Iara Lee wants to touch hearts
Two kisses on the cheeks. That's what Iara Lee is like. She emails little hearts and opens her heart wide. We meet her in Paris, a few days after the screening of her film Burkinabè Rising : the art of resistance in Burkina Faso organized by Belleville Citoyenne (19th arrondissement). She has just finished filming in Lesotho before heading off to Suriname to promote her short film about Burkina Faso. Between directing, humanitarian work with her foundation Cultures of resistance and peaceful activism, Iara Lee is on all fronts.
Even so, she is not welcome everywhere, mosquitoes and malaria sometimes remind her of this. No matter, persevering and serene, she dedicates her whole life to youth: magnifying the initiatives of some, through her films, and awakening others to creative resistance. With her uncommon modesty, laughter and little Portuguese accent, this artist commands respect.
Programmer at the Sao Paulo Film Festival in the 1980s, the Brazilian of Korean origin has since made eight films and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. The globetrotter, with short hair and wax jewelry, always chooses the lightest possible clothing so as not to clutter her backpack. And her destinations are off the beaten path, off the beaten track, as she says. So today is an exception to be here in Europe. Iara Lee hopes to "touch at least one heart" here, regardless of the audience, a hall of 50 or 500 people. Meeting with a specialist in sharing.
How was your film received in the Belleville neighbourhood?
It was cold and the organizer forgot it was Ramadan, but in the end, it was full of people. The children had popcorn. I like to show my films in difficult neighborhoods. Burkinabè Rising was also screened on May 12 during the first edition of the festival organized by Nothing but the wax, on the 18th, and there will be A Euro-African Week at the Cinema in June. By chance, Paris loves us! We only know about famine, wars and corruption in Africa, but not about languages, ethnic groups and ways of thinking. I want to highlight the positive side of Africa and its very lively culture.
Hence your interest in creative resistance! What exactly do you mean by that?
Creativity is our only source of power against state terrorism. Instead of giving up hope or using bombs, the Burkinabè chased out the president in 2014 (27 years in office), using hip hop, slam, or design. The entire population has committed itself. It's not just theory, it's a concrete example that shows that even if denouncing is good, we all know what's bad and political analysis alone does not engage young people. They are more interested in art, culture, mixed media. It's still difficult because young people sometimes linger behind the screens and you have to push to get them out. Activism is not only like and share. In Lesotho, the population is landlocked in South Africa and suffers from an inferiority complex, but they are creative too. Musicians play for ecology and to engage young people. Mixing formats is good for activism.
So the short film shot in Lesotho is also part of this series on creative engagement?
Yes, “From Trash To Treasure” is not just a film, it's like philosophy. We met a woman who does that: she goes to the trash and creates jewellery or clothes. We show how to turn the negative into a positive instead of complaining and despairing. The second film shot in Burkina Faso will focus on agro-ecology. The first will be at the Slow Food International festival, we have been working with this organization for a long time. Its partners in Burkina are very committed against Monsanto and GMOs; they are committed to the protection of seeds and food sovereignty.
Is the environmental cause very important to you?
Our food is poisoned, we don't know what to eat anymore! Meat and hormones, fish and mercury, fruit and pesticides. The environment is the basis of everything everyone eats! So, I hope the film will reach a wide audience. All the destruction is caused by man. We have the technology but not the wisdom. The end is coming, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to delay the self-destruction process. I'm in defence of the innocent, those who can't fight back at all. If you cut down the Amazon, what can the trees do? What can a fish do against chemicals? Or a child against a forced marriage?
Our heritage is also cultural diversity...
Even though I, am a product of globalization, I have a great deal of respect for the indigenous people, the natives whose cultures represent what triumphs not to disappear. Everything has become so homogeneous. That's why it's important to eat and travel together, to get to know the music of other countries, to create links. It's hard to get involved when you're distant. Solidarity comes with closeness.
My film in Mongolia will be about nomadism, human curiosity, freedom of spirit. I often shoot in countries in conflict, but I also have a great interest in ethnography, indigenous cultures and cultural diversity. I try to show that it must be respected, otherwise, the whole world would be boring! Some minorities are being crushed and I try to celebrate them. If we only report wars, people are like anaesthetized. Showing the beauty of a culture is more effective in touching hearts.
As a woman, have you ever felt held back in your work?
Being part of a minority is a positive thing these days and I always try to turn that condition to your advantage. People see me as a woman and a "Chinese woman", so I'm not a threat! I can go back to occupied territories. So yes, I am always a victim of misogyny or racism, but it no longer affects me. Equanimity is the state of mind where you are not emotionally vulnerable. Today I laugh in front of the mails of insults, with unimaginable bird names.
Before I was more sensitive, now you can put me in jail, deport me and do even worse, I remain strong. It's very important to survive. Three times my Facebook profile has been deleted and each time it is 5000 contacts disappeared. I had written about war crimes and chemical weapons in Israel. Their goal was to get me off the social networks; it should be seen as a compliment; it means that I'm embarrassing them. So now I'm proliferating and I have four profiles. Impediments should encourage us to be stronger.
Which committed women inspire you?
Mostly they are anonymous. For example, those women who hide drugs in their clothing in Syria. War brings out the worst things but also the most incredible and courageous. Also, there's Wangari Muta Maathai in Kenya. She has been in prison for her acts of reforestation that were considered too revolutionary and dangerous. Then she won the Nobel Peace Prize and became a minister. She told me that in every speech, she started with the story of the hummingbird doing its small part to put out the fire in the forest. I am a hummingbird, but sometimes at the airport, I get arrested because people think I am a terrorist. I can't go to India anymore because they say I'm a threat to the security of the country! I didn't know I had this "power".
On this subject, what are your main qualities?
I adapt, I improvise and I think I am very intuitive. At the Sao Paulo festival, I was looking for new talent and now, I like to work with "beginner" activists. It's exciting to discover new people and new projects. I was also supported in the beginning; my first film was with Matt Dillon, I also collaborated with Allen Ginsberg and Robert Redford showed my first student film!
Do you have any regrets about certain aspects of your life?
I don't think you should have any regrets! There were difficult things of course, but I made my decisions very consciously. For example, I chose not to start a family because I'm nomadic and I go to countries at war... It's a responsible decision, isn't it? Since I'm always at work, I don't have a personal life either, but you can't have everything!
What are you most proud of?
I work all the time to promote solidarity. It's my driving force. There are 7 billion of us, imagine if we united! The problem is that the system pushes you to be a slave, you have to work to eat, and that prevents us from seeing the essential. We should make the money useful, redistribute it, share it. To finance my projects, I make socially responsible investments on the stock market (renewable energy, projects with social impact, etc.) when I was told that it was impossible to make money with good things. It also allows me to be autonomous so that my films are not cut and censored. My desires today? It's time to help young people. We have to give, give, and encourage them because they are the heir to the trash can we created.
Interview by Emilie Drugeon
Photos courtesy Cultures of Resistance network