Out of Focus

Elle Robinson film maker & journalist [email protected] san francisco, ca social issue media creator. this is an outlet to share my current projects and comment on films.

[elleoutoffocus-blog]

"you can get more bang for your buck from civilian programs than you can from military engagement most of the time. You’ve got to have more options than just dropping bombs on people.”

lindsey grham, south carolina senator

[thepoliticalnoteboo1deac]

As you may know, today marks the tenth anniversary of the Afghan war’s beginning, the longest war in US history. Here is a collection of what are, in my opinion, some of the best pieces of photojournalism from the past ten years of fighting. These are by some of the most talented conflict photographers out there.

1. Tim Hetherington. Soldiers near the village of Donga use a white phosphorus incendiary bomb against insurgents.

2. Robert Nickelsberg. January 2004. US Marine Corporal Gravenese patrols Asadabad in Kunar province. Ten kilometers from the Pakistan border.

3. David Guttenfelder. November 2009. Pech Valley, Kunar Province. An Afghan soldier trains on a firing range. 

4. Damon Winter. 1st Battalion, 87h Infantry, 10th Mountain Division. Done with an iPhone.

5. Kevin Frayer. May 2011. A USMC Cobra helicopter fires diversionary flares near FOB Edi in Helmand.

6. Anja Niedringhaus. June 2011. Lance Cpl. Blas Trevino of the US Marines arrives at Edi’s field hospital on a medevac chopper. 

7. Tyler Hicks. Soldiers are dropped off by helicopters in Charbaran Valley.

8. Lynsey Addario. Medevacs for the 82nd Airborne pick up wounded soldiers in Helmand.

9. Chris Hondros. Badghis Province. Sgt. John Barton heads up to begin morning watch.

This is of course, far from comprehensive.

[thepoliticalnoteboo1deac]

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thepoliticalnotebook:

Picture of the Day. Today was World Refugee Day. Here, an Afghan girl looks up at the camera at a UNHCR registration centre in Peshawar, Pakistan today. Photo Credit: A Majeed/AFP/Getty. Via.

View more Picture of the Day posts. Submit a photo.

[thealwaysgentleman-blog]

Spend five minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one another.

Dalai Lama (via thealwaysgentleman)

[elleoutoffocus-blog]

Caballo Viejo - ARKANOS

This music video has a lot of personal meaning to me and is a proud project of mine. The group featured Arkanos, is composed of street children living in Lima Peru and they are all wonderful musicians and amazing individuals. The five member band collaborates together in their shared desire to sustain themselves and to improve their lives. Together they use music as a way to earn money and to stay off the harsh and dangerous streets of Peru. They play mostly traditional Peruvian music and they can all play each instrument used in their songs.

This project was my first attempt at a music video and I was challenged with aligning different audio recordings and trying to make the audio and visual tracks sync naturally. Another struggle arose because the musicians have a non traditional way of playing and often improvise with each other, thus every recording of a song is different.The filming and editing was a collaborative effort by myself, and two good friends Robin and Kate, who were also with me in Peru. This partnership I hope will lead to further projects together as REK Pro(ductions). A personal goal for the three of us was to create a portfolio for the musicians to promote themselves.

Our connection with these musicians was organized by the University of San Francisco's University Ministry immersion trips. As a group of nine girls we fell in love with the country and the unfortunate street children whose faces and stories we will never forget. In the process of making this video we encountered several technical issues but having the desire to help these musicians  was extremely motivating and it reminded me how I need my career in video and film production to contribute to society and the welfare of others.

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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The World According to San Francisco

I know this has nothing to do with films or my own media content BUT I find it so interesting.

[elleoutoffocus-blog]

however long the night, The Dawn Will Break

The trailer for this film, The Dawn Will Break, was featured at the Human Rights Film Festival at USF this year. We were so honored to have the director/producer David Alexander and co-producer Micklina Peter Kenyi present and give us insight on their film. The film tells the never-been-told story of the Lost Girls of  Sudan and of an extraordinary nun who saved them from genocide. Micklina Peter Kenyi, is also a survivor of the Sudan genocide and one of the few chosen girls who found refuge in Sister Luise Radlmeier's care. Sister Luise has dedicated her life to educating Sudanese women and helping them resettle in the US.

