Now recently launched the Fund for Grassroots Activism to End Sex Trafficking (Trafficking Fund). This new initiative, which is based on the successful model of our Fund for Grassroots Activism to End Female Genital Mutilation, provides grants to grassroots groups that provide critical services to trafficking victims, as well as put pressure on government officials to arrest and prosecute traffickers and others who create the demand for the commercial sex trade. Currently the Trafficking Fund has grantees in Cambodia, Iceland, India, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, and the United States.

To view a trailer of TRADE, go to www.tradethemovie.com. We encourage you to go see TRADE during the opening week and know that you will be helping Equality Now in its efforts to stop this and other human rights violations against women and girls around the world. Bring some friends with you!

If you plan on seeing TRADE and would like to take some brochures about Equality Now's new Trafficking Fund with you to hand out at the theater, please send an email to info(at)equalitynow.org and let us know how many brochures you would like and the address where they should be sent.

"TRADE allows an unflinching peek at the secret world of sex trafficking, disturbing and beautifully rendered, bravely acted and a searing experience. Anyone who fails to have their insides roiled by this film has commenced rigor mortis." —Meryl Streep

مشغول

This weekend was quite the challenge. There is currently 6 hours of footage for Warring Factions. I shoot a studio sequence on Sunday and there is much to be done in preparation for that. I also missed Albert Maysles at The Loft on Sunday which kills me. How often do you get to see Grey Gardens at the cinema with the filmmaker there?

you, of all people...

It seems now that French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, is speaking the language of the hawks in Washington. Does he not know that French people can smell American war politics a mile away and consider burning cars in the streets a holiday affair? Good luck dealing with all the rioters when your country explodes with civil unrest from another illegal preemptive war in the Middle East.

More problems than Iraq

This video tells of some of the consequences a US attack against Iran might bring. Even though I don't agree with all of the consequences the second interviewee proposes, his main point is true to the core.

Remember when we were in Iran?

عکسها از ایران گرفتم

tehran-iran
north-tehran-damovand-and-niyak
shiraz
margoon-waterfall-shiraz
isfahan
mashad
back-in-tehran
best-of-iran

TFMF

The Runners had a screening at the Tucson Film and Music Festival on Monday. Thanks to everyone who came including people I haven't seen for 4 years and my high school media instructor. More screenings TBA.

vice is on top of it

It seems that regardless of how small their company is, their content is ahead of most major news networks and major filmmakers.

More comics

A bit of background on Smerconish. People like him use what happened in the first comic upheaval to justify publishing every negative piece of media on Muslims regardless of its quality, accuracy and insensitivity. I must admit that Opus was one of my favorite comics as a child and that this new cartoon is a slice of pie compared to the Danish cartoon.

1st day of verité footage

Just got back from the first night of shooting for Warring Factions. My crew, Les Avenge, and myself did a demonstration for Seabhs. I gave the usual talk about bboying and motivating youth to stay in school and out of trouble. I hope it makes for some good footage. I may post some of the footage up if there is a high demand for it.

WARRING FACTIONS

I prepared this promotional video for the new project.

How does it feel to punch yourself?

Everyone is waiting for the day this guy is sitting in a courtroom listening to his sentence.

big-ups to KABOBfest for
putting me onto this video

Mashouf in NYC: the photo edition

Taken at a friend's wedding in Long Island, the bride shows off her henna.

Returning to the Upper West Side from the port authority is where I took this. The man on the left entered the train first and I felt that was enough for me to take a photo. But I didn't actually pull out the camera until the gentleman on the right entered the train.

In the Claridge casino bus terminal, Atlantic City. In order to get to work on time that day I left Atlantic City on the 5:30am bus to New York. There are 4 people out of frame that are also sleeping in uncomfortable red chairs.

Queens Bridge park in Queens, NY. Taken at the Thursday jam in the park.

Also taken at Queens Bridge Park.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I found Nemo.

An artist in Williamsburg spends his 4th of July making this mosaic on the street. Note the sign that says "We're arming both sides. Shiite + Suni Death Squads" on the upper left. Not unprecedented.

When the dominos begin to fall

Today I heard that British forces are pulling their troops from the south of Iraq. I'm wondering how long it will take before the UK pulls their whole contribution of soldiers for the war.

[LINK]

Remembering Poets Not Fit For The White House

I found this broadcast on the Freespeech TV website in 2003 and recorded it as an mp3. Seeing Amiri Baraka got me in a bit of a spoken word mood so I was listening to everything spoken word I have. Poets Not Fit For The White House was a project started after Laura Bush invited Sam Hamill to a poetry symposium at the White House celebrating the work of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickenson and Langston Hughes. In response, Hamill put out a call for anti war poems and received an overwhelming number of poems to send to the symposium in his absence. After attracting a bit of press about Hamill's plan the White House canceled the symposium. Then, on February 17, 2003 an event was held in New York City for poets to share their dissonance for the war.

The list of those who participated is as follows:
Ammiel Alcalay, Lee Ann Brown, Steve Colman, Robert Creeley, Martin Espada, Jorie Graham, Andre Gregory, Sam Hamill, Suheir Hammad, Marie Howe, Galway Kinnell, Youseff Komanukaa, Stanley Kunitz, Ann Lauterbach, Arthur Miller, Mos Def, Odetta, Sharon Olds, Willie Perdomo, Robert Pinsky, Peter Sacks, Sapphire, Wallace Shawn, Mark Strand, Anne Waldman, C.K. Williams, Saul Williams


More here
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Amiri Baraka in the Park

NY is the greatest place for free events. I wanted to go to a total of six large free events while I have been in NY but was unable to due to rain, overcrowding or other unforeseen circumstances.

I was able to see Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez on Tuesday at Central Park. It was an interesting night to see two artists carry a show with spoken word. The night ended with a short talk with Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Baraka about the beginning of the Black Arts Movement. Amiri Baraka is a man filled with knowledge, an amazing sense of humor and comedic timing. Just hearing him talk about Malcom X makes me feel that the current generation has flatlined. If anyone has any suggestions about how to activate the people again, don't say it without doing something.

GOOD Magazine: Milllennium Promise

Sara Rahbar

Today's meeting with Sara Rahbar yielded some quality results. I have been inspired by her work since I stumbled across it some months ago. She gave me some feedback on the new documentary I'm working on and will be collaborating on the project with some of her work. In addition, she put me in contact with a few essential people in Iran and the US.

oh my...

This video truly really blew my mind in a multitude of ways.
[LINK]

In conjunction with this and this it looks to me we will be seeing darker days in the future.

یا مهدي ادرکنی

Daily show goodness

Jon Stewart consistently brings the hotness to cable TV. I caught this yesterday morning and laughed until my lungs hurt, then I snapped back to reality remembering that the majority of Americans don't know about this or just don't care. *sigh

Hard Candy

Shot on the coldest night of the year, December 2006. Hours before it's due date Justyn put this scene together with our help as talent and JorDan's infamous van and art dept skills (also featured in The Runners). The film showed at First Fridays at the Loft and (amazingly) didn't get gonged even though it is much over the usual length and a much slower pace than the films that do well.