National Geographic Society

In the Washington D.C. area?  Swing by the National Geographic Society headquarters in the heart of NW and check out the traveling exhibit by the 2006 All Roads Photography Award winners.  For those of you who have already witnessed the amazing stories caught on the canvas of still images, let us know what you thought!

When the day began, there were over 180 tickets yet unsold for tonight's program "The Walls Between Us" featuring the films One Wish, The Last Supper-Abu Dis and Zero Degrees of Separation. By showtime, the house was once again Sold Out with attendees both filling the seats and lining the walls  of National Geographic's Grosvenor Auditorium to full capacity. Emotions ran as high as the room was full on a night where unique perspectives from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict were the highlight of tonight's program.  Certainly some attendees were bit squeamish in their seats as each of the films provided a point-of-view on the hot-button issue that is not frequently told through the channels of our mainstream media.  While National Geographic does not officially endorse or oppose any of the views expressed in the films shown, the All Roads Film Project lived up to it's billing by providing a venue for the unique stories of minority and underrepresented voices.  The project went a step further at the conclusion of the films by opening up the floor into an open forum for questions.  Traditionally, passions run strong on both sides of this issue.  As we learned tonight, one's untold story is another's propaganda.  In what had the potential for an explosive political trainwreck, the forum became a constructive, though mildly contentious exchange of ideas.  This was in no small part due to the finesse with which moderator Mark Bauman was able to keep the flow from getting out of hand.  Filmmakers Issa Freig and Elle Flanders, Palestinian and Israeli respectively, handled the difficult questions with eloquence, at times defending their works within the fine line of art and politics.  By the end of the night it became evident that consensus could not be reached in such a time-constrained forum, although break away discussions carried on long after the room emptied out under the stars.  Thus one of the positive outcomes of the All Roads experience.  All of the questions may never be answered though it is through this kind of open, constructive dialogue, the healing can begin.... 

National Geographic Headquarters in Washington D.C.  welcomed the arrival of the 3rd Annual All Roads Film Festival with a sold out opening night.  Attendees filled the seats and lined the walls of the Grosvenor Auditorium as Tibet took center stage in both sound and film.  With spellbounding serenity, vocalist Yungchen Lhamo wove the magic of her voice throughout the room.  Interestingly, when it came time for the D.C audience to share the vocal duties in a participatory chant, attendees were relatively subdued compared with similar experiences in LA and Europe.  This in no way reflected the feverent applause Lhamo recieved at the conclusion of her performace.

The mysticism continued with the Washington D.C. premiere of Milarepa.  The film is an insightful journey of some of the struggles facing mankind: greed, jealousy, faith and loyalty. I am eagerly  awaiting the release of Part II in 2009. 

Untill then, we have tomorrow!!!

Before arriving in Washington D.C., the 2006 All Roads Photographers will be taking a detour to Stanford University tonight for a feature presentation at the Aurora Forum.  In an event titled: Making Connections: Photographic Storytellers from Around the World, All Roads Photographers Sailful Huq (Bangledesh), Larry McNeil (Tlingit Nation), Sandra Pedro (Guatamala), and Newsha Tavakolian (Iran) will join National Geographic Fellow Chris Rainer and others for a conversation and presentation of their work.  Join them as they discuss ways their images and stories make connections that help create a more just and beautiful world.

One the most rewarding outcomes of a festival such as All Roads are the relationships forged among such a talented pool of special people.  It is amazing to bear witness to the conception of friendships and alliances formed between this festival's filmmakers, photographers and festival staff from regions across the globe.  For those who frequently travel on the festival circuit, it is truly a small world.  In addition to the controlled environments that encourage collaboration such as roundtables and workshops, there is a social component to this festival where filmmakers get the chance to break down the inhibitions and really get to know each other.  It will be fascinating to see how these relationships materialize and evolve as these promising careers develop.