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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2008, pages 54-55 Music & Arts Documentary “Bam 6.6” Premieres In Washington, DC
THE WASHINGTON National Cathedral hosted a Jan. 9 screening of “Bam 6.6,” a touching documentary by Iranian filmmaker Jahangir Golestan. Among the packed audience which included many Iranians and Americans was Ambassador Bruce Laingen, the most senior U.S. diplomat held during the 1979-1981 Iranian hostage crisis. The film was introduced by the Cathedral’s Rev. Canon John Peterson, who, along with Evan Anderson, deputy director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation, is involved in initiatives to bridge the gap between Islam and Christianity through interfaith dialogue, education, and cultural appreciation. “‘Bam 6.6’ transcends politics and history with simple messages of love and hope,” Reverend Peterson noted, allowing us to bear witness “to the best that we can be to each other.” Anderson explained that “it is easier to humanize and experience others through the arts…[because] you have to grab the heart first.” In the early morning of Dec. 26, 2003, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 leveled the southern Iranian city of Bam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its ancient adobe Citadel, Arg-e-Bam, which dates back to the Parthian Dynasty around 2,000 years ago. The massive quake destroyed over 90 percent of the city’s structures, and more than 30,000 people lost their lives. “Bam 6.6” explores the humanity which characterized the international response to the earthquake through the story of an American couple from California, Adele Freedman and Tobb Dell’Oro, who were traveling through Iran and were in Bam at the time. Tobb grew up on an oil company compound in Saudi Arabia, where he stood out as a youth for his boundless curiosity and eagerness to go beyond the community gates. He befriended neighboring Bedouins and developed a profound appreciation for Islamic culture. He also had been to Iran in his youth, and wanted to share the country and its culture with his intended. In fact, Tobb planned to propose to Adele in Bam. Golestan expressed his admiration for Tobb and all he stood for with a moment of silence after the film. Severely injured in the earthquake, Tobb Dell’Oro did not survive the trip from Bam to the nearest hospital. “Bam 6.6” combines footage of the earthquake with interviews of survivors and people who spearheaded humanitarian programs. The film strips away cultural and religious differences to provide a glimpse of the resilience of the Iranian people following such a tragedy. As a USAID worker stated, it was possible under the circumstances “to forget relations the U.S. had with Iran—these were people helping people: nothing more, nothing less.” The story also depicts the hospitality that Adele, who was seriously injured in the quake, and her parents, who flew to Iran to be by her side, experienced during her stay in a Tehran hospital. The Freedmans, who were apprehensive about traveling to Iran, stated that their fears were quelled when they were “welcomed with open hearts” by Iranians holding flowers for them at the airport. The film touched the hearts of the audience, as was evident by the many moist eyes. “As I was sitting here, I could feel us all holding hands together,” one emotional audience member said after the film. Despite the fact that “Bam 6.6” portrays a devastating event, it truly fosters a sense of human community. Golestan himself is personally invested in the film. He originally is from Isfahan, Iran, he told the audience, and had not found a way to share the spirit of Iranian culture with his American wife. “We are all made from the same cloth,” he added, and it is our common humanity that binds us together. As the “media bombards us with negative images…this film is about love, compassion and understanding,” he explained, because “anger brings anger, but love brings love.” More information is available at <www.essenceofiran.com>. A portion of the proceeds from DVD sales of the film will go to help the children of Bam. In addition, an interview with Golestan by Rostam Pourzal, U.S. president of the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Action in Iran, can be found at <www.iranian.com/main/2008/common-humanity>. —Nina Hamedani |
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