Stolen
Directed by Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw
Produced by Tom Zubrycki, Violeta Ayala, Dan Fallshaw, Deborah Dickson
Camera: Violeta Ayala, Dan Fallshaw
Edited by Dan Fallshaw
Music by John McDowell
The filmmakers originally set out to make a film about a family reunion, but in doing so, they stumbled on a story about modern slavery.
In 2006 the filmmakers were drawn to the cause of the Polisario Liberation Front who represent the Saharawi people and have long fought for control of Western Sahara against the competing interests of Morocco. They spent several weeks in a refugee camp controlled by the Polisario. Inside the camps, there is a complex hierarchy between the white and black Saharawis. The filmmakers focused on a black woman in her 30s, Fetim, who had a noticeably servile relationship to an older white woman named Deido. As filming continued, persuasive testimony emerged that slavery continues to be practiced.
The Polisario staunchly maintains that it forbids slavery. When the filmmakers raised the topic in the camps, they soon found themselves unwelcome. Fearing their tapes would be seized the filmmakers buried them in the desert. Stolen becomes a tale of suspense and political intrigue as the filmmakers struggle to recover their tapes. Placing themselves in the story, they document their own moral quandaries. The film is a fascinating study of the perils of documentary filmmaking. They don't purport to have all the answers, but they do raise important questions.
Q&A Moderated by Mitzi Goldman.
Links:
Toronto International Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival - Q&A
Stolen PRESS KIT - pdf
ABC 7.30 Report - Bitter dispute over Stolen documentary
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Violeta Ayala
Writer, Director, Producer, 2nd Camera
Violeta is an independent filmmaker from Bolivia who has dedicated her career in the media to affecting social change. She toured the world performing in a play she wrote in collaboration with a theatre troupe. In 2003 Violeta moved to Australia and 3 years later she graduated from Journalism at Charles Sturt University. While there she made her first documentary PROYECTO VILA-VILA about the effects of cervical cancer on indigenous women in Bolivia. In 2006 Violeta began her collaboration with Dan Fallshaw on BETWEEN THE OIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, an investigative documentary about corruption in the oil industry. In 2007 Violeta and Dan made A VEGAN IN THE MEAT AISLE, a short docu-drama selected for the competitive Tropfest - Best of the Rest. In 2009, their first feature film STOLEN premiered in competition at the Sydney Film Festival, screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is the only Australian documentary selected for the Toronto International Film Festival 2009.
Dan Fallshaw
Director, Producer, Editor, DOP
Dan comes from a heritage of photographers. He studied Visual Communications at the University of Technology in Sydney and St Martins College in London. He worked in London and Germany as an Art Director and later in Italy as a Film Editor. In 2004 Dan returned to Australia to take up a position in the prestigious design department at SBS Television. Dan made his first documentary while still at university, that looked at the lives of four women dealing with the consequences of chemotherapy and cancer. In 2006 he and Violeta Ayala created UNITED NOTIONS FILM, they traveled to Mauritania and made BETWEEN THE OIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA a documentary about corruption in the oil industry. In 2007 Dan directed A VEGAN IN THE MEAT AISLE a short docu-drama, finalist in the very competitive Tropfest - Best of the Rest. Dan and Violeta have spent the last 3 years working on their first feature film, STOLEN premiered in competition at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2009, screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is the only Australian documentary in the line up for the Toronto International Film Festival 2009.
Tom Zubrycki
Producer
Tom Zubrycki is one of Australia's most respected documentary filmmakers and has an impressive body of work with more than 30 films. In 2008 Tom was awarded the Cecil Holmes Award by the Australian Directors Guild for his creative output, as well as for his contribution to the film industry, especially his mentoring of emerging directors. Tom's films have premiered at film festivals from Berlin to Toronto. He has won two AFI Awards, the highest award in the Australian Film Industry with THE DIPLOMAT and KEMIRA-DIARY OF A STRIKE and an international Emmy for producing EXILE IN SARAJEVO. Tom is also known for films such us MOLLY & MOBARAK, HOMELANDS, BILLAL, STOLEN GENERATIONS, MAKING VENUS, THE PRODIGAL SON, A FIGHTING CHANCE, MAD MORRO, WANJA, THE INTERVENTION and more recently STOLEN.
Deborah Dickson
Producer
Deborah Dickson is an independent filmmaker who has had three films nominated for an Academy Award: FRANCES STELOFF: MEMOIRS OF A BOOKSELLER; SUZANNE FARRELL: ELUSIVE MUSE (co-directed with Anne Belle) and LALEE'S KIN, co-directed with long time colleague, Susan Froemke and legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles. She is also known for films such as THE EDUCATION OF GORE VIDAL; RUTHIE AND CONNIE: EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE; WITNESSES TO A SECRET WAR; the CARRIER series and ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE. Dickson's films have premiered at film festivals from Sundance to Berlin and been shown on PBS, HBO and other major networks. She has been funded by American Film Institute, Sundance Documentary Fund and ITVS. She is on the faculty of the new masters program of social documentary film at the School of Visual Arts.
Don't forget it is our END OF YEAR PARTY too. Designate your responsible driver!