My wish: A global day of film
-
0:00 - 0:02I can't help but this wish:
-
0:02 - 0:06to think about when you're a little kid,
and all your friends ask you, -
0:06 - 0:09"If a genie could give you
one wish in the world, -
0:09 - 0:10what would it be?"
-
0:10 - 0:12And I always answered,
-
0:12 - 0:13"Well, I'd want the wish
-
0:13 - 0:16to have the wisdom to know
exactly what to wish for." -
0:17 - 0:18Well, then you'd be screwed,
-
0:18 - 0:21because you'd know what to wish for,
and you'd use up your wish, -
0:21 - 0:25and now, since we only have one wish --
unlike last year they had three wishes -- -
0:25 - 0:27I'm not going to wish for that.
-
0:27 - 0:32So let's get to what I would like,
which is world peace. -
0:32 - 0:34And I know what you're thinking:
-
0:34 - 0:36You're thinking, "The poor girl up there,
-
0:36 - 0:37she thinks she's at a beauty pageant.
-
0:37 - 0:40She's not. She's at the TED Prize."
-
0:40 - 0:42(Laughter)
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0:43 - 0:45But I really do think it makes sense.
-
0:45 - 0:48And I think that
the first step to world peace -
0:48 - 0:50is for people to meet each other.
-
0:50 - 0:52I've met a lot of different
people over the years, -
0:52 - 0:54and I've filmed some of them,
-
0:54 - 0:59from a dotcom executive in New York
who wanted to take over the world, -
0:59 - 1:01to a military press officer in Qatar,
-
1:01 - 1:04who would rather not take over the world.
-
1:04 - 1:06If you've seen the film
"Control Room" that was sent out, -
1:06 - 1:08you'd understand a little bit why.
-
1:08 - 1:09(Applause)
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1:09 - 1:10Thank you.
-
1:10 - 1:14Wow! Some of you watched it.
That's great. That's great. -
1:14 - 1:18So basically what I'd like
to talk about today -
1:18 - 1:21is a way for people to travel,
-
1:21 - 1:25to meet people in a different way than --
-
1:25 - 1:28because you can't travel
all over the world at the same time. -
1:28 - 1:33And a long time ago --
well, about 40 years ago -- -
1:33 - 1:36my mom had an exchange student.
-
1:37 - 1:40And I'm going to show you
slides of the exchange student. -
1:40 - 1:41This is Donna.
-
1:41 - 1:43This is Donna at the Statue of Liberty.
-
1:44 - 1:47This is my mother and aunt
teaching Donna how to ride a bike. -
1:49 - 1:50This is Donna eating ice cream.
-
1:51 - 1:56And this is Donna teaching my aunt
how to do a Filipino dance. -
1:58 - 2:00I really think as the world
is getting smaller, -
2:00 - 2:02it becomes more and more important
-
2:02 - 2:04that we learn each other's dance moves,
-
2:04 - 2:06that we meet each other,
we get to know each other, -
2:06 - 2:10we are able to figure out
a way to cross borders, -
2:10 - 2:13to understand each other, to understand
people's hopes and dreams, -
2:13 - 2:14what makes them laugh and cry.
-
2:14 - 2:17And I know that we can't
all do exchange programs, -
2:17 - 2:19and I can't force everybody to travel;
-
2:19 - 2:22I've already talked about that
to Chris and Amy, -
2:22 - 2:24and they said that
there's a problem with this: -
2:24 - 2:26You can't force people, free will.
-
2:26 - 2:29And I totally support that,
so we're not forcing people to travel. -
2:29 - 2:31But I'd like to talk
about another way to travel -
2:31 - 2:34that doesn't require
a ship or an airplane, -
2:34 - 2:39and just requires a movie camera,
a projector and a screen. -
2:39 - 2:44And that's what I'm going
to talk to you about today. -
2:44 - 2:49I was asked that I speak a little bit
about where I personally come from, -
2:49 - 2:52and Cameron, I don't know how
you managed to get out of that one, -
2:52 - 2:56but I think that building bridges
is important to me -
2:56 - 2:58because of where I come from.
