In a democracy, we're all parts of the same body by Anna Christa dos Santos Israel

Anna Israel of Brazil, filmmaker and finalist in the Democracy Video Challenge, answered questions in a July 31 CO.NX webchat.

Following is the transcript:

(begin transcript)

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya): (7/29/2009 09:58) Hello, and welcome! This webchat will begin on July 31 at 8:00 AM EDT (12:00 GMT).

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (09:58) You can ask Anna questions in advance of Friday's chat by entering them into this chat pod. See you Friday!

EMO BOY: (7/31/2009 07:45) HI

Amelia Vance: (07:45) Hi! Welcome to the chat. We should be starting in about 15 minutes.

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (07:52) Welcome everyone! The chat will begin in about 15 minutes. You can submit questions at any time.

nischal: (07:52) hi

flavio : (07:52) hello

gobinda 2: (07:52) hi

Antonio: (07:52) hey

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (07:53) Hi nischal, flavio, gobinda and Antonio. Welcome! You can submit your questions for Anna now if you'd like.

Pete: (07:53) Hi there!

CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): (08:00) Welcome to the chat! Please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from. We will be starting in just a minute.

Anna Israel: (08:02) Hi guys! My name is Anna Carolina Israel and I'm from Brazil. It's so great to be here! Looking forward to chatting with you and answering all of your questions! :)

Cafer Tanriverdi: (08:06) Cafer, Ankara Turkiye. I'm a good listener. Have a good fun. Interesting subject..

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (08:07) Hi Cafer Tanriverdi, welcome to the chat!

Kaelyn: (08:07) Hi! This is Kaelyn from the United States!

CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): (08:07) Welcome Kaelyn! Go ahead and start submitting your questions for Anna!

Q [douglas mcleod]: (08:09) Anna says she wants to define democracy in terms of people coming together for the greater good. Other winners have talked about it in terms of empowering the individual. Surely these views are not reconcilable?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:09) Hello douglas, thanks for your question. Actually, I think that these are 2 sides of the same coin. If people come together, it means that, in a way, all individuals are empowered, because they make up a unit which is stronger than its parts.

A Thinker: (08:10) hi

CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): (08:10) Hi! Welcome to the chat! Feel free to start submitting questions for Anna to answer

Q [Pete]: (08:14) Hi Anna, how did you come up with the idea of using different parts of the body to characterize democracy?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:14) Hello Pete! Actually, I think I came up with the concept because of my lack of resources to make the video. I wanted to have a dialog between people who want different things, but I only had one 'actress' on camera, my thirteen-year-old sister Bruna, LOL! So I came up with the idea of the parts of the body representing different parts of society which come together to form a whole body.

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:18) Na sua experiência, a democracia melhorou a vida diária para a maioria dos brasileiros?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:18) Oi Kaelyn! Estou curiosa agora, você não disse que estava teclando dos Estados Unidos? LOL! Obrigada pela sua pergunta! Bem, a única experiência que o Brasil teve que não foi Democrática foi a Ditadura. E, posso dizer com certeza que qualquer outra forma de governo é melhor do que o que o povo brasileiro passou na época da Ditadura.

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (08:19) Remember, you can ask Anna questions in English, French or Portuguese.

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:21) Quais são os desafios em a fortalecimento da democracia no Brasil?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:21) Acho que o maior desafio é o povo como um todo voltar a acreditar na Democracia como uma forma de governo justa. As pessoas perderam grande parte de sua fé no sistema por causa da constante corrupção que assola o país. As pessoas não vêem que o conteúdo é diferente da forma. Não é porque os políticos são corruptos que o sistema é ruim. Por isso, as pessoas no Brasil estão muito apáticas quanto à defesa dos seus direitos, e não lutam mais para melhorar a Democracia.

Q [Diane]: (08:23) You mention 'lack of resources' as a challenge and an inspiration while making the film. Tell the audience how you went about making the film, and how long it took.

A [Anna Israel]: (08:25) Well, as I mentioned, I had to create something really simple, because I had very little to work with. I borrowed a handy cam and a tripod from my Godmother and I asked my sister if she could help me with the video. Before creating this video, I only had some experience in writing, but I didn't know how to film, how to edit or anything like that. I learned everything as I did it. It took me about three weeks to write, shoot and edit the video.

Q [Pete]: (08:28) When you finish film school, what do you want to do?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:28) I plan to get a master's degree in screenwriting in the US. I really love writing, and I'd like to delve deeply into that art.

Q [Pete]: (08:31) Cool, what genre do you want to do screenwriting for? Movies, plays, TV?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:31) Movies are the ones I think appeal to me the most, but I'd love to write for TV and for plays as well.

Q [Pete]: (08:33) How did your background in Law influence this film or others you plan to create?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:33) I think the biggest influence Law had in my life in general is that, after studying it for many years, I was even more certain that I wanted to be a filmmaker, LOL! But although Law has never been my passion, it has really opened my eyes towards political systems and the Laws of the country, which tells you a little bit more about how things work the way they do.

Q [Pete]: (08:35) Have people in Brazil noticed your film? What's been their reaction?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:35) I think people here have noticed my video because of the interviews I've been doing, and I've gotten some really cool comments from people all over Brazil, I'm really glad! Plus, people at college and at work keep coming up to me and saying: "aren't you that girl who won the video contest?" LOL So it's really cool to get recognition for your work that way.

