Big Sky Documentary Film Festival / Ethnofilm Paris - Before the Wave
Before the Wave is a vibrant short doc created with the Moken, a stateless tribe of sea nomads on the Andaman Sea, whose community was converted to Christianity after the 2005 tsunami. In their aquatic world, certainty and hope seem to melt with the burning sun yet never fully cease.
Interview with Director Molly Willows
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I fell in love with diving right around the time I met a few members of a Moken community on the Andaman. Their tribe has lived there for literally thousands of years as stateless nomads, and they can dive for up to five minutes by just holding their breath. I met them at a period in time between my undergrad and my post-grad that I was travelling extensively. I instantly forged a friendship with a few of the Moken, which is what spurred this project forward. I had a strong intuition that the community had a story to be told, and they certainly did. Plus they were into participating on camera to create a film with me, which was a necessary component to the whole process.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Beyond subject matter, which in this case is unique and totally engrossing I think, I was interested in exploring a more poetic side of ethnography and documentary. Watch this film for both form and content, and don't expect your usual fast-paced Hollywood or Netflix story arc ;)
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The majesty and importance of human diversity is something that we should all want to celebrate, I think, and then there are tougher more broad issues addressed like our fragile environment, marginalization of remote communities, the ongoing problematic of forced religion worldwide, and our duty as a human species to our future generations to live in a beautiful, manifold world. There's a lot subtly at play within the 24 minutes of this film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
There really was no script for the film ever. Only piles of lived/experienced research. But definitely the story took different shape as filming progressed. The teaser for the film is a bit inacurate at this point. Initially I thought the crux of the film's 'issue' would be eco-tourism and these awful Moken 'human zoos' which are sadly manifesting in a lot of communities on remote islands around Burma and Thailand. Basically, the Moken trade in their traditional lifestyle to make handicrafts for tourists and take them on lame 'tours'. It's largely destroying their happiness and their way of life. They are like animals in a zoo.
Instead, the film shifted to Christian missionaries who likewise have made and continue to make their indelible mark for the worse on indigenous Moken communities. It shifted to this storyline because that was the issue the community I most bonded with now faces.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Feedback has been quite positive - the overarching comment being 'it's so beautiful!' Which is nice, but I hope the issues are also getting across as much as the beauty of the people and the place.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
There was constant feedback and challenged points of view throughout the whole process of making this film. It was also my Master's Thesis in Visual Anthropology at the Freie Universitat Berlin. Questions about power, privilege, the crisis of representation, and how to represent a marginalized community that is not your own were something I consciously worked through for the five year process of filmmaking with the Moken community. Early discussions with peers about voyeurism and objectification really helped to keep me on a path of shared anthropology and storytelling, which I hope comes across in the film. The Moken individuals on camera in this film really wanted to make themselves heard and seen.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Nothing really, but it's great to be a part of it!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Honestly, this film was made for its own sake. I am so happy with its result and response so far!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Most importantly, I haven't gotten to share it with the individuals and community it features yet. A family emergency forced me to cancel my trip there a couple months ago, so now it's a matter of finding that chance to get there ASAP.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Oh man! That's a tough one. How do we ensure the world doesn't become any more a boring homogenous place than it's already becoming? As Westerners, how do we fulfill our duty to future generations in this world, how do we allow diversity to flourish, and how can we support these far flung or marginalized communities being torn apart by globalization and the drive to homogeneity? Ancient peoples cannot be sequestered to some romantic ideal of the past... they also belong to the modern with cell phones, TVs, etc. and yet the West is also at fault for inserting communities into a vicious cycle of money and Western values they never asked to be a part of. What is our role and what is our duty?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for the interview!
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Molly Willows (that's me) is an executive at Toronto-based production company Tendril. Tendril were also the EP of the film.
Interview: February 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Before the Wave
Before the Wave is a vibrant short doc created with the Moken, a stateless tribe of sea nomads on the Andaman Sea, whose community was converted to Christianity after the 2005 tsunami. In their aquatic world, certainty and hope seem to melt with the burning sun yet never fully cease.
Length: 24 minutes
Director: Molly Willows
About the writer, director and producer:
Director Molly Willows is most curious about the intersection of ethnographic and lyrical documentary filmmaking and the idea of a constructed pseudo-truth, also known as 'reality fiction'.
Key cast:
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Funders:
Where can I see it in the next month?
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and Ethnofilm Paris