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Hollywood goes on location to work with
Iraq's Kurds
25.7.2008
By Alexandra Zavis
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Away
from the war zone, an ethnic minority seeks guidance
on creating a film industry.
July
25, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
Oliver Stone couldn't have staged a more surreal
scene: Balancing wine glasses in their hands, a
group of Hollywood executives boogied to the Beach
Boys in the foothills of northern Iraq as bursts of
fireworks lit up the night sky. The Fourth of July
garden party, at a slick new hotel on the outskirts
of the northern city of Erbil, was just one stop on
an elaborate government-hosted tour aimed at luring
Hollywood money and talent to this largely
autonomous and relatively peaceful Kurdish enclave.
Among the revelers were potential investors,
diplomats, Kurdish officials and representatives of
the U.S.-led forces in Iraq,www.ekurd.net
in addition to the
coterie of Hollywood types. As the rest of Iraq
plunged into violence, returning Kurdish exiles and
foreign investors poured billions of dollars into
the country's three northern provinces, transforming
the two main cities into giant construction sites,
bristling with scaffolding and cranes. Housing
developments and shopping centers are rising from
the dirt. Deals to tap the region's massive oil
reserves are underway.
Now the Kurds, an ethnic minority who were
persecuted by Saddam Hussein's Arab regime, say they
are ready for their close-up.
The Kurdistan regional government is rolling out the
red carpet for the motion picture business, hoping
that Hollywood can help showcase their land, culture
and tortured history for the world.
"It is through the movies of Hollywood that we know
what is happening in the United States," Nawjad
Mawlood, governor of Erbil province, told the
Hollywood entourage that had traveled thousands of
miles to hear his pitch. "And it is very important
to see our place in your movies."
Indeed, the Kurds don't have to look far to see what
the globalization of Hollywood means, both
culturally and economically. Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in
the United Arab Emirates, are investing millions in
theme parks and theater complexes. New Zealand and
Australia are vying to attract film production with
their state-of-the-art digital studios and
breathtaking vistas for location shooting. India's
Reliance ADA Group is negotiating to invest $1.2
billion in DreamWorks SKG, the first major link
between Bollywood and Hollywood.
Kurdish filmmakers hope they too can join forces
with Hollywood -- even though insurance will be hard
to get, there's not much in the way of production
facilities or skilled crews, and coddled stars won't
have the luxurious amenities to which they're
accustomed.
Not surprisingly in a region where many leaders were
until a few years ago in the mountains fighting
Hussein's army, Kurdistan's own film industry is far
from off the ground. The few movies made locally are
shot digitally because there are no labs to process
film. Nor are there theaters to show movies (though
several are planned). Virtually all the DVDs for
sale are pirated.
But, said George Braunstein, a lawyer and producer
who was part of the group, it's clear what Hollywood
can bring to Kurdistan: an injection of cash into
the local economy.
"If I am General Motors and I want to come in, you
are going to have to put in roads, lay down power
lines and spend millions of dollars on
infrastructure for me," Braunstein said. "When film
crews come in . . . they work with what is there,
and they spend a huge amount of money on food,
hotels, gas, not to mention the jobs that come in."
The Kurds' flirtation with Hollywood began when they
hired the Michael Russell Group, a Los Angeles movie
marketing firm, to help sell a Kurdish-language film
in the U.S.
"Jani Gal" ("Agony of a Nation") was produced by
Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, the wife of Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani and a former guerrilla fighter.
Adapted from a novel written by her late father, it
tells the story of a man who endures years of prison
after he inadvertently gets caught up in a
demonstration while searching for a midwife for his
pregnant wife.
After working with MRG on the film, Najat Abdullah,
the Kurdish government's cultural attache in
Washington, told the firm that what he really wanted
was advice on developing the Kurdish film industry.
MRG's Stephen Locascio approached 10 Hollywood types
about visiting the region to see what it had to
offer. Three agreed to go, including Kristin Jones,
senior vice president at Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax
Films unit, and Jorge Camara, president of the
Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which organizes the
Golden Globe Awards.
Jones was at the Cannes Film Festival in May when
she received word about the trip from her assistant
in Los Angeles.
"It was about 2 in the morning. I was finally in my
room, my head was spinning from the 85 meetings I
had had that day and I literally got an e-mail that
said, 'Feel like going to Kurdistan?' " she said,
laughing. "I thought: Is this a joke?"
But Jones is serious about where she thinks the
future of Hollywood rests: "The growth in the film
industry isn't in the United States, it's abroad,"
she said.
Everyone in the group admitted to qualms about
flying to Iraq. Braunstein, however, eventually
decided to bring his business partner and wife,
Laura, and even their 22-year old son, Clark, along
for the experience.
It came as a surprise to the Hollywood contingent
that most Kurds welcome Americans, whom they credit
with shielding them from Hussein's brutality since
the imposition of a no-fly zone over their area in
the 1990s.
Still, the Kurdish authorities left nothing to
chance. The delegation was whisked around at high
speed in armored Land Cruisers, accompanied by a
large retinue of Kalashnikov-wielding bodyguards in
suits and dark shades.
Their itinerary was only divulged at the last
minute, which caused some anxiety among the type-A
personalities that were used to being in charge.
Cold showers and patchy Internet access were other
unpleasant surprises.
But those were overwhelmed by the region's majestic
peaks, ancient citadel and bazaars, and the people's
anguished tales of massacres and revolt.
"Every place you put a camera would be a unique
background for a great story," Braunstein said.
"It's a very exotic location."
Good locations are not enough, however. Braunstein
got down to business at a meeting in Erbil with the
region's acting culture minister, Medhi Mendelawi.
As long as the State Department has an advisory
posted on its website warning Americans not to
travel to Iraq,www.ekurd.net
no insurer that works
with the major studios would provide coverage to
film in the country, Braunstein explained to
Mendelawi.
Kurdish officials have hired lobbyists in Washington
to try to have the warning amended to exclude their
region. Negotiations are also underway with
foreign-based companies to provide insurance
locally. That way, Mendelawi said, investors could
purchase $10 million of coverage right here in
Kurdistan.
"We're going to need more than that," Braunstein cut
in.
That was an example, Mendelawi assured him. It could
also be $100 million.
"Now you're talking," Braunstein said.
He advised the government to set up a film
commission to vet prospective projects and provide
filmmakers with information about locations, crews
and equipment in the region. He also suggested they
invest in a professional film school and begin
enforcing copyright laws.
When Braunstein finished, Mendelawi took a deep
breath.
"Thank you for your ideas," he said. "We'll work on
it. Hopefully we will achieve something."
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
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