What You Can Learn from a Tatar Man

It was the first-ever dramatic film in the Tatar language. In 1998, it showed on state-run television in an Islamic Republic. And it tells the story of a man who grew up an atheist in Soviet times, became a devout Muslim, and then began a search for the forgiveness that he desperately needed. What he discovered in the story of Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice his son brought a radical change, and freedom, to his life.

It was the first-ever dramatic film in the Tatar language. In 1998, it showed on state-run television in an Islamic Republic. And it tells the story of a man who grew up an atheist in Soviet times, became a devout Muslim, and then began a search for the forgiveness he desperately needed. What he discovered in the story of Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice his son brought a radical change, and freedom, to his life.

The production of the film, called Korban, was a study in guerilla filmmaking with an eternal focus. With two other filmmakers, I traveled to an Islamic state within Russia to direct the production. It tells the story of a man whose life is an example of how the gospel reaches across cultures and political systems and religions to touch individuals to bring grace, forgiveness, and freedom.

In just a few weeks we re-worked the script in three languages (Russian to English to Russian to Tatar) and we assembled a cast and crew of local folks with no experience in filmmaking or acting. We shot in tiny apartments, in country villages, on city streets, and even in the state government complex with a crowd of extras.

The end result is a 55 minute dramatic film – kind of a Central Asian soap opera, but with better acting. Because it was (and maybe still is) the only film ever produced in the Tatar language, it was a source of pride to the people. Despite the clear message about Jesus, the film was shown on state-run television and has been bootlegged all over the region.

Korban has been sitting on our shelves here since that time, but we have had requests for translations into other languages. We’ve sent off master tapes and told folks to go for it in Farsi. Now, we’re working on an English version that we think will be interesting to folks who want to see the story. Finding a Tatar-speaker who can help us with the translation is a challenge, but we think we have found someone and are on our way to an English release. Stay tuned.

How Can Games Speak To Us?

I believe that visual storytelling is about entertainment, but not merely entertainment when it reaches its highest level. I want to tells stories that open audiences’ eyes and hearts.

In my on-going ponderings about visual storytelling, I really believe that I’ll be working on video games in the future – even though I’m a filmmaker by trade.

My son is a budding game developer and we have discussions all the time about the place of storytelling in games. I challenge him to think in terms that are beyond the current state-of-the-art. What could be done in terms of meaning and cultural influence in a game? I have a friend in the major game world who says the development studios are looking to Hollywood for screenwriters who can help them amp up the characters and story arcs of their games. If you read reviews of games like Mass Effect 2, you know that there is a real effort being made in some games to create more depth and nuance beyond a few cut scenes that move a player through to the next battle.

Mass Effect 2

However, when I think story and when my son talks about story in games, there is still a wide difference. Mass Effect 2, for instance, uses a dialogue wheel to give a sense of choice and independence to conversations, but you don’t mistake the game for anything written by Robert Towne.

When will we get there?

Chris Remo talks about it in this article.

If you’re reading this, you probably love games. I certainly do, but I’ve been thinking about what makes games important to me, versus what makes books or music or film important to me.

… there are still some parts of my life that games don’t address that well. They do the “fun” thing well, and they give me a lot to think about, but they rarely speak to me the same way a wonderful novel, film, or album does.

…the reason I bring this up is because I think games are certainly capable of more. I think games have the possibility of speaking to us as people, not just as gamers, in the same way a film by Scorsese or Bergman or Welles or Kurosawa or the Coen brothers can speak to us as people, not just as film buffs; in the same way The Beatles or Beethoven or Charles Mingus or the Flaming Lips or John Adams speak to us as people, not just as analysts of music theory; in the same way Vonnegut or Nabokov or Shakespeare or Orwell or Hammett speak to us as people, not just as appreciators of literary prowess.

[Read the entire post from IdleThumbs]

I believe that visual storytelling is about entertainment, but not merely entertainment when it reaches its highest level. I want to make films, and perhaps games, that open audiences’ eyes and hearts. When the master storyteller, Jesus, explained why he told stories he said, “…to nudge people toward receptive insight.” When I think about the potential of games, with open worlds and personal participation in the story, I am excited to see what’s possible.

Sundance Update – reviews of “Secrets of the Tribe” « The Enemy God – The Movie

Help us give the Yanomamö a voice!

Here’s a link to a new post with reviews for a documentary about the Yanomamö and controversies among anthropolgists and indigenous leaders.

Sundance Update – reviews of “Secrets of the Tribe” « The Enemy God – The Movie.

We hope that the awareness raised by Padilha’s film will also help to raise awareness of the Yanomamö story told in our film.