FCP 6 on osx mavericks

sept 28: this morning i had a major panic attack: finally set up my new mac pro (with osx) and was excited to install final cut pro 6 and get on with editing “partition stories.” nothing doing. osx is too advanced for fcp 6, it wants fcp x. i have absolutely no wish to upgrade to fcp x (too expensive and too weird) so i began to explore online forums to see if i could find a way around this horrible problem. most people said no, there is no compatibility. but i didn’t give up. finally i found a guy who swore that if u use ur snow leopard (older os) disc to install “rosetta”, fcp 6 would run seamlessly. i did just that. found rosetta under “optional installs”. it took 10 seconds to download and voila, fcp 6 is now being installed on my computer! all the filmmakers out there, you too can do it if u want. we don’t have to follow apple’s dictatorial edicts. we are not helpless minions!

Rochester Fringe Festival – My Name is Rachel Corrie

Sept 21 at 12:00pm and Sept 22 at 8:00pm: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE is the story of an American peace activist who traveled to Gaza during the Second Intifada, where she worked to protect civilian homes from being demolished by Israel. On March 16th, 2003 – less than two months after arriving – Rachel was crushed to death by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer. All the words of the play are taken from Rachel’s own writings, and were compiled by actor Alan Rickman and journalist Katherine Viner. The Witness Palestine Film Series helped bring this event to Rochester. More here.

chicago – aug 2014

public market in cleveland, ohio
public market in cleveland, ohio
bangkok noodles at townhall cafe in cleveland
bangkok noodles at townhall cafe in cleveland
photographing our reflection on the facade of a chicago building
photographing our reflection on the facade of a chicago building
spicy cajun food at heaven on seven, chicago
spicy cajun food at heaven on seven, chicago
cloud gate at millennium park in chicago
cloud gate at millennium park in chicago
capturing our reflections in the "bean"
capturing our reflections in the “bean”
jay pritzker pavilion in millennium park
jay pritzker pavilion in millennium park
sculptures by spanish artist jaume plensa
sculptures by spanish artist jaume plensa
crown fountain also designed by jaume plensa
crown fountain also designed by jaume plensa
crown fountain thru leafy trees
crown fountain thru leafy trees
with classically trained musician zeshan bagewadi, garden behind lutz bakery
with classically trained musician zeshan bagewadi, garden behind lutz bakery
terrific magritte exhibit at the art institute of chicago
terrific magritte exhibit at the art institute of chicago
bye for now chicago!
bye for now chicago!

Border Anthems – Pak Sar Zameen & Jana Gana Mana

“Border Anthems” celebrates the Pakistani and Indian national anthems. Classically trained Indian-American musician Zeshan Bagewadi explains the impetus for this project: he grew up with his grandparents telling him that we are all the same people, simply separated by a border. I guess the same could be said for the entire globe. He collaborated with Pakistani-American filmmaker Nushmia Khan to produce this video. Zeshan is also writing a song for Partition Stories!

witness palestine film series & events 2014

learn more about palestine/israel. witness palestine events will start in rochester on sept 21, 2014, with the play “my name is rachel corrie,” which will be part of the fringe festival. there will be a cultural and literary event in the fall and the film series will start at the little theatre on nov 16th.

WPFS 2014
WPFS 2014

Asim Rafiqui: Making the Forgotten Visible – Watson Institute for International Studies

interview i filmed with photojournalist asim rafiqui, whose series “law and disorder: a people’s history of the law in pakistan” is now on exhibit at the watson institute, brown university. he speaks eloquently about the plight of ordinary pakistanis whose interaction with the state is defined by brutal injustice. yes, the taliban are not pakistan’s only problem, especially when one views the country through the eyes of its most marginalized citizens. watch my interview with asim here.

Shadow lines

after being covered by dear cinema, india abroad, canada’s weekly voice, india’s sunday tribune, and the hindu, “partition stories” is now in the indian express! more here.

Asim Rafiqui: Bagram – The Other Guantanamo

last week while in providence, RI, where i interviewed dr zamindar for “partition stories,” i also met and interviewed asim rafiqui. photographer extraordinaire, writer, journalist, activist. born and raised in pakistan, studied at columbia, is now based in sweden. brilliant, perceptive, incredibly humble. his work on the families of 40 pakistani men held at bagram will be on display at brown throughout this summer. he photographs some of the most marginalized, brutally invisibilized pakistanis, yet their beauty and dignity shine in his work. these are some of the most beautiful photographs i have ever seen and some of the most compelling stories i have ever read.