Eighteen girls were sent to Boulder Colorado to pursue their education while escaping the deadly civil war happening in their villages in Sudan. Together they make up the largest community of Southern Sudanese women outside of Africa and Micklina has also started her own foundation, The Community of Sudanese and American Women. Her non-profit provides educational support, mentoring, and life skills to other young Sudanese women in the US and abroad. Micklina's presence is captivating and the story of her and her fellow Sudanese sisters is inspiring. The film conquers human rights themes such as; religious persecution, gender inequality, and slavery. It reminds us not to take for granted the feeling of physical and mental security. The current state of Sudan is still sensitive but the empowerment of these women gives hope that Africa's newest independent country will recover form their turmoil.

When the film is finished and released I will do an update post but in the mean time follow the project here; http://www.thedawnwillbreak.com/index.php

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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Human Rights Film Festival Promo

The University of San Francisco is hosting its 9th annual Human Rights Film Festival. The festival is coordinated by an amazing Latin Americana and Media studies professor Susana Kaiser. The festival is this weekend- March 31, April 1, and April 2 and all the films are shown for free. I have been wanting to submit a film to this festival my whole undergrad career and this year I finally got to do it. When I went abroad last spring to Rome Italy I knew I wanted to use my schools film program to make a film about immigrants in Italy. The combination of my International Film-making class and my Human Rights in Rome class created the perfect structure to make this documentary.

My 15min short documentary, Nice Country, showcases the beautiful sites of Rome, but it also shows that among the ancient Roman ruins also lies many struggles that plague immigrants and refugees in Italy. Current Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has an extreme anti-immigration policy and this film displays the stigma immigrants and refugees feel from Italian citizens and the hardships they face in order to survive. Star, an Afghan refugee was forced to flee Afghanistan because of death threats he received from the Taliban. He is forced to sleep outside in a train station while he works effortlessly to obtain a visa. Nella, a Romanian immigrant, chooses to leave her country in search of better educational opportunities in Italy. Her initial plan was to finish school and move back to Romania, but the expensive Italian lifestyle forced her to quit school and work full time to support herself. The strength in both characters is inspiring and it compels viewers to reflect on the basic luxury of citizenship and of the option to live somewhere where you feel at home with your loved ones.

Attached is a promo video I made for the festival that showcases mine and 2 other student films, Enjoy!

To get more information about the festival and to see what films are playing go to our website: http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/hrff/

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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BIUTIFUL

wow.wow. WOW. I really can not wrap my head around this one. So periodically throughout the movie I choked up and shed a couple tears but once I digested the content and left the theater I had a hard time keeping it together. I began uncontrollable crying and was so worked up about what I had just witnessed. To say it simple the movie is so real. It covers a wide range of topics; immigration rights, broken families, psychological disorders, homosexuality, infidelity, racism, cancer, and just straight up human tragedy.

The main character, played by Javier Bardem, is a Jesus like figure as he takes on the responsibility and the well-being of everyone around him. Including his two adorable children, his bi-polar recovering alcoholic ex-wife, and the immigrants who have inhabited Barcelona whom he employs. Bardem helps Chinese immigrants find work in factories and construction sites and he helps African immigrants with their trade of selling fake purses. He not only fights for them so he can get paid but in order for his colleagues to receive fair wages and better work conditions.

The cinematography aspect of this film is also phenomenal. Filled with foreshadowing, modest hints, and a dynamic plot, the audience of this film is never bored visually or intellectually. The complexity of the characters and the issues in their lives is enough to make a viewer confused, but the issues are intertwined and embedded within the characters therefor the audience can effortlessly follow the plot. I am shocked this film did not receive one golden globe or academy award for best foreign film and Bardem for best actor. Bardem carries the film and completely embraces the father figure role he plays to all the primary characters. I declare this movie as my current favorite because of how rich it is visually, emotionally, and intellectually. This film will make you step back and recognize the corruption and pain that surrounds us and it may even inspire you to think differently about a lot of social issues. If you haven't seen it, DO IT, I promise it will be worth your while, or money back guaranteed!