-
2:58 - 3:02I'm the daughter of an American mother
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3:02 - 3:05and an Egyptian-Lebanese-Syrian father.
-
3:05 - 3:09So I'm the living product
of two cultures coming together. -
3:09 - 3:10No pun intended.
-
3:10 - 3:11(Laughter)
-
3:11 - 3:12And I've also been called,
-
3:12 - 3:15as an Egyptian-Lebanese-Syrian American
with a Persian name, -
3:15 - 3:17the "Middle East Peace Crisis."
-
3:17 - 3:22So maybe me starting to take
pictures was some kind of way -
3:22 - 3:25to bring both sides
of my family together -- -
3:25 - 3:30a way to take the worlds with me,
a way to tell stories visually. -
3:30 - 3:32It all kind of started that way,
-
3:32 - 3:36but I think that I really realized
the power of the image -
3:36 - 3:39when I first went
to the garbage-collecting village -
3:39 - 3:41in Egypt, when I was about 16.
-
3:41 - 3:44My mother took me there.
-
3:44 - 3:47She's somebody who believes strongly
in community service, -
3:47 - 3:49and decided that this was something
that I needed to do. -
3:49 - 3:53And so I went there and I met
some amazing women there. -
3:53 - 3:56There was a center there,
-
3:56 - 3:59where they were teaching
people how to read and write, -
3:59 - 4:01and get vaccinations
against the many diseases -
4:01 - 4:03you can get from sorting through garbage.
-
4:03 - 4:05And I began teaching there.
-
4:05 - 4:08I taught English, and I met
some incredible women there. -
4:08 - 4:13I met people that live
seven people to a room, -
4:13 - 4:15barely can afford their evening meal,
-
4:15 - 4:19yet lived with this strength
of spirit and sense of humor -
4:19 - 4:21and just incredible qualities.
-
4:21 - 4:25I got drawn into this community
and I began to take pictures there. -
4:25 - 4:32I took pictures of weddings
and older family members -- -
4:32 - 4:34things that they wanted memories of.
-
4:35 - 4:39About two years after I started
taking these pictures, -
4:39 - 4:43the UN Conference
on Population and Development -
4:43 - 4:46asked me to show them at the conference.
-
4:46 - 4:49So I was 18; I was very excited.
-
4:49 - 4:54It was my first exhibit of photographs
and they were all put up there, -
4:54 - 5:00and after about two days,
they all came down except for three. -
5:01 - 5:03People were very upset,
-
5:03 - 5:06very angry that I was showing
these dirty sides of Cairo, -
5:06 - 5:10and why didn't I cut
the dead donkey out of the frame? -
5:10 - 5:12And as I sat there, I got very depressed.
-
5:12 - 5:18I looked at this big empty wall
with three lonely photographs -
5:18 - 5:22that were, you know,
very pretty photographs -
5:22 - 5:25and I was like, "I failed at this."
-
5:25 - 5:30But I was looking at this intense
emotion and intense feeling -
5:30 - 5:33that had come out of people
just seeing these photographs. -
5:33 - 5:36Here I was, this 18-year-old pipsqueak
that nobody listened to, -
5:36 - 5:39and all of a sudden,
I put these photographs on the wall, -
5:39 - 5:42and there were arguments,
and they had to be taken down. -
5:42 - 5:45And I saw the power of the image,
and it was incredible. -
5:45 - 5:49And I think the most important reaction
that I saw there was actually from people -
5:49 - 5:52that would never have gone
to the garbage village themselves, -
5:52 - 5:55that would never have seen
that the human spirit could thrive -
5:55 - 5:57in such difficult circumstances.
-
5:57 - 5:59And I think it was at that point
-
5:59 - 6:03that I decided I wanted to use
photography and film -
6:03 - 6:05to somehow bridge gaps,
to bridge cultures, -
6:05 - 6:08bring people together, cross borders.
