Destruction of Memory

The war against culture and the battle to save it

THE DESTRUCTION OF MEMORY

A documentary film by Vast Productions USA “Fantastic, sobering and “This film should thoughtful film. become not just Goes hand in an ‘eye opener’ but a vehicle hand with Joshua for change Oppenheimer’s all around the The Act of world.” Killing.”Preview screening Tsipi Ben-Haim, CEO, CityArts NYC Vast Productions USA presents THE DESTRUCTION OF MEMORY Written, Directed and Produced by Tim Slade Based on the book ‘The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War’ by Robert Bevan Cinematographer Derek Wiesehahn Editor Lindi Harrison ASE Music by Ezio Bosso Produced with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, the Rothschild Foundation UK, Global Heritage Fund and World Monuments Fund Produced in association with TVO Developed with assistance from Screen Australia and Screen NSW A sponsored production of IFP The Independent Filmmaker Project ‘The Destruction of Memory’ is a sponsored project of IFP

World Sales: AUTLOOK Filmsales www.autlookﬁlms.com

® 1 x 85 mins and 1 x 58 mins The war against culture and Interviewees for THE DESTRUCTION OF the battle to MEMORY include the save it. Director-General of UNESCO, representatives of the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, as well as Short Synopsis diverse and distinguished international experts. Over the past century, cultural destruction has wrought catastrophic results for humanity, and has been steadily increasing.

The Destruction of Memory looks at why this has happened, and how the push to protect and rebuild has moved in step with the destruction. Long Synopsis

Over the past century, cultural Bevan, The Destruction of People who never thought of The tide is turning. These destruction – the purposeful Memory looks at how and why themselves as heroes have stories are being reported. For destruction of buildings, books this has happened, and how fought back, and it’s these the ﬁrst time, perpetrators and art in order to erase the push to protect, salvage people and their resistance are being brought to justice. collective memory and identity and rebuild has moved in step that gives heart to the story. Awareness is growing. The ﬁlm – has wrought catastrophic with the destruction. Heroic acts are needed more proposes hope. We tell stories results on every continent. than ever. In Syria and Iraq, not just of protection, but of But the war is by no means People willingly risk their the ‘cradle of civilization’, rebuilding. Increasingly, the over. If anything, this kind lives to protect not just other millennia of culture have power of modern technology is of cultural warfare has been human beings, but their been destroyed. Cities like being harnessed to document, steadily increasing. Based on cultural identity – to safeguard Aleppo have been ‘reduced to protect, and to play a role in the acclaimed book by Robert the record of who they are. apocalyptic landscapes’. the rebuilding process. Director’s Statement

The Destruction of manuscripts in Mali. The film tells human Memory comes at a This would be the first stories – of courage and time of significant media time the ICC’s Rome resistance. It celebrates attention, as well as Statute’s provision perseverance against policy and legislative to protect buildings the odds. It takes a movements around dedicated to religion firm position – things the issue of cultural would be exercised. must change. Greater destruction. Importantly, this film protections need to be implemented. Its purpose Acts of destruction in tells the whole story is to bring recognition, to Syria, Iraq and Mali have of the issue in modern encourage us all to watch been front page news. times. This is necessary for signs of trouble. Key judgments will be because unless we look handed down in 2016 at at this process as a whole, and look at Ultimately, like the the ICTY re the Bosnian Mostar Bridge, whose War on the destruction it deeply and honestly, Courtesy of the ICJ. All rights reserved. it will continue. story we tell, the film’s of cultural heritage. aim is to bridge stronger The United Nations The primary purposes connections between Security Council recently of the film are to the people, to appeal unanimously passed raise awareness, to for tolerance, and to Resolution 2199, curbing encourage and sustain bring understanding the issue of looting and conversations and and recognition of this heritage destruction as considerations that recurring phenomenon. it relates to Syria and may help to curb these Iraq. The International acts, and to heal wounds Tim Slade Criminal Court may between religious, ethnic commence a trial in 2016 and national groups who for the destruction of have experienced these religious buildings and issues. “An Biographies ambitious, exciting, TIM SLADE Writer, Director, Producer deeply Tim Slade’s films have screened across Europe, the UK, the USA, Canada, South important and America, Australia and Asia. He has directed television timely film.” and feature documentaries, Canadian such as ‘4’, which was released Broadcaster theatrically and won a Gold HUGO, as well as receiving nominations at Banff, an International Documentary Association Award and two AFI (Australian Film Institute) awards.

