May 9, 2015 In Documentary, Film

‘Then I Came by Boat’ wins Audience Award at HRAFF

 

I’m very honoured and humbled that my short film ‘Then I Came by Boat’ was given the Audience Award at the Australian Shorts screening at the Human Rights & Arts Film Festival in Melbourne last night.

My thanks go out to all involved at HRAFF, as well as to my wonderful crew and, of course, the inspiring individual at the centre of this film, Tri Nguyen. It was my privilege to tell his story.

 

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October 31, 2013 In Photography, Video

Varanasi: A Living History

Two of my short videos and several photographs have been published on the ABC Radio National website in support of a new feature documentary by Janak Rogers called ‘Varanasi: A Living History’.

This radio documentary explores one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities in all its beauty and complexity. It’s a wonderful piece — very much worth a listen. The documentary will go to air on ABC Radio National on Saturday 2 November 2013 at 5pm. You can also hear the piece online.

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September 17, 2013 In Photography

Memories of Syria

In mid-2010 I spent six weeks in Syria. I hadn’t planned the trip — I was travelling alone and happened to be in southern Turkey, so I decided to follow the road south.

What I found there stunned me.

Surrounded by architecture hundreds if not thousands of years old, I wandered through labyrinthine souqs, sipped tea in street-side cafes and chatted with curious Syrians who approached me with smiles. Very quickly I fell in love with this country and its boundlessly generous people. My travels took me through the ancient northern city of Aleppo, through Hama and Homs, across to the old Roman city of Palmyra and finally to Damascus. (Later, I wrote a travel article about Damascus, one of the most beautiful cities I have yet seen.)

Today, all of these places are embroiled in the tragic civil war that now envelops the country. Thousands of Syrians have been killed and wounded and millions displaced. We are all familiar with the Syria of today; every minute we see new images of bombed buildings, bloodied soldiers, body bags.

Now, as the war intensifies and the USA teeters on the brink of a possible military intervention, I share these images of Syria as it should be.

My hopes and thoughts are with these children I photographed in Apamea, and with all Syrians. I ache for my friends who have lost their homes, their loved ones, their lives.

Despite the horror of the current situation, I will continue to hope for peace in Syria.

 

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September 17, 2013 In Uncategorized

Francesca Brolli on freelancing in Syria

 

Read this.

It is perhaps the most raw, emotional piece of writing that I have yet read on the Syria conflict — even though, strictly speaking, it is not a war article. It is the story of one woman’s experiences working as a freelance war journalist.

Italian journalist Francesca Brolli writes in the Columbia Journalism Review from Aleppo:

Freelancers are second-class journalists—even if there are only freelancers here, in Syria, because this is a dirty war, a war of the last century; it’s trench warfare between rebels and loyalists who are so close that they scream at each other while they shoot each other. The first time on the frontline, you can’t believe it, with these bayonets you have seen only in history books. Today’s wars are drone wars, but here they fight meter by meter, street by street, and it’s fucking scary. Yet the editors back in Italy treat you like a kid; you get a front-page photo, and they say you were just lucky, in the right place at the right time. You get an exclusive story, like the one I wrote last September on Aleppo’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, burning as the rebels and Syrian army battled for control. I was the first foreign reporter to enter, and the editors say: “How can I justify that my staff writer wasn’t able to enter and you were?” I got this email from an editor about that story: “I’ll buy it, but I will publish it under my staff writer’s name.”

This is not a new piece — it was published several months ago — but it is an important one, not only for those working in the media, but for everyone who consumes journalism.

 

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September 10, 2013 In Photography, Travel

Ambubachi Mela — Kamakhya, Assam

The Ambubachi Mela is the second largest religious gathering in India. It’s held over four days to celebrate the annual menstrual cycle of the goddess Kamakhya. Hundreds of thousands of Tantric and Shakti worshippers descend on the hill-top Kamakhya Temple, including many Sadhus (holy men and women). On the final day of the gathering, the temple doors open and over a thousand goats are sacrificed.

For three nights, we slept inside the temple on bare rock, only to be woken at 3.30am by monsoon rains.

 

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August 3, 2013 In Photography, Travel

The Widows of Varanasi

Pungali Devi is 93 years old. She was married at just 12 year of age and widowed one year later, never having even met her husband. Originally from Nepal, Pungali decided never to remarry and instead came to Varanasi to wait out her life in the hope that she would be granted moksha — salvation from the cycles of rebirth.

Pungali’s story illustrates the difficulties experienced by many Indian widows, who are seen as ‘used goods’ by much of society and are often told that they have been punished for misdeeds in a previous life. It is not uncommon for widows to be thrown off by their families and left to fend for themselves. Many make their way here to Varanasi to live out their days.

Several organisations are working to change cultural attitudes and lessen the discrimination experienced by widows, but in many traditional parts of India these women still face terrible difficulties.
 
You can learn more about the plight of Indian widows at the NGO Maitri India. The Sulabh International NGO also provides support for Indian widows in Varanasi and Vrindavan.

 

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July 27, 2013 In Photography, Travel

Life on the Ganga: Varanasi, India

Varanasi, also known as Banaras or Kashi, is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. Located by the sacred river Ganges (or Ganga in Hindi), Varanasi is one of Hinduism’s seven holy cities and is said to sit atop the trident of the god Shiva. So sacred is Varanasi that death and cremation in the city is said to ensure moksha — liberation from the cycles of reincarnation.

Varanasi #1 © Marleena Forward
Varanasi #2 © Marleena Forward
Varanasi #3 © Marleena Forward
Varanasi #4 © Marleena Forward
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June 2, 2013 In Audio, Photography

Mae La refugee camp, Thailand

Last month I spent nine days in the Mae La Burmese refugee camp, located near Mae Sot in Thailand on the Thai–Burma border. The photograph and short audio clip below were recorded at a Sunday church service, where most of the congregation are Karen refugees. (Please excuse the poor sound quality. The audio was recorded on a smart phone.)

 

 

 

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May 28, 2013 In Video

A taste of Thingyan 2013

 

Here is a short video I shot at this year’s Thingyan water festival in Mandalay, Myanmar.

The stage, or pandal, visible in the background was built next to the Mandalay Palace moat, from which water was pumped directly and sprayed onto the city streets. This scene was repeated at the many pandals constructed around the palace’s enormous perimeter  — a party like no other.

 

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