-
6:11 - 6:14And so that's what really
kind of started me off. -
6:14 - 6:18Did a stint at MTV, made a film
called "Startup.com," -
6:18 - 6:22and I've done a couple of music films.
-
6:22 - 6:26But in 2003, when the war
in Iraq was about to start, -
6:29 - 6:32it was a very surreal feeling for me,
-
6:32 - 6:34because before the war started,
-
6:34 - 6:36there was kind of this media war
that was going on. -
6:36 - 6:38And I was watching television in New York,
-
6:38 - 6:42and there seemed to be just one
point of view that was coming across, -
6:42 - 6:47and the coverage went
from the US State Department -
6:47 - 6:49to embedded troops.
-
6:49 - 6:52And what was coming across on the news
-
6:52 - 6:56was that there was going to be this
clean war and precision bombings, -
6:56 - 7:00and the Iraqis would be greeting
the Americans as liberators, -
7:00 - 7:03and throwing flowers at their feet
in the streets of Baghdad. -
7:03 - 7:06And I knew that there
was a completely other story -
7:06 - 7:09that was taking place in the Middle East,
where my parents were. -
7:09 - 7:12I knew that there was
a completely other story being told, -
7:12 - 7:16and I was thinking, "How are people
supposed to communicate with each other -
7:16 - 7:18when they're getting completely
different messages, -
7:18 - 7:20and nobody knows
what the other's being told? -
7:20 - 7:23How are people supposed to have
any kind of common understanding -
7:23 - 7:26or know how to move together
into the future? -
7:26 - 7:28So I knew that I had to go there.
-
7:28 - 7:30I just wanted to be in the center.
-
7:30 - 7:33I had no plan. I had no funding.
-
7:33 - 7:37I didn't even have a camera at the time --
I had somebody bring it there, -
7:37 - 7:40because I wanted
to get access to Al Jazeera, -
7:40 - 7:42George Bush's favorite channel,
-
7:42 - 7:47and a place which I was very curious
about because it's disliked -
7:47 - 7:50by many governments across the Arab world,
-
7:50 - 7:53and also called the mouthpiece
of Osama Bin Laden -
7:53 - 7:56by some people in the US government.
-
7:56 - 8:00So I was thinking, this station
that's hated by so many people -
8:00 - 8:01has to be doing something right.
-
8:01 - 8:05I've got to go see what this is all about.
-
8:05 - 8:07And I also wanted to go see
Central Command, -
8:07 - 8:09which was 10 minutes away.
-
8:09 - 8:14And that way, I could get access
to how this news was being created -- -
8:14 - 8:16on the Arab side, reaching the Arab world,
-
8:16 - 8:19and on the US and Western side,
reaching the US. -
8:19 - 8:21And when I went there and sat there,
-
8:21 - 8:24and met these people
that were in the center of it, -
8:24 - 8:27and sat with these characters,
-
8:27 - 8:32I met some surprising,
very complex people. -
8:32 - 8:36And I'd like to share with you
a little bit of that experience -
8:36 - 8:37of when you sit with somebody
-
8:37 - 8:40and you film them, and you listen to them,
-
8:40 - 8:43and you allow them more
than a five-second sound bite. -
8:43 - 8:48The amazing complexity of people emerges.
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8:52 - 8:54Samir Khader: Business as usual.
-
8:54 - 8:58Iraq, and then Iraq, and then Iraq.
-
9:01 - 9:06But between us, if I'm offered
a job with Fox, I'll take it. -
9:11 - 9:15To change the Arab nightmare
into the American dream. -
9:21 - 9:23I still have that dream.
-
9:23 - 9:26Maybe I will never be able to do it,
-
9:26 - 9:30but I have plans for my children.
-
9:31 - 9:32When they finish high school,
-
9:32 - 9:34I will send them to America
to study there. -
9:34 - 9:36I will pay for their study.