He has also directed drama, including the shorts Every Other Weekend and I Was Robert Mitchum.

His ﬁlms have screened at more than sixty international ﬁlm festivals. Biographies

DEREK WIESEHAHN the 2011 Sundance winner and Virtuosi, which has screened Globe awards, won the Tony Academy Award nominated internationally. for Best Featured Actress in Cinematographer documentary, Restrepo. 2014 for her performance in A The feature documentary Raisin in the Sun, and returns LINDI HARRISON ASE I Am A Girl was listed in to Broadway in early 2016 to The Guardian’s ’10 Best star in The Crucible, opposite Editor Australian Films of 2013’ and Ben Whishaw and Saoirse was nominated for several Ronan. She will also be seen AACTA (Australian Academy this year in Season Two of of Cinema and Television The Hollow Crown, opposite Arts) Awards including Best Benedict Cumberbatch, as well Editing in a Documentary. as in Peter Moffat’s political Derek is a New York based The documentary Salt about thriller Undercover for the BBC. director of photography with Australian photographer It was a great honor to work over 20 years of experience in Murray Fredericks’ time on with Sophie, whose voice film and television. Lake Eyre received 16 national brings such a profound level of Lindi is an acclaimed editor of and international awards and passion and conviction to the Recent documentary DP award-winning documentary, screened on PBS POV. important message of the film. credits have included God drama and arts programs. Loves Uganda (Sundance 2013, She has edited a range of SOPHIE OKONEDO Academy Awards shortlist), the feature length documentaries Narrator 2010 Academy Award winning including: ‘4’, with Tim Slade; documentary short film Music The Snowman, which was The narrator for The By Prudence and the 2013 selected for Competition Destruction of Memory is the Academy Award nominated at IDFA & nominated for an extraordinary British actress and Sundance selected Australian Film Institute Sophie Okonedo. documentary feature How To Awards for Best Feature Survive A Plague, as well as Length Documentary; Sophie has been nominated a camera operating credit on On Borrowed Time, and for Oscar™, BAFTA and Golden Biographies

EZIO BOSSO He composed his first music Monuments and Sites for film in 1989 and has Composer (ICOMOS) that advises since worked extensively in UNESCO on world heritage, cinema, credits including Un and has degrees in amore and Io non ho paura, architecture, planning and and in theatre with directors urban design. including James Thiérrée. In dance, he regularly composes Robert is the architecture for Rafael Bonachela and for critic for the London Evening companies including Scottish Standard. He has previously Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance been editor of Building Design Company, San Francisco Ballet, and the architecture critic for and Harlem Ballet. Italian born, London based two other daily newspapers, composer, conductor and Bosso’s compositions include The Australian and the double bassist Ezio Bosso four operas, symphonies, Australian Financial Review. was born in Turin. He made concertos and various quartets, He has written for design, his professional debut aged piano trios and sonatas. art and travel magazines 16, and performed as a soloist around the world, including and conductor with such Vogue Living, where he was orchestras as the Vienna ROBERT BEVAN deputy editor. Chamber Orchestra and Author of source book the Chamber Orchestra of Robert has just issued a new Europe. He went on to study Robert is the author of The edition of The Destruction of composition and conducting at Destruction of Memory: Memory, released in January the Vienna Academy, and later Architecture at War (2006), 2016 by Reaktion Books. conducted at venues including on which the film is based. Carnegie Hall, Palacio de las Bellas Artes, Mexico City, and He is a member of the Teatro Regio di Torino. International Council on “Your film is an important historical “Unless we document now. No matter how look at this much we saw process as a before, you put it together in such whole,and a concentrated, look at it engaging, and deeply and emotional way.” honestly, Preview screening it will continue.” Tim Slade, Director Director Filmography

