Giulia Rozzi
November 20, 2008 | 10:33 am EST
After returning late to a Las Vegas hotel room the other night I caught the fascinating documentary “Operation Filmmaker” playing on cable. The film by Nina Davenport (an interview with whom TakePart reported on last summer) shows what ensues when a young, aspiring filmmaker from Iraq, Muthana Mohmed, is brought by an American production company to the set of “Everything is Illuminated” in the Czech Republic in 2003 after the onset of the Iraq War. The extraction of Mohmed out of a war zone and into the strange world of film production is the idea of the film’s director, actor Liev Schreiber, who sees Mohmed in a brief segment on MTV talking about his dream of becoming a filmmaker after seeing his country torn apart by both Saddam Hussein and the war, and is moved to help the young man make his dreams a reality. However things don’t exactly go to plan.
Perhaps Schreiber’s biggest mistake in the ordeal is approaching MTV about making a documentary on Muthana’s saga, a film that will end up showcasing almost everyone involved in the ordeal looking somewhere between bad and really bad. Once in the Czech Republic, Muthana doesn’t turn out to be the Cinderella story that Schreiber and the production company had in mind. For starters, he doesn’t like the duties assigned to him of being a Production Assistant on the set of the film (which in all fairness to Muthana, having PA’d myself, is perfectly normal). He’s also not particularly motivated and doesn’t have anything resembling the sense of direction possessed by the successful, driven people surrounding him on set like Schreiber or producer Peter Saraf. Like many young people in their early twenties, Muthana seems to be in the throes of the clumsy, mundane process of finding himself, which does not endear him to those who thought they were giving him the opportunity of a lifetime, yet don’t see him taking advantage of it. Muthana’s personal political views also seem jarring to the production company. He declares that he “loves George Bush” for freeing his country and describes “Everything is Illuminated,” a film about a Jewish American writer traveling to Europe to walk in the footsteps of his family members in the holocaust as “a Jewish movie, defending the Jewish theory.”
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The Alliance of Youth Movements Summit will take place at New York’s Columbia Law School from December 3-5. Leaders of youth movements will launch a global network helping young people mobilize against violence and oppression. This amazing event is being sponsored by Howcast, Facebook, Google, YouTube, MTV, the U.S. Department of State, Columbia Law School and Access 360 Media.
This is another awesome example of how social-networking and other technologies are successfully being used to make a difference. 17 activist group leaders will collaborate on a set of principles and strategies, inspired by a movement against a Colombian extremist group that was formed and organized on Facebook.
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Hmm.. So Britney Spears won Video of the Year last night at the 25th VMAs on MTV. Even though she has been nominated 16 times prior, she has never won in the past. This led me to believe, waking up this morning, that the video she won for, Piece of Me, must be pretty good.
Check it out here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4NayXtzsBo
Hmm.. It’s, you know, fine. I like the message of the song but Video of the Year? Britney video wise, I’d prefer some Oops I Did it Again or if you want a similar video message, I’d prefer Everytime. Actually now that I look back on it, she has a lot of videos that I like better (but are all still kinda mediocre).
But I digress, Video of the Year? Did they see Bjork’s Wanderlust video?
1) Christina Aguilera Rocks the Vote
For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here>>
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Singer Kelly Rowland took an AIDS test in Africa to raise awareness of the disease. Rowland took the test while in Nairobi on Thursday to help reduce the stigma of the disease in the country, where people fear discrimination if they are tested.
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to HIV infection, and it is important for everyone to know their HIV status, she said. The quicker you know your status, the sooner you can receive treatment if you’re HIV+, and reduce the risk of inadvertently infecting future partners.” Rowland is in Africa as the first ever Ambassador for MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, and hopes to help the people of Kenya get the disease under control. HIV/AIDS is at pandemic levels through much of Africa, with UNAIDS-the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS – estimating that more than 22 million adults and children are living with the disease on the continent. The singer also took the time to visit the 2008 recipients of the Staying Alive Foundation’s grants, who have been chosen for their efforts to encourage, educate and empower their peers in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Radiohead joined forces with Mtv’s EXIT campaign against human trafficking to create the “All I Need Video.”
(Radiohead frontman) Thom Yorke has never been one to keep his political views to himself. And when he was contacted by MTV to take part in a campaign against human trafficking, he decided to play things close to the vest. Because, as he sees it, the issue isn’t a political one at all.
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MTV Choose Or Lose is choosing to come to Laughing Liberally Tonight! Choose or Lose, the voter initiative will be covering tonight’s Laughing Liberally, a