-
9:37 - 9:39And they will stay there.
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9:45 - 9:49Josh Rushing: The night they showed
the POWs and the dead soldiers -- -
9:49 - 9:50Al Jazeera showed them --
-
9:50 - 9:53it was powerful, because America
doesn't show those kinds of images. -
9:54 - 9:56Most of the news in America
won't show really gory images -
9:56 - 9:59and this showed American soldiers
in uniform, strewn about a floor, -
9:59 - 10:01a cold tile floor.
-
10:01 - 10:03And it was revolting.
-
10:03 - 10:05It was absolutely revolting.
-
10:05 - 10:06It made me sick at my stomach.
-
10:06 - 10:10And then what hit me was,
the night before, -
10:10 - 10:13there had been some kind
of bombing in Basra, -
10:13 - 10:18and Al Jazeera had shown
images of the people. -
10:18 - 10:22And they were equally, if not more,
horrifying -- the images were. -
10:22 - 10:25And I remember having seen it
in the Al Jazeera office, -
10:25 - 10:28and thought to myself, "Wow, that's gross.
-
10:28 - 10:30That's bad."
-
10:30 - 10:33And then going away, and probably
eating dinner or something. -
10:33 - 10:35And it didn't affect me as much.
-
10:35 - 10:37So, the impact that had on me --
-
10:37 - 10:41me realizing that I just saw
people on the other side, -
10:41 - 10:44and those people in the Al Jazeera office
-
10:44 - 10:46must have felt the way
I was feeling that night, -
10:46 - 10:49and it upset me on a profound level
-
10:49 - 10:53that I wasn't as bothered
as much the night before. -
10:54 - 10:55It makes me hate war.
-
10:56 - 10:58But it doesn't make me believe
that we're in a world -
10:58 - 11:00that can live without war yet.
-
11:00 - 11:03Jehane Noujaim: I was overwhelmed
by the response of the film. -
11:03 - 11:06We didn't know whether
it would be able to get out there. -
11:06 - 11:07We had no funding for it.
-
11:07 - 11:10We were incredibly lucky
that it got picked up. -
11:11 - 11:14And when we showed the film
-
11:14 - 11:16in both the United States
and the Arab world, -
11:16 - 11:18we had such incredible reactions.
-
11:18 - 11:21It was amazing to see how people
were moved by this film. -
11:21 - 11:24In the Arab world --
-
11:24 - 11:26and it's not really by the film,
it's by the characters -- -
11:26 - 11:31I mean, Josh Rushing was
this incredibly complex person -
11:31 - 11:32who was thinking about things.
-
11:32 - 11:34And when I showed the film
in the Middle East, -
11:34 - 11:37people wanted to meet Josh.
-
11:37 - 11:40He kind of redefined us
as an American population. -
11:41 - 11:45People started to ask me,
"Where is this guy now?" -
11:45 - 11:47Al Jazeera offered him a job.
-
11:47 - 11:49(Laughter)
-
11:49 - 11:51And Samir, on the other hand,
-
11:51 - 11:55was also quite an interesting character
for the Arab world to see, -
11:55 - 11:58because it brought out the complexities
of this love-hate relationship -
11:58 - 12:00that the Arab world has with the West.
-
12:01 - 12:06In the United States, I was blown away
by the motivations, -
12:06 - 12:09the positive motivations
of the American people -
12:09 - 12:11when they'd see this film.
-
12:11 - 12:13You know, we're criticized abroad
-
12:13 - 12:17for believing we're the saviors
of the world in some way, -
12:17 - 12:20but the flip side of it is that, actually,
-
12:20 - 12:22when people do see
what is happening abroad -
12:22 - 12:25and people's reactions
to some of our policy abroad, -
12:25 - 12:27we feel this power, that we need to --
-
12:27 - 12:30we feel like we have to get
the power to change things. -
12:30 - 12:31And I saw this with audiences.
