10 November 2003

Journey into Baghdad and wonder why more than 11 ounces of Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot" needs to be smuggled into the hands of drama students. See into the paintings of Amal who lives in the oldest house in Baghdad. Listen to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak as a "brother to the suffering poor of Iraq… and for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted, and for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Iraq." Meet Sundus and her gift, and never forget her. Show that part of Baghdad we rarely see: the part with people in it. Learn of music that speaks to the sadness of life, an expression of infinite sadness, and why Celine Dion is seemingly so popular in Baghdad. Understand that joy still springs within the tremors of war and occupation, and there is dancing, dancing that will not cease. Visit Baghdad in No Particular Order.

BAGHDAD IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
(57 minutes, 2003, video and online footnotes)
B.I.N.P.O. is an ambient documentary of life in Baghdad before the invasion and occupation. Men dance, women draw and sufis sing as they await the coming of another war. In seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish). Subtitled.

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NET COAST PREMIERE
Online footnotes to the video.

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WEST COAST PREMIERE
November 13
Thursday, 7:30pm
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street at 3rd Street

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Special engagement in Chicago!

Voices will be hosting Milan Rai for a talk at School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Columbus Drive Auditorium next Saturday November 15 at 6pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Don’t miss it!!

Come see Milan Rai discuss his new book Regime Unchanged- Why the War in Iraq Changed Nothing. Three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly has referred to Milan as our generation’s Noam Chomsky. He is the founder of the UK branch of Voices In the Wilderness and author of Chomsky’s Politics and War Plan Iraq.

Joining Milan will be a new video work by Paul Chan, a NYC based artist and SAIC alumni. Paul Chan’s new work entitled "Baghdad In No Particular Order" chronicles his stay in Iraq as part of VitW’s Iraq Peace Team. This will be the first showing of the film in the US.

On Paul Chan and his new work:
From Dec. 14 to Jan. 14, Chan lived in Baghdad filming the people and the culture. He traveled to Iraq as a member of the Iraq Peace Team (IPT), a group initiated by Voices in the Wilderness. The IPT members included teachers, artists and church workers who live in Iraq at different times documenting the lives of Iraqi citizens. The IPT project began in Sept. 2002 in an attempt to prevent a U.S. attack on Iraq through the use of non-violent actions. The IPT project remained in Iraq recording the Iraqi citizens’ experiences throughout the war and during a part of the occupation. The piece is a montage of scenes filmed in single channel digital video used to increase awareness of the situation.

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EAST COAST PREMIERE
December 13
Saturday, 3:00PM
Museum of Modern art at the Gramercy Theatre
127 East 23 Street at Lexington Avenue