-[[ Half A Year On...]]-

"Half a year after the 7.8 earthquake in Kashmir, the victims are facing a small window of reconstruction before the next winter closes in" Yuli Yang (Director)

This documentary uses many interviewees especially of the survivors which I liked as its an idea for my own production. It also uses specialists and experts who are helping to rebuild Kashmir. It shows the people of Kashmir in desperate situations right before the snow closes in and as we are told kills many. The purpose is to get more money funded into the rebuilding of the land in the few months before the snow which in many places falls upto 8 feet. The film also shows why it is so serious as Kashmir is purely a mountainous area where majority of the people actually lived in the mountains, it shows that they need help before there lifes are threatened again. I liked the way the interviews took place and how in between speech footage was shown which I would like to interpret into my own documentary but unlike this film representing the people as desperate I would prefer to show them as strong due to how much they have overcome.

-[[ The Forgotten ]]-

"Why does the news interest fade so quickly on a disaster that took the life of more than 87000 people?ft. interviews with BBC, Al Jazeera journalist, Pakistani foreign spokes person, Imran Khan, Lord Ahmed"

I particularly liked this film as it's main question was something which interested me "why does the news interest fade so quickly on a disaster that took the life of more than 87,00 people?" it works to find answers for it and discusses it with many people who are meant to be helping the situation. It also like the other films discusses the problem of rain, snow and landsliding which I escaped too this year. Showing that news interest has still lessened despite all these issues which are still killing people. Again its a short film which fits in all the questions the director had to ask which can help me produce a short and concise film of my own.

-[[ Azan ]]-

I have decided to use the arabic call for prayer (azan) within my documentary. I will be using it in the opening montage as the earthquake took place in the early morning when azan occurs so many people were praying or had just finished. I think the azan will be parallel to what will be occuring on screen and be effective in gaining the attention of the audience and creating an atmosphere.

-[[ Edhi Foundation ]]-

My documentary will be focusing mainly on aid and donations provided towards the earthquake. The main charity which will be discussed in my film will be The Edhi Foundation. I choose this organisation as it is a non profit charity set up by Dr Abdul Sattar Edhi one of the most active philanthropists not only in Pakistan but in the world. I will discuss several aid providers (countries and organisations) but focusing on the Edhi Trust. The Foundation and Edhi himself have won many international & national awards including a Lenin Peace Prize, Balzan Prize for Humanity,Peace and Brotherhood, Lifetime Acheivement Award by the WMO. This year he is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Here is a man who has dedicated his whole life to serving the most marginalized and the most wretched in society. The destitutes, the mentally ill, corpses left by the roadside, children abandoned at his doorsteps, women kicked out by their families. When there is no one to go to, there is always Edhi Sahib to go to."


Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, or reputation to a charitable cause. The term may apply to any volunteer or to anyone who makes a donation, but the label is most often applied to those who donate large sums of money or who make a major impact through their volunteering, such as a trustee who manages a philanthropic organization.

-[[ M.u.z.a.f.f.a.r.a.b.a.d ]]-[[ 04.01.07 ]]-

For the filming I revisited Kashmir, mainly Muzaffarabad. Most of the rubble had been cleared away by then but the damage was still obvious with large cracks in the road, broken homes & buildings but Muazaffarabad seemed like it had moved on and was pretty much back to normal with its lively atmosphere. We visited most of the camps donated from many countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Tunisia. We came across a new camp which had been opened up by "Azad Kashmir Radio Station" were a lot of rebuilding was going on, with new homes being built so we decided to go in. We came across this man who was a radio producer at "Azad Radio" who lived there and was kind enough to invite us into his home he told us about the whole disaster and how his wife & 4 year old son were stuck underneath all the rubble of their home for 4 days. Luckily no one in his immediate family was killed but in his whole family & his wife's just under 100 were killed instantly, not including all those that were left injured. He then took us up to the epicentre of the earthquake were new mountains have been formed due to the great strength of the earthquake. Finally, he took us up to the "Azad Kashmir Radio & T.V Station" which was completely flattened except for the guard's office at the front and the Mosque. One of the TV Producers there, Shazia Malik, showed us around and told us stories of all those killed there including her assistant and the guard who had just gotten home from his night shift just to have his roof fall down on him and kill him. She showed us around buildings which "PTV" a Pakistani Television channel had donated as well as a new studio which was built from Japenese donations. The people weren't even scared that the snow was coming, which is a big fear after the earthquake as the snow can fall upto 8 ft and kills many of the homeless or poorer people in Kashmir, they also weren't scared of the landsliding which again is a major issue there due to the mountainous area. The day that we left Kashmir a huge landsliding incident occured which caused several cars and a coach of people to fall of the mountain, killing over 60 people, which we managed to escape by a few hours. Overall the whole experience was amazing and it really made me realise how strong these people are. From looking at footage and the news several months after the whole disaster, one year ago I didn't really see their strength as it was still fresh and no one was quite sure what to do..be thankful to GOD that their still alive..or be upset that everyone they loved was now dead. But a year on, with time to be thankful and grow they show their strength, that despite all that's happened to them they still have faith in GOD, faith within themselves and most of all unity. It seems that this whole earthquake brought not only Kashmir together again but the whole of Pakistan, who worked night and day to rebuild lives.

.x. Bia .x.

-[[ The Plan ]]-

For my media production I will be making a documentary on the Kashmiri Earthquake of 2005. The documentary will cover the progress of the last year using interviews and facts. I'll be looking more deeply into the reasons for why the earthquake was so devasting, aid provided and how life's changed in Kashmir one year on. I've already done all the filming during the Christmas holidays when I visited Kashmir so now I'm just waiting on the editing equipment and finalising my plans & dialogue for the voice over.

x...Bia...x