-
12:31 - 12:35This woman came up to me
after the screening and said, -
12:35 - 12:37"You know, I know this is crazy.
-
12:37 - 12:39I saw the bombs being loaded
on the planes, -
12:39 - 12:41I saw the military going out to war,
-
12:41 - 12:43but you don't understand
people's anger towards us -
12:43 - 12:47until you see the people in the hospitals
and the victims of the war, -
12:47 - 12:49and how do we get out of this bubble?
-
12:49 - 12:53How do we understand what
the other person is thinking?" -
12:54 - 12:58Now, I don't know whether
a film can change the world. -
12:58 - 13:01But I know the power of it,
-
13:01 - 13:04I know that it starts people thinking
about how to change the world. -
13:05 - 13:06Now, I'm not a philosopher,
-
13:06 - 13:09so I feel like I shouldn't
go into great depth on this, -
13:09 - 13:13but let film speak for itself
and take you to this other world. -
13:13 - 13:17Because I believe that film has
the ability to take you across borders, -
13:17 - 13:21I'd like you to just sit back
and experience for a couple of minutes -
13:21 - 13:23being taken into another world.
-
13:23 - 13:29And these couple clips take you inside
of two of the most difficult conflicts -
13:29 - 13:30that we're faced with today.
-
13:32 - 13:35[The last 48 hours of two
Palestinian suicide bombers.] -
13:37 - 13:38[Paradise Now]
-
13:40 - 13:43[Man: As long as there is injustice,
someone must make a sacrifice!] -
13:43 - 13:45[Woman: That's no
sacrifice, that's revenge!] -
13:47 - 13:52[If you kill, there's no difference
between victim and occupier.] -
13:52 - 13:58[Man: If we had airplanes, we wouldn't
need martyrs, that's the difference.] -
13:58 - 14:03[Woman: The difference is that the Israeli
military is still stronger.] -
14:03 - 14:05[Man: Then let us be equal in death.]
-
14:05 - 14:07[We still have Paradise.]
-
14:07 - 14:10[Woman: There is no Paradise!
It only exists in your head!] -
14:10 - 14:12[Man: God forbid!]
-
14:13 - 14:15[May God forgive you.]
-
14:15 - 14:18[If you were not Abu Azzam's daughter ...]
-
14:20 - 14:23[Anyway, I'd rather have Paradise
in my head than live in this hell!] -
14:23 - 14:25[In this life, we're dead anyway.]
-
14:27 - 14:32[One only chooses bitterness
when the alternative is even bitterer.] -
14:33 - 14:35[Woman: And what about us?
The ones who remain?] -
14:36 - 14:39[Will we win that way?]
-
14:39 - 14:44[Don't you see what you're
doing is destroying us?] -
14:44 - 14:48[And that you give Israel
an alibi to carry on?] -
14:48 - 14:50[Man: So with no alibi, Israel will stop?]
-
14:50 - 14:55[Woman: Perhaps. We have
to turn it into a moral war.] -
14:55 - 14:58[Man: How, if Israel has no morals?]
-
14:58 - 15:00[Woman: Be careful!]
-
15:01 - 15:07[And the real people building
peace through non-violence] -
15:08 - 15:11[Encounter Point]
-
15:12 - 15:16Video: (Ambulance siren)
[Tel Aviv, Israel 1996] -
15:17 - 15:19[Tzvika: My wife Ayelet
called me and said, ] -
15:19 - 15:22["There was a suicide
bombing in Tel Aviv."] -
15:23 - 15:25[Ayelet: What do you know
about the casualties?] -
15:25 - 15:28[Tzvika off-screen:
We're looking for three girls.] -
15:28 - 15:30[We have no information.]
-
15:30 - 15:34[Ayelet: One is wounded here, but we
haven't heard from the other three.] -
15:34 - 15:38[Tzvika: I said, "OK,
that's Bat-Chen, that's my daughter.] -
15:38 - 15:40[Are you sure she is dead?"]
