Paula Palacios, Director and Producer
Address for the opening of the “New Walls” film
17 September 2012, 18:00
First, I would like to speak as the Producer of the documentary you have just
seen. I would like to thank Aljazeera Documentary Channel and their great team
of producers, who accepted from the very beginning to finance a film about
women refugees. And I thank specially Mr. Mohammed Belhaj who as an artist
and human rights defender he is, has supported me with this film and has given
the best of advices.
I also thank Mr. Andrysek, and I will not have enough words of gratitude. He
has been the motor of this Project but most of all he has put a lot of enthusiasm,
energy and time in this film. Even though we have quarreled a lot, and I will
say, a lot during the preparation, shooting, post-production of the film, he has
accompanied me and has given all the necessary support and knowledge about
refugee issues. Oldrich, I thank you for understanding that filmmaking can help
you promoting knowledge of the international obligations of humanitarian law
to a wide audience,
Together with him I of course thank the whole office of UNHCR in Kyiv,
Sholeh Safavi and her office in Belarus and Peter Kessler and his office in
Moldova, as well as Head Quarters in Geneva who also have given their support
from the beginning.
Then of course, (in Ukranian) I have to thank the Government officials for
letting me film inside the facilities such as temporary accomodation centres,
detention centres and borders. Mr. Shisholin, Mr. Sheibut, Miss Naumenko.
I am also grateful to The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ukraine and the
Ambassador Mr. John Frederikson and also to his predecessor, Mr. Olaf
Berstand.
The Spanish Women and Health Foundation and I will share with you the reason
why a Foundation which supports health issues has supported such a film. The
reason lies in the definition of the World Health Organization: Health is a state
of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity.
Thank you to The Spanish Ambassador, Mr. José Moyano and the Argentinian
Ambassador, Miss Lila Roldán, for their professional and personal support.
And of course, all the sponsors that have made this event possible. Thank you
all!
Now, allow me to speak as the Director of the film. And here I become a bit
more romantic and have to thank other people.
Thank you Olga, Souzi, Valentina, Nahid, the Uzbek and the Afghan women
whose identities are not disclosed in the film for security reasons.
It is said that Life is what happens while one is too busy doing things.
I believe that the women in this film have experimented this to the extreme: One
day they had to change completely their way of life because whatever they were
doing: let it be working for an NGO in Afghanistan, being political activist in
Moscow or Iran, practicing their religion in Uzbekistan or trying to escape from
in war in Congo brought them to leave everything and flee their country of
origin.
All my respect for all the things you were doing and many women do around the
World
In my case, my life is what happens while I am too busy making a documentary
and that is why, while making this film I met other asylum seekers and refugees
who are not in the final version of the film but have contributed a lot to it. Many
of them have become friends and I want to say that thanks to you all I have
gained awareness of the preciousness of life and homeland and that we humans
share lives with each other and have to learn to live in decency.
Thanks to Iva Bittova for accepting the proposal of participating in this film and
for the new music you composed for it. I have to say that Iva travels a lot and it
was always easy to contact her wherever she was New York, Europe. She is
great! Thank you to Barbara Hendricks who is an example of human rights
defender and gave not only her voice but her advice to the final version of the
text.
Thank you also to my Spanish team who is unfortunately not here today: Nacho,
the cameraman, Arantxa, the editor and Alejandro, the graphic designer.
And at last, I will speak to you as a woman.
As a woman I would like to say that MOST COUNTRIES WHICH PRODUCE
REFUGEES HAVE FEW WOMEN IN POSITIONS OF INFLUENCE, this is
true, TODAY but we have had in the past bad examples of women in power, I
have to highlight that most of the women who make it to important positions
follow the male model. I do not know when we will start making things our
way.
And please, do not get me wrong, as a woman, as producer and as director I will
repeat here that most people who have made this film possible are men.
I just think that a bit more of feminity would not harm this World which is going
crazy.
Thank you to my parents, who are an example in women issues and have
thought me that there is no Wall that cannot be breached.
And at last I will say that with my job, I can only try to highlight certain issues
but here today, there are many people in this hall who have the chance in their
everyday life to change the lives of many people. I am surprised to see a woman
like Souzi whom after a year since we shot the film is still in the same situation
and has not got refugee status. To those here today, I would like to ask you to
please bear in mind that an asylum seeker or refugee is someone who has to flee
their country of origin for important reasons and not someone who just chose to
change the place of living.
Film sponsored by:
Film premiere in Ukraine was sponsored by:
Посольство Словацької
Республіки в Україні
Embassy of the Slovak
Republic in Ukraine
Marquis de Lacarin
Odessa Wine