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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Which Way Home

katalinaaa:

Also a great documentary is “Which Way Home” directed by Rebecca Cammisa. I watched this last night and I was instantly glued. This documentary is an eye opening account into children — ages 9 to 13 — migrating from their respective countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico to the United States. These kids have been deprived of any opportunity for growth within their own countries, often citing that their parent(s) or guardian does not care for them or love them. They dream of becoming doctors, working, and simply enjoying happiness so they can someday bring their whole family out of poverty and despair. The positive outlook of these kids for opportunity in the United States is incredible and definitely gives a reality check on your own life. We have no idea how good we have it.

This documentary is on instant play on Netflix. 

[elleoutoffocus-blog]

USFtv Promo

As you may have read in an earlier entry one of my biggest production outlets is USFtv, my schools student run TV station. We have a low budget to work with but I think our amazingly talented and dedicated team makes it work. This is a silly promo video inspired by The Office, in case you didn't recognize the music haha. Our executive produce, Amanda Rivas, compiled the individual clips and we were responsible for the creative element of our own clip. I am not really THAT rude or THAT ditsy when I interview people haha but Halimah my mock interviewee was a good sport.

Currently I am working on three videos; one of old footage from an It Gets Better campaign USF held in response to the nation wide project of homosexual acceptance. I am also working on a project which answers the question; Does USF prepare students post-graduation. My third project is about Jerry Brown, third time California mayor. So stay posted for those videos shortly :)

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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Blue Valentine

This is one of few films where at the end I felt indifferent about the whole thing. I was really excited for this movie to come out because of it's success at Cannes and because it's about young love. Mind you, one of my all time favorite movies is Garden State, a corky movie about young love. I also know how to handle sad and open ended movies but there were not enough high lovey dovey moments to balance out the depressing ones. I do have to honor the dificult themes and scenes within the film. The film shows the consequences of young unprotected love and the camera even follows Michelle Williams character through the abortion process.

Though this film was by Silverwood and Hunting Lane Films it has a very Focus Feature Film look. If that makes sense. Focus Feature films tend to have a grainy more edgy look and they like to experiment with nontraditional angels and out of focus settings. The film flips between two time periods, the beginning stages of their love and years in on their marriage. This juxtaposition demonstrates how easy love is without the worries of bills, children, and careers.

I would have had a hard time dissecting the film alone, but thankfully I watched it with my best girlfriends, whose opinions I hold dear. Amongst the group there were mixed feelings about the undisclosed ending and the intensity of the subjects. To give it plainly, the film is about a couple, the girl from a wealthy family who has high aspirations for her future. Then there is the boy, her love interest, who is the rebel of society and comes from nothing. Sound familiar? They marry young, raise a child, and go through rough patches in their marriage. At the end the audience has to question whether the couple was able to keep living the life they created and keep loving each other despite their pain and distance.

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

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Michael Collopy

This past semester I had the privilege of interviewing a photographer most know for his portraits of Nobel Peace Prize Winners. Michael Collopy, a bay area resident, has photographed the most influential leaders of my generation and of many before mine. The list of individuals whom he calls his friends and those he has breifly worked with is unreal! I had a hard time getting over the shock of how close he was with Mother Teresa, physically and socially.

Aside from all the great stories he shared with me about everyone he has met, he also gave me some pointers on how to be a better video journalist and story teller. He stressed the importance of building trust and a strong relationship with an interviewee and how this bond can be displayed in your work. Collopy instilled hope that I will find success in an "artist" career and he helped me believe that one can combine their interests and passions into their career.

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What is Interfaith?

I think my roommate Laura says it best, interfaith is: "being able to talk about your own religion, or your own faith tradition with other people who don't have the same faith tradition as you." If you really look, and you don't have to look hard, most of the worlds conflicts revolve(ed) around religious differences. It is interesting how ones religion can create peace of mind individually or with a group, but can also create a deep separation and even hatred amongst people.  Religious tolerance is something I believe should be embedded in every faith tradition, easier said than done obviously. One of the great feautures of USF is the school admits, yes we have a strong Catholic-Jesuit foundation but we appreciate and learn so much from those of all religions.