-
15:40 - 15:41[They said yes.]
-
15:41 - 15:44Video: (Police siren
and shouting over megaphone) -
15:44 - 15:48[Bethlehem, Occupied
Palestinian Territories, 2003] -
15:50 - 15:53[George: On that day, at around 6:30]
-
15:53 - 16:00[I was driving with my wife
and daughters to the supermarket.] -
16:01 - 16:05[When we got to here ...]
-
16:05 - 16:10[we saw three Israeli military jeeps
parked on the side of the road.] -
16:11 - 16:14[When we passed by the first jeep ...]
-
16:14 - 16:17[they opened fire on us.]
-
16:17 - 16:20[And my 12-year-old daughter Christine]
-
16:20 - 16:22[was killed in the shooting.]
-
16:23 - 16:27[Bereaved Families Forum, Jerusalem]
-
16:34 - 16:37[Tzvika: I'm the headmaster
for all parts.] -
16:37 - 16:39[George: But there is a teacher
that is in charge?] -
16:39 - 16:41[Tzvika: Yes, I have assistants.]
-
16:41 - 16:44[I deal with children all the time.]
-
16:44 - 16:49[One year after their daughters' deaths
both Tzvika and George join the forum] -
16:51 - 16:56[George: At first, I thought
it was a strange idea.] -
16:56 - 16:59[But after thinking logically about it, ]
-
16:59 - 17:04[I didn't find any reason
why not to meet them] -
17:04 - 17:09[and let them know of our suffering.]
-
17:10 - 17:13[Tzvika: There were
many things that touched me.] -
17:13 - 17:18[We see that there are Palestinians
who suffered a lot, who lost children,] -
17:18 - 17:22[and still believe in the peace
process and in reconciliation.] -
17:22 - 17:26[If we who lost what is most precious
can talk to each other,] -
17:26 - 17:29[and look forward to a better future,]
-
17:29 - 17:34[then everyone else must do so, too.]
-
17:36 - 17:40[From South Africa:
A Revolution Through Music] -
17:40 - 17:43[Amandla]
-
17:43 - 17:44(Music)
-
17:44 - 17:47(Video) Man: Song is something
that we communicated with people -
17:47 - 17:52who otherwise would not have
understood where we're coming from. -
17:52 - 17:55You could give them
a long political speech, -
17:55 - 17:57they would still not understand.
-
17:57 - 18:00But I tell you, when you finish that song,
-
18:00 - 18:03people will be like, "Damn, I know
where you niggas are coming from. -
18:04 - 18:06I know where you guys are coming from.
-
18:06 - 18:07Death unto apartheid!"
-
18:08 - 18:10Narrator: It's about
the liberation struggle. -
18:11 - 18:15It's about those children
who took to the streets -- -
18:15 - 18:19fighting, screaming,
"Free Nelson Mandela!" -
18:19 - 18:24It's about those unions
who put down their tools -
18:24 - 18:26and demanded freedom.
-
18:27 - 18:30Yes. Yes!
-
18:30 - 18:35(Music and singing)
-
18:35 - 18:37(Singing) Freedom!
-
18:38 - 18:41(Applause)
-
18:41 - 18:45Jehane Noujaim: I think everybody's
had that feeling of sitting in a theater, -
18:45 - 18:49in a dark room, with other strangers,
watching a very powerful film, -
18:49 - 18:52and they felt that feeling
of transformation. -
18:52 - 18:55And what I'd like to talk about is
-
18:55 - 18:58how can we use that feeling
-
18:58 - 19:01to actually create
a movement through film? -
19:03 - 19:07I've been listening to the talks
in the conference, -
19:07 - 19:09and Robert Wright said yesterday
-
19:09 - 19:13that if we have an appreciation
for another person's humanity, -
19:13 - 19:16then they will have
an appreciation for ours. -
19:16 - 19:17And that's what this is about.
