women boxers in india
We’re happy to announce that we’re heading to the women’s Olympic qualifiers (and world championships) in Qinhuangdao, China, next week! Above, we celebrated the news with a bowl of Cheerios.
We already have more than enough footage and editing is already underway, so the idea is to film as little as possible. But this is a historic moment, as those who qualify will become the first women boxers to participate in the Olympics.
The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) reports: The seventh AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will take place from 9 to 20 May 2012 in Qinhuangdao, China and will serve as the only qualifying event for the London 2012 Olympic Games. For the very first time in history, women boxers will be competing at the Olympic Games, in three weight categories: 48-51 kg, 57-60 kg and 69-75 kg. With 24 quotas places (eight in each weight categories) up for grabs, this 2012 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships is sure to be fiercely competitive.
We will be editing as we go in the hopes of wrapping up the film as quickly as possible. On May 20, we’re flying to India with the team to film the aftermath. We have to mentally prepare for two weeks of sun, sun, sun. Looks like it’s only going to get hotter…
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women boxers in india
If you still have the April 28 edition of The Times Crest kicking around, flip to the cinema section for an article about our film by Ruhi Batra.
Find it here or read online. Thank you Ruhi!
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Adventures in Outreach
Before I began shooting Living Downstream, I did the usual prep work that most filmmakers do. I read a lot of research and background materials, I met with my crew members and showed them films that I admired, I closed my eyes and tried to visualize my own film in real time. But I did something else too. I spoke with potential end-users of the film. Dozens of them.
I did this for several reasons: I wanted to begin building buzz for the film early, to learn what would make my film most useful for environmental health activists, and to decide what additional resources I should create to make the film more attractive to nonprofit community.
So, I spent many hours during the spring of 2008 talking with heads of nonprofit organizations and grassroots environmental activists. I really liked having all those conversations. They energized and inspired me. They confirmed for me the value of the work I was doing. But they also connected me to the larger community—in several ways.
As someone who worked from home for years, I enjoyed having stimulating conversations with people in the outside world. Likewise, as a new mother, I enjoyed connecting intellectually with other adults. (Maybe you can envision me sitting on my living room couch, cradling the phone on my shoulder, holding a moving pen in one hand, and my nursing my daughter in the other.)
But beyond the act of having these many conversations, the ideas that were discussed four years ago still bind me deeply to the environmental health community today. The most common idea that emerged from these conversations was that various groups could hold a screening of the film, followed by a discussion. (And they have. To date, Living Downstream has been screened publicly about 200 times. I’m going to one tonight, as a matter of fact.)
But there were a few very creative folks with whom I spoke who took me a step farther in the planning. Folks like Jeanne Rizzo of the Breast Cancer Fund and Charlotte Brody then of Commonweal (now of the BlueGreen Alliance). Jeanne and Charlotte are both creative problem solvers and—coincidentally, or not—nurses. They energetically brainstormed ideas for the creative use of film in the work of nonprofit organizations. What about creating a series of screenings so that one event builds upon another? Or screening shorter clips from the film and using them as a springboard for workshops on environmental health? Or creating a training program so many people within one organization are empowered to hold smaller screenings? Or building a grassroots campaign around the film?
When these conversations ended, I felt like celebrating. I had been reminded of the need within the community for this documentary. And I had also become deeply aware of how the documentary would benefit from the input and involvement of the community.
At some point, I put the notes from these conversations on the shelf and went about the more typical work of making the film. But when the documentary was completed in 2010, I dove back into my notes and began exploring the ideas that had first emerged during my early conversations with activists and the leaders of nonprofit organizations.
As a result, I began the intensive work of writing two guides (one for nonprofit organizations and one for educators) to be used in tandem with the film. The first guide, Living Downstream ~ In the Community was directly inspired by the many energizing conversations I had during those early days. It’s grown a lot from its beginnings as informal phone conversations and scribbled notes. It’s now over 200 pages in length and features background information about the film; detailed workshops and screening worksheets; and many, many topical handouts.
That work is now coming to a close. Living Downstream ~ In the Community has just been released on our website for download. My hope for this publication is that it will inspire those who are using the film to keep using it. I hope it will give them new ideas for ways in which to use it. I hope it will reinvigorate their work within their individual communities.
So, once more, I’m celebrating community—and the feeling of being deeply connected to it.
Chanda Chevannes is the producer/director of the feature-length documentary adaptation of Sandra Steingraber’s book, Living Downstream. She is also the author of Living Downstream ~ In the Community, a guide for nonprofit organizations and community groups who are using the film as a catalyst for change.
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women boxers in india
Though she shared the stage with Bollywood actresses, Mary Kom had everyone’s attention at the Mumbai launch of Procter & Gamble’s “Thank You Mom” campaign this week. P&G, which owns pretty much everything in your kitchen and bathroom, is “committed to helping moms make the most of their everyday,” according to StyleIndia.com. Ahem.
Photos of the launch were posted on Facebook by Jimmy Leivon and there were some interesting comments attached. Anand wrote that Mary was “the only real achiever among these people. the others just smile in movies.” And Hangsing said: “mary should be at the centre…dse high profile celebrities make crores of rupees yet totally worthless for India as a whole.” !!
It’s high time for these world renowned boxers to surpass Bollywood actors, in our opinion.
P&G will be paying for Mrs. Kom to fly to London to watch Mary compete in the Olympics, provided that she qualifies in May (which she will). More photos here.
Mary Kom (far left) sits next to her mother Akham Kom the launch in Mumbai. Photo by Jimmy Leivon.
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