2016 The Destruction Melbourne International Film Awards, 2008 Nomination for of Memory Festival, Best Documentary Best Arts Documentary, BANFF Documentary. nomination, Australian World Television Festival. 85 and 58 minutes Film Institute Awards, Best Cinematography nomination, 2003 Musical Australian Film Institute 2009 Blank Canvas Awards, Best Documentary Renegades Television Documentary. nomination, IF Awards, Best Television Documentary. 52 minutes Music Documentary (Alan Ett 52 minutes Award) nomination IDA Awards, 2008 Every Other LA, Kuala Lumpur International 2000 ‘Sydney 2000’ Film Festival, Guangzhou Television Documentary. Weekend International Documentary 26 minutes Drama. 11 minutes Film Festival, China, London FESTIVALS: Cork Film Festival, Australian Film Festival at the 1999 I was Robert Montreal World Film Festival, Barbican, Adelaide Festival, Brisbane International Film World Cinema Showcase 2008, Mitchum Festival, Festival Mix, Brazil, New Zealand, INPUT 2008, Drama 9 minutes. Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Johannesburg. FESTIVALS: Olympic Arts St Kilda Film Festival, NewFest AWARDS: 2007 Pieter De Vries Festival, Sydney, 2000, Films New York City, Outfest LA., Australian Cinematography Down Under, Berlin, 2000, Finalist, Iris Prize, Cardiff, Society (NSW) - GOLD, 2007 Hawaii, Brisbane, Sydney Wales. Best Documentary, Kuala International Film Festivals, Lumpur International Film 1999, Finalist, Short drama, 2007 ‘4’ Festival, 2007 Special Mention, Flickerfest, 2000, St Kilda Documentary 88 minutes and Guangzhou International Film Festival, 2000, Clermont 52 minutes. Documentary Film Festival, Ferrand Short Film Market, FESTIVALS: Official Selection China, 2008 Chicago 1999, Theatrical release, Sydney International Film International Film Festival – Melbourne, 1999, Finalist, Short Festival, Official Selection Gold Plaque Hugo Television drama, Atom Awards, 2000. Production Notes The The Destruction of Memory is reflected in less public and marked the whole process. the result is the result of an need to media attention. When The interest, engagement almost six year journey. Initial destruction was perpetrated and generosity of people in interviews were conducted tell the in Mali in 2012, and the every place we filmed was in mid 2010 in New York City, devastating events in Iraq and extraordinary”, says Slade. with development support story Syria began playing out, the “People really feel for the from Australian government through world listened and reacted. The issue, and for its resolution.” agencies Screen Australia and need to tell the story through Screen NSW. this film this film became much more Many of the interviewees urgent.” are experts, but who have a The project moved forward became personal engagement with the in gradual increments until Principal photography took issue. Some were refugees. mid 2012, when global events much place in the US, Canada, The connection of the issue greatly impacted the interest more Bosnia, France, Germany, to human rights, the fragile, in a film about this often Mali and Iraq, with funding crucial link between cultural neglected subject. urgent. support coming from a identity and well being, is clear range of sources - Canadian to them, through personal Director Tim Slade says: broadcaster TVO, Swedish experience. This conviction, “Robert Bevan had published broadcaster SVT, the which comes through in his book in 2006, partly Henry Luce Foundation, their interviews, will help inspired by the Balkan Wars the Rothschild Foundation convey this same message to and their fallout, which UK, World Monuments Fund audiences. brought the issue into sharp and Global Heritage Fund, contrast for him, and for as well as crowdsourcing me on reading his book. and generosity of individual Cultural destruction is always donors. occurring, somewhere in the world, but the period from “The way we financed the publication until 2012 was a film reflects the ‘it takes a less pronounced period, village’ aspect that has happily List of Interviewees

Interviewees featured in the film include:

Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court Albert Koenders, formerly UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in Mali) Bonnie Burnham, President Emerita, World Monuments Fund Corine Wegener, Cultural Heritage Preservation Officer, Smithsonian Institution Daniel Libeskind, architect Andras Riedlmayer, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University & expert witness, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Robert Bevan, heritage architect, journalist, and author of source book ‘The Destruction of Memory’ Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Research Professor of Law; Director, Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law, DePaul University Amr Al-Azm, former Director of Scientific and Conservation Laboratories at the General Department of Antiquities and Museums, Syria, now Associate Professor, Shawnee State University Katharyn Hanson, University of Pennsylvania; Archaeological Site Preservation Program, Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage, Erbil, Iraq Salam Al-Kuntar, formerly of General Department of Antiquities and Museums, Syria, now Visiting Scholar, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Susan Wolfinbarger, Project Director for the Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project, American Association for the Advancement of Science Elizabeth Lee, Vice-President, CyArk Muhammed Hamidovic, Institute for Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage Protection, Bosnia and Herzegovina & former dean of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Sarajevo Günter Blobel, Nobel Laureate, Rockefeller University Dirk Moses, Historian of genocide Amila Buturovic, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities, York University, Toronto THE DESTRUCTION OF MEMORY Contact: +1 310 200 9591 or email: [email protected] World Sales: Autlook Filmsales http://destructionofmemoryfilm.com [email protected]