It was a big step for our school to open an Interfaith Meditation Center on-campus, which functions as a spiritual retreat for all religious denominations. Campus ministry is working on the decor of the space and other functions that can be held there but I think it's existence is a great representation of the schools mission to create a world where everyone is accepted. This video attached I created for our school TV station to inform students of the new Interfaith Chapel and to hopefully spark conversations about interfaith, and to show the beauty of being apart of an interfaith community.

You can watch this video from the USFtv website - http://usftv.usfca.edu/?p=948

Or you can watch via USFtv's facebook page videos- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=1604474864677

                                                                                             Robinson, Elle

[elleoutoffocus-blog]

I believe true happiness comes only when you start to look beyond yourself and start giving and thinking of other people

Queen Rania Al Abdullah

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No one belongs here more than you

Pausing my life to devour in someone else's life whether it be real or fiction is something I really enjoy. It is nice to know there are people out there weirder than me or share the same perspective.Walking  side by side with a character through a specific moment in their life is great and I often invest myself trying to predict where this character's life is going. I typically pick light hearted girly books such as Eat Pray Love and My Sister's Keeper but I'm not ashamed, they are good books in their own right. I take suggestions from magazines and my avid reader friends Joana, Jessica, and Kathy.

No one belongs here more than you, is a different style of book than the those I usually prefer. It is a book compiled of 16 short stories. Instead of getting to know the inner thoughts of two or three characters, the reader gets a detailed memoir of an incident  or person that is prevalent in a characters life. One of the great things about this writing style is you can start the book and come back to it a couple months later and just start off on another story, no re-capping needed! I started this book at the end of summer and then when text books and journal articles replaced my leisure reading time, I had to finish the book over winter break.

This is the first book I have read by Miranda July and out of a 1 to 10 rating, 10 being the best, I would give it a 6. It is an easy read, and several of the stories are thought provoking and somewhat disturbing. Without ruining the book but still giving you a short preview; one story is about a woman's obsession with Prince William and another is about a lesbian teenager who is in love with her childhood friend. My favorite stories are The Shared Patio and How to Tell Stories to Children. You can make your own judgment on how good or bad the book it but I will leave you with an excerpt from The Shared Patio. 

"Vincent was on the shared patio. I'll tell you about Vincent. He is an example of a New Man. You might have read the article about the New Men in True Magazine last month. New Men are more in touch with their feelings than even women, and New Men cry. New Men want to have children, they long to give birth, so sometimes when they cry, it is because they can't do this; there is just nowhere for a baby to come out. New Men just give and give and give. Vincent is like that."

                                                                                                                                  Robinson, Elle

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Free Zone - Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman seems to be everywhere lately, and I am totally ok with that. She is by far my favorite actress and has been since I saw her performance in Garden State. What attracts me to her is the various roles she can play and how dedicated she is to giving a great performance. I was eager to see Black Swan because I had read how much training went into the ballet portion of the film. I am not a ballerina myself but she had me convinced she has been dancing for years. The movie has gained a lot of attention and I even saw in a NY Times article this week about a new spring fashion trend: ballet chic, inspired by the movie.

One thing people may not know about Natalie is she has a Harvard degree and was born in Jerusalem. Her Israeil background guided her towards what I believe is her best acting performance in Free Zone. My film professor and I share the same fondness for Natalie and he introduced me to this film which was released in 2005 and directed by Amos Gitai. The film fell under the radar in the US because the primary language is Hebrew. The video clip I linked is phenomenal, but definitely has a greater effect when watched with the entire movie and on a larger scene. The intensity of the background music (Ghad Gadya by Chava Alberstein) helps add to the drama and now I enjoy listening to it on my running playlist, haha. Since today is the first day of 2011 I can confidently say we will be seeing a lot of Ms. Portman this year.Yes! Enjoy the clip!

                                                                           Robinson, Elle