A Musical Caravan of Peace

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Thu, 03/20/2014 - 11:28 -- Nick Dager

Director Michael Meredith and DP Troy Word on location in Mali.Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney and Academy Award-nominated director Wim Wenders are partnering with director Michael Meredith for a new documentary Return to Timbuktu to chronicle the quest of Festival au Désert director Manny Ansar to bring his music festival back to Mali. After the country’s descent into instability in 2012, the Festival au Désert was exiled from Northern Mali.  But 2015 will hopefully mark the return of the Festival to Mali, with Ansar leading a Caravan of Peace to restore his homeland. The filmmakers are currently on location in Mali and via email I recently spoke with Meredith and director of photography Troy Word about the many challenges this production poses.

First some background. The destabilization of the Western African nation of Mali began in March 2012, when a military coup turned the country’s historic city Timbuktu into a violent war zone.  Islamic militants imposed Sharia law, forcing more than one million Malians to flee, resulting in the largest displacement of people in the history of the Southern Sahara.  The French military reclaimed control of the city in February 2013, but countless Malians remain in refugee camps, plagued by shortages of food, shelter, and security, and the militants’ egregious ban of all music remains unbroken.  Mali, considered the birthplace of modern rhythm and blues, has fallen silent.

Meredith first met Ansar in the Malian capital Bamako last year after the French reclaimed the city.  Since then, Meredith and his filmmaking team have followed Ansar around the world—from Mali and Burkina Faso to Wales and the United Nations General Assembly in New York—as he campaigns for international awareness of the Malian crisis, encourages refugees to return to their homes, and rallies musicians to use their voices to reunite a war torn country. 

On January 27 Ansar initiated a procession of traveling musicians, caravanning from refugee camps and cities to encourage Malians to return to their homes in Timbuktu.  The Caravan culminated at the Festival sur le Niger on February 5 commemorated by a Great Night of Peace. For many of the performers, this is the first time they are playing at a Festival in Mali since the conflict began. The following step will be the grand finale, returning the Festival au Désert back to Timbuktu.

Alex Gibney is known for his gripping, deeply insightful documentaries and is one of the most accomplished non-fiction filmmakers working today. His 2008 film, Taxi to the Dark Side, received an Oscar for Best Feature-Length Documentary, a Best Director nomination from the Director’s Guild of America, as well as a Writer’s Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay. He received another Academy Award nomination in 2006 for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, which also won the Independent Spirit Award and the WGA Award, and he served as an Executive Producer on the Academy Award-nominated No End In Sight (2007). 

The project is relying on several Canon EOS Cinema cameras and lenses.Wim Wenders ranks among the important directors of world cinema and is one of the leading representatives of New German Film. His feature film debut was in 1970 with his graduation film Summer in the City. Subsequent films include The Wrong Move; The American Friend; Hammett; State of Things (for which he received the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival); Paris, Texas (Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival); Wings of Desire (for which he won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival); and Until the End of the World. For his documentaries Buena Vista Social Club and Pina he received an Academy Award nomination.

The filmmakers have launched an Indiegogo campaign (http://igg.me/at/Timbuktu) to raise additional funds for production of the documentary and to build awareness around the subject of the film:  the inspiring story of the Malian people—forced to flee their homeland to escape violent infighting—and their caravan of peace harnessing the power of music to restore the will of the people.  The funds raised from the Indiegogo campaign will offset the production’s travel fees as they continue to shadow Ansar during his journey across the Malian countryside.

Digital Cinema Report: How big is your crew and who has what assignments?

Michael Meredith: Our crew size ranges, but we use a core group of three: DP, sound person, and interviewer. Sometimes I’ll operate B cam and when necessary, I’ll do it all.

DCR: You’re shooting with a selection of Canon EOS Cinema cameras. What camera are you using as your main camera or is there such a thing in this case?

Troy Word: We are using both 1DC’s and a C-300. They are both unique in their respective abilities. The C300 is the closest thing we have to an A-camera. It is unparalleled in its speed and ease of use in a high pressure quickly changing Cinema Veritè shooting situation. The built in ND filtration, readily accessible exposure controls, and electronic viewfinder make it a seamless extension of the filmmakers eye. The mechanics of the camera become instinctive and free you to focus on the cinematography. The unique qualities of the 1DC are its relative small size, yet retaining the ability for amazing image capture.  In sensitive shooting situations, it is also much less conspicuous. I feel its real advantage is its perception by the subjects as a still camera. Therefore they respond often in a more natural way.