“They are ghosts, and I have spent nearly two months trying to find any evidence of them. They are the 40 Pakistani men who remain imprisoned, without charge or evidence, by the Americans at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. They have not been see or heard by anyone other than their immediate families who are granted carefully monitored and heavily censored telephone and internet video call access. Some of the men have been in Bagram, often called one of America’s most notorious prisons, for over 11 years. Denied access to the press, human rights organizations, and legal representation, these men have been silenced and erased, the evidence and rationale for their incarceration beyond the eyes, ears and focus of the public and the media. This is intentional and part of a process of systemic dehumanization that enables the unjust detention and cruel prison conditions the men face. Until 2012, their own government refused to recognize them as citizens of Pakistan. I have spent two months traveling across Pakistan trying to discover something, anything, about them. And I have found the traces of these imprisoned men in the testimonies and stories told by their families–the children, wives, parents, and siblings they left behind, who anxiously wait for their return, and determinedly fight for their release. Sitting in homes located in the deepest depths of the slums of Pakistan’s mega-cities, in small farming communities, and in remote settlements near the border with Afghanistan, I have heard tales of the men’s lives, childhood, dreams and hopes, and, of the emotional and economic consequences inflicted on the lives of entire households. My journey has brought me in touch with some of the most economically marginal and desperate people I have ever met. And what I have felt as I have sat in their tenement rooms and mud homes is a terrible shame and anger at the realization that not only has their own government failed to live up to its responsibility, but that another nation–one that brags about its global economic might and unmatched military power, has chosen to torture, humiliate, and indefinitely incarcerate some of the poorest, and the most economically weak people I have ever met.”

More here.

Free Jalil!

Yesterday (June 12, 2014) at 3:00 pm, we gathered at the corner of South Ave and Byron St in order to walk across the street to the Rochester regional parole office to deliver petitions and a statement demanding parole for Jalil Muntaqim.

free jalil rally
free jalil rally
mara ahmed - free jalil rally
mara ahmed – free jalil rally
free jalil rally
free jalil rally
free jalil rally
free jalil rally

Roundup of our Indiegogo Campaign

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As you know Partition Stories was successfully funded 4 days prior to our deadline. Contributions kept coming in, however, and the campaign ended on May 25th. We raised $12,215 to post produce the film in 2014! Thank you for supporting us through our 6-weeks long campaign.

For Surbhi and I crowdfunding was an exciting journey full of wonderful surprises. We discovered clusters of support that stunned us, people we didn’t know who became the film’s Executive Producers, and friends we counted on but who contributed at levels that were unbelievably generous. We were touched by Nandita Das’s endorsement. She tweeted about Partition Stories and became an important contributor. Her tweet generated a wide spectrum of responses. There was some pushback about reinvestigating the past and the possibility of reconciliation. It makes our film all the more meaningful it seems.

We learned from this experience that Indiegogo isn’t just about fundraising – it’s the perfect platform to connect with talented and dynamic people all over the world. In 6 weeks our campaign page was visited by 3,000 people from almost 40 different countries! We are perennially grateful to John Siddique, who is not only letting us use his writing but has also been a wonderful ambassador for the film. Jimmy Engineer’s collaboration is so unexpected and valuable that it still takes our breath away – his Partition Paintings are Homeric in their scope and detailed storytelling. Connecting with Zeshan Bagewadi was another serendipitous turn of events as he was dreaming up a musical project that fit Partition Stories beautifully. Renowned Partition historian Vazira Zamindar consented to be interviewed and Urvashi Butalia, who has written the seminal “The Other Side of Silence: Voices From the Partition of India,” agreed to let us use her work in our documentary.

In short, we are enthused to get working on this film! It’s cool to be connected to our supporters directly, without any intermediation. We will keep you posted as we edit the film over the next few months and we look forward to fulfilling your rewards once the film premieres in early 2015.

Please keep in touch and let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/partition.stories.film
Our Tumblr Blog: www.neelumfilms.tumblr.com
Partition Stories’ Website: www.NeelumFilms.com
Surbhi’s Website: www.SurbhiDewan.com
On Twitter: www.twitter.com/maraahmed

Lots of love and good vibes,

Mara and Surbhi

partition stories on indiegogo
partition stories on indiegogo

reconciliation is a dirty word?

nandita das tweeted her support for our film. incredibly aggressive response to her tweet by those who feel threatened by “secularism” and “reconciliation.” makes our film all the more important and timely it seems to me. check out the thread on twitter here.

We made it!!!

Congratulations to all our supporters and contributors! Partition Stories will be fully post produced by the end of this year. If you want to be one of the first people to view the film, you still have 4 days left to join our very cool international team! YES!

partition stories is fully funded!
partition stories is fully funded!

Press coverage for Partition Stories

Dear friends and Partition Stories supporters,

We have passed the $10,000 threshold! We are 85% funded and have 10 days to go. Please help us spread the word once again in order to reach our goal of $12,000!

A few days ago India Abroad, a weekly newspaper published in New York City, did a story on our film. Here it is:

partition stories in india abroad
partition stories in india abroad

We were also on the front cover of the Weekly Voice published in Mississauga, Canada:

partition stories in the weekly voice
partition stories in the weekly voice

We are excited about the attention Partition Stories is getting and we cannot wait to start post producing the film. Please share our campaign widely so we can do so in 2014!