Q [Diane]: (08:39) Which other DVC films have you seen? Which ones did you enjoy?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:39) I have seen quite a few interesting videos, but I think the most interesting thing to me was how only one theme could be explored in so many different ways...

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (08:39) Hi Artur Rocha. Welcome!

Q [Diane]: (08:40) How would you describe the film industry environment in Brazil, especially for someone trying to learn about the industry?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:40) I have heard that even well-known and established filmmakers have a hard time getting financing for their films, so the industry here in Brazil is very hard to break into. But there are more and more Brazilian productions hitting the movie theaters every year, so it's slowly developing.

Q [Diane]: (08:43) Considering your limited experience in film before entering the competition, what advice do you have for others who feel they need years of training before trying to complete a product?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:43) My advice is: just do it. I second guessed myself a lot before I actually started embracing my passion for filmmaking because I thought I couldn't do it, yet here I am.

Q [Artur Rocha]: (08:44) why now brazilian film industry is growing up quickly

A [Anna Israel]: (08:44) It's a chain reaction, I guess. People started making better movies, so more and more Brazilians have been paying to see movies made here.

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:46) Você já foi pra os EUA? O que você quer fazer primeiro quando chegar aqui nos EUA?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:46) Eu já fui para os EUA, mas dessa vez será totalmente differente. O programa vai ser maravilhoso, vou conhecer pessoas de todo o mundo e tudo isso como reconhecimento de um trabalho meu com cinema. Eu não poderia estar mais feliz! :D

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:48) O quem e sua inspiração pessoal? Profissional?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:48) Vou citar um cineatsa que é uma inspiração para mim, Woody Allen. Ele é roteirista, diretor, ator... Tudo em um só! E nunca fez faculdade de cinema! Quero ser assim quando crescer, LOL!

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:49) Who helped you cultivate your passion for film? Who encouraged you early on?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:49) I think the biggest encouragement was indirect. My uncle used to take me to the movies all the time, and we would come out of the movie theater discussing plot, actors and so on. so, I started looking at movies with a critical eye vry early on. That's when my passion started, I guess.

Q [Kaelyn]: (08:53) Do Brazilian schools have film programs? If not, how do students learn about photography and production?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:53) I haven't heard of any school with a film program... The people who want to work with this start learning about it either on their own or when they go to college, I guess

Kaelyn: (08:55) Maravilhoso! Anna, tenho que ir para meu trabalho agora, mas parabens! Voce merece tudo de bom! Espero que tenha uma boa viagem aos EUA! Beijos!

Anna Israel: (08:55) Muito obrigada mesmo, um super abraço! :)

Q [Artur Rocha]: (08:57) O que voce acha do Mell Brooks e do Akira Kurorasawa?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:57) Vi pouca coisa do Mel Brooks para opinar, mas me apaixonei pelo Kurosawa quando fiz um trabalho sobre um dos contos do "Sonhos" para a faculdade. É fantástico! E eu adoro cultura japonesa, então gostei mais ainda.

Q [Diane]: (08:57) Are you submitting your video to any film festivals?

A [Anna Israel]: (08:57) I haven't really thought about that yet, I'll probably do it once I get back from the US.

Q [CO.NX Moderator (Tanya)]: (09:00) This question is from our Facebook audience: Which of the other videos from the competition did you like? Or feel inspired by?

A [Anna Israel]: (09:00) There was one video which defined Democracy and then showed a child on the street. That really moved me, because it made me think of the homeless people here in Brazil.

Q [Diane]: (09:02) You mention 'lack of resources' as a challenge and an inspiration while making the film. Tell the audience how you went about making the film, and how long it took.

A [Anna Israel]: (09:02) Well, as I mentioned, I had to create something really simple, because I had very little to work with. I borrowed a handy cam and a tripod from my Godmother and I asked my sister if she could help me with the video. Before creating this video, I only had some experience in writing, but I didn't know how to film, how to edit or anything like that. I learned everything as I did it. It took me about three weeks to write, shoot and edit the video.

Q [Artur Rocha]: (09:06) Comparando os diretores de outros tempos como os italianos e os franceses, e as pessoas iam ao cinema não pelos atores, mas sim pelos diretores, o que mudou?

A [Anna Israel]: (09:06) Eu acho que hoje a gente vive em uma sociedade onde existe o culto às celebridades. E, hoje em dia, os atores são celebridades maiores do que os diretores. E eu acho que a cultura cinematográfica americana é muito diferente da européia. Na europa, existem muito menos 'blockbusters', que dependem de estrelas no elenco.

Q [Frank]: (09:07) Have you had an opportunity to "chat" with the other contest winners?

A [Anna Israel]: (09:07) I've only had the opportunity to talk to the winner from the Philippines on the chat last week. But I'm looking forward to meeting all of them in the US! :)

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (09:07) Thanks for joining us today Anna. We enjoyed talking with you about your video.

Anna Israel: (09:08) Thanks everyone! Bye!

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (09:08) And thanks to everyone who joined us in the audience. For more information about the Democracy Video Challenge and upcoming chats with other winners please visit our website: http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html#winners

CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): (09:09) For more information about CO.NX webchats, check out our facebook at http://co-nx.state.gov

CO.NX Moderator (Tanya) : (09:10) Be sure to join us next week on August 7 at 8am EDT (12:00 GMT) for a webchat with DVC winner Tery Choden from Nepal.

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