DCR: Shooting in various lighting situations, with multiple cameras is challenging. How easy has it been to match the footage?

Michael Meredith with a Canon EOS C300 and 24-105 Canon lens.MM: It can be tricky in some circumstances, but I try to use as much available light as possible which makes matching easier. 

DCR: What lenses are you using? 

TW:  We tend to use the 24-105mm and the 70-200mm lenses in run and gun situations. The light weight and image stabilization make them super versatile choices. For more formal interviews the CN-E15.5-47mm and CN-E30-105mm are our go to lenses. They have amazing bokeh and highlight rolloff. The really give the images a cinematic feel. The ability to reframe with the zoom during interviews give us a huge advantage in the edit room as well.

DCR: Do you have a favorite lens?

TW: I love the CN-E 30-105mm. If I had to choose one lens that would be it.

MM: It’s not my favorite to carry, but the CN-E30-300mm has some incredible glass.

DCR: Is that lens choice specific to this movie or is it what you always prefer using?

TW:  The CN-E 30-105mm is a great performer in any situation from docs to TV commercials.

MM: Definitely specific to this movie. We use the CN-E30-300mm for shooting wide open road shots, such as trucks of refugees coming over the distant horizon or filming at concerts when you can’t get on stage. 

DCR: How much of the film is being shot with available light?

TW:  90 percent is being shot with available light. 

A screen grab from Return to Timbuktu.MM: The natural light in Mali has a special quality to it so I try to use available as often as possible. It also allows for a less intimidating setting to conduct interviews.

DCR: Documentaries depend on speed and flexibility. What’s in your lighting kit?

TW:  In Africa we only had one battery powered LED ring light, which we used a couple of times at night. The amazing low light performance of the C300 negates the need for additional lights in most situations.

DCR: This is a film about music so sound is, if anything, of even greater importance than in most movies. How are you handling the audio?

TW:  Audio is a huge challenge. We are using a combo of onboard mic’s and a second system recorder on a boom. The decision is made in the edit room which to use for each situation. Sometimes the only sound we have is from the onboard mic due to the fluidity of the situation.

MM: We lav the subjects and boom as best we can. For live improv music, we try to add a strategically placed zoom recorder and for concerts we plug into the board. Sound is extremely important to us and Africa is a far cry from a sound stage. It has been challenging to say the least, but once you listen to a well-recorded piece of music, you’re reminded that it’s worth the hassle. 

DCR: I would assume that obtaining the rights to some or all of this music will be a challenge. Is that true and, if so, how are you addressing that?

MM: We have a real range of musicians in the film, some internationally known and some virtually unknown. The latter are obviously easier when it comes to rights, but all of the musicians have a strong desire for the songs to be used as messages of peace. Illiteracy in Mali is a problem, which makes music a particular important means of communication. So the artists and the reps seem to truly want peace more than profits.

The filmmakers hope to finish Return to Tmbuktu next year.DCR: What progress have you made in your fundraising efforts so far?

MM: Both Alex Gibney and I have invested in the film personally, and we’re currently launching a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo. Shooting in an African war zone has exhausted our personal resources, so we’re really hoping the Gogo crowd will support us.

DCR: Have you had conversations yet with any distributors?

MM: Not yet. We’re really still in the early stages of filming with the heart of the story coming up this summer and fall. 

DCR: In your estimation, what percentage of the movie have you shot?

MM: This is a tough question to answer when it comes to documentaries since the story can evolve, but I’d say about 30-40 percent.

DCR: Are you editing as you go along or will you wait until everything has been shot to start post?

MM: We’re in the process of editing now and will continue to cut along the way. I look at our editor as a co-director of sorts so Jeff is a critical and ongoing part of the team. 

DCR: Has the story taken shape in your mind yet or are you still exploring ideas?

MM:  I explored some new ideas that surfaced while shooting, but they kept leading me back to the original concept; musicians using the power of song to unite their war-torn country. Within that concept there are many roads to travel, but I think I have the grand scheme of things figured out.

DCR: When do you anticipate completing this project?

MM: We’re all hoping that the Festival au Desert will return to Timbuktu this year, and I would use that as the final shoot. If Al Qaeda successfully shuts it down for a 3rd year, the musicians will stage an alternative event of some kind. So this summer or early fall we’ll wrap the filming and aim for release in early 2015.

To learn more about Return to Timbuktu, Ansar’s journey, or to support the Indiegogo campaign, please visit:http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/return-to-timbuktu.

 

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