| Problema (NR) ★★☆ | | Print | |
| Past Reviews - Movies 2010 |
| Wednesday, 27 October 2010 15:23 |
"Problema" was featured at the Chicago International Film Festival
Free to Public for Viewing on December 6, 2010 Here’s an interesting idea. First, create a website which encourages people of all ages from across the world to send in a question of global importance. Next, narrow down the thousands upon thousands of questions to one hundred. Then, choose 112 influential people from 56 countries to answer those questions, from the same location, simultaneously, while filming each of those people individually. Sounds a little overwhelming, doesn’t it? Apparently, not for director Ralf Schmerberg of Berlin, because that is exactly what he did. The outcome is the intriguing documentary “Problema.”This event, an immense think tank of sorts, took place in Berlin’s Bebelplatz Square on September 9, 2006, during a nine hour questions and answer session, led by Willem Dafoe and Nigerian human-rights activist Hafsat Abiola. The “Table of Free Voices,” as it was called, included artist Wim Wenders and human-rights activist Bianca Jagger, among other non-government leaders, writers, editors, physicists, and so forth. Edited to about 90 minutes, the film highlights a few of the questions, and some of the responses to those questions. Historical pictures and footage of world events are also edited into the documentary, adding another layer of interest. There is one undeniable truth about “Problema.” It is thought provoking. What sorts of questions were included in the film? Here is a sampling: “Should we have the right to choose where we live?” “What if all Chinese people want a car?” “Why do we still believe more in nationality than in humanity?” “What is God’s religion?” “What are the myths that we need to create to make the world a better place?” I walked away from this film with a mix of thoughts and emotion. I found some of the questions compelling enough that I wanted to hear more of the answers. Other times, I felt the questions were just similar enough that they were conjuring up similar answers, causing the film to drag at times. Many of the questions made me laugh, others made me question my own beliefs. Several of the answers seemed obvious, and some opened my mind up to things I had never before considered. Schmerberg was probably striving for that outcome in the first place. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this film is that it will be free to the public, on-line and world wide. It will be available on December 6, 2010, by visiting www.droppingknowledge.com. The site also includes all 100 questions, along with the names and a short biography of the 112 members of the “Table of Free Voices.” For those questions that you would like to hear answers to, you can view the video response of any member of the panel you choose. Obviously, the Dropping Knowledge site was a huge undertaking, as was the documentary. They would both be a good tool for prompting an important conversation with your friends, your family, your students, your peers, or just about anyone - perhaps even your enemies. You owe it to yourself to check it out. Tyna S. Cline © October 27, 2010 |