-
19:17 - 19:20It's about connecting people through film,
-
19:20 - 19:23getting these independent
voices out there. -
19:23 - 19:28Now, Josh Rushing actually
ended up leaving the military -
19:28 - 19:30and taking a job with Al Jazeera.
-
19:30 - 19:32(Laughter)
-
19:32 - 19:35So his feeling is that
he's at Al Jazeera International -
19:35 - 19:38because he feels like
he can actually use media -
19:38 - 19:40to bridge the gap between East and West.
-
19:41 - 19:43And that's an amazing thing.
-
19:43 - 19:46But I've been trying to think about ways
-
19:46 - 19:49to give power to these independent voices,
-
19:49 - 19:51to give power to the filmmakers,
-
19:51 - 19:55to give power to people who are trying
to use film for change. -
19:55 - 19:57And there are incredible organizations
-
19:57 - 19:59that are out there doing this already.
-
19:59 - 20:02There's Witness,
that you heard from earlier. -
20:02 - 20:06There's Just Vision, that are working
with Palestinians and Israelis -
20:06 - 20:09who are working together for peace,
and documenting that process -
20:09 - 20:12and getting interviews
out there and using this film -
20:12 - 20:15to take to Congress to show
that it's a powerful tool, -
20:15 - 20:19to show that this is a woman who's had
her daughter killed in an attack, -
20:19 - 20:22and she believes that there
are peaceful ways to solve this. -
20:22 - 20:26There's Working Films
and there's Current TV, -
20:26 - 20:30which is an incredible platform
for people around the world -
20:30 - 20:31to be able to put their --
-
20:31 - 20:32(Applause)
-
20:32 - 20:33Yeah, it's amazing.
-
20:33 - 20:37I've watched it and I'm blown away by it
-
20:37 - 20:40and its potential to bring voices
from around the world -- -
20:40 - 20:42independent voices
from around the world -- -
20:42 - 20:45and create a truly democratic,
global television. -
20:45 - 20:49So what can we do to create
a platform for these organizations, -
20:49 - 20:51to create some momentum,
-
20:51 - 20:54to get everybody in the world
involved in this movement? -
20:56 - 21:00I'd like for us to imagine for a second.
-
21:01 - 21:08Imagine a day when you have everyone
coming together from around the world. -
21:09 - 21:16You have towns and villages
and theaters -- -
21:16 - 21:18all from around the world,
-
21:18 - 21:21getting together, and sitting in the dark,
-
21:21 - 21:26and sharing a communal
experience of watching a film, -
21:26 - 21:28or a couple of films, together.
-
21:29 - 21:34Watching a film which maybe highlights
a character that is fighting to live, -
21:35 - 21:38or just a character
that defies stereotypes, -
21:38 - 21:40makes a joke, sings a song.
-
21:40 - 21:42Comedies, documentaries, shorts.
-
21:42 - 21:45This amazing power
can be used to change people -
21:45 - 21:48and to bond people together;
to cross borders, -
21:48 - 21:51and have people feel like
they're having a communal experience. -
21:51 - 21:54So if you imagine this day
when all around the world, -
21:54 - 22:00you have theaters and places
where we project films. -
22:00 - 22:03If you imagine projecting
from Times Square -
22:03 - 22:06to Tahrir Square in Cairo,
-
22:06 - 22:10the same film in Ramallah,
the same film in Jerusalem. -
22:10 - 22:13You know, we've been talking
to a friend of mine -
22:13 - 22:16about using the side of the Great Pyramid
-
22:16 - 22:18and the Great Wall of China.
-
22:20 - 22:23It's endless what you can imagine,
-
22:23 - 22:25in terms of where you can project films
-
22:25 - 22:28and where you can have
this communal experience. -
22:28 - 22:31And I believe that this one day,
if we can create it, -
22:31 - 22:35this one day can create momentum
for all of these independent voices. -
22:35 - 22:40There isn't an organization
which is connecting the independent voices -
22:40 - 22:42of the world to get out there,
-
22:42 - 22:44and yet I'm hearing
throughout this conference -
22:44 - 22:46that the biggest challenge in our future
-
22:46 - 22:48is understanding the other,
-
22:48 - 22:52and having mutual respect
for the other and crossing borders. -
22:52 - 22:54And if film can do that,
-
22:54 - 22:57and if we can get all of these
different locations in the world -
22:57 - 23:00to watch these films together --
-
23:00 - 23:02this could be an incredible day.
-
23:02 - 23:06So we've already made a partnership,
-
23:06 - 23:09set up through somebody
from the TED community, -
23:09 - 23:12John Camen, who introduced me
to Steven Apkon, -
23:12 - 23:15from the Jacob Burns Film Center.
-
23:15 - 23:17And we started calling up everybody.
-
23:17 - 23:18And in the last week,
-
23:18 - 23:22there have been so many people
that have responded to us, -
23:22 - 23:27from as close as Palo Alto,
to Mongolia and to India. -
23:27 - 23:32There are people that want to be
a part of this global day of film; -
23:32 - 23:35to be able to provide a platform
for independent voices -
23:35 - 23:38and independent films to get out there.
-
23:39 - 23:43Now, we've thought
about a name for this day, -
23:43 - 23:45and I'd like to share this with you.
-
23:45 - 23:48Now, the most amazing part
of this whole process -
23:48 - 23:51has been sharing ideas and wishes,
-
23:51 - 23:54and so I invite you
to give brainstorms onto -
23:54 - 23:58how does this day echo into the future?
-
23:58 - 24:02How do we use technology to make
this day echo into the future, -
24:02 - 24:04so that we can build community
-
24:04 - 24:08and have these communities working
together, through the Internet? -
24:09 - 24:12There was a time, many, many years ago,
-
24:12 - 24:14when all of the continents
were stuck together. -
24:15 - 24:18And we call that landmass Pangea.
-
24:18 - 24:22So what we'd like to call this day of film
is Pangea Cinema Day. -
24:24 - 24:25And if you just imagine
-
24:25 - 24:29that all of these people
in these towns would be watching, -
24:29 - 24:33then I think that we can
actually really make a movement -
24:33 - 24:35towards people understanding
each other better. -
24:35 - 24:39I know that it's very intangible,
touching people's hearts and souls, -
24:39 - 24:41but the only way that I know how to do it,
-
24:41 - 24:45the only way that I know how to reach out
to somebody's heart and soul -
24:46 - 24:48all across the world,
is by showing them a film. -
24:48 - 24:51And I know that there are independent
filmmakers and films out there -
24:51 - 24:53that can really make this happen.
-
24:54 - 24:56And that's my wish.
-
24:56 - 25:01I guess I'm supposed to give you
my one-sentence wish, -
25:01 - 25:02but we're way out of time.
-
25:03 - 25:05Chris Anderson:
That is an incredible wish. -
25:05 - 25:08Pangea Cinema: The day
the world comes together. -
25:08 - 25:12JN: It's more tangible than world peace,
and it's certainly more immediate. -
25:12 - 25:17But it would be the day that the world
comes together through film, -
25:17 - 25:19the power of film.
-
25:19 - 25:21CA: Ladies and gentlemen, Jehane Noujaim.
- Title:
- My wish: A global day of film
- Speaker:
- Jehane Noujaim
- Description:
-
In this hopeful talk, Jehane Noujaim unveils her 2006 TED Prize wish: to bring the world together for one day a year through the power of film.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 25:21
Brian Greene commented on English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Jenny Zurawell edited English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Jenny Zurawell approved English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Jenny Zurawell edited English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Jenny Zurawell edited English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film | ||
Antonio Martinez accepted English subtitles for My wish: A global day of film |
Antonio Martinez
Great job.
Brian Greene
The English transcript was updated on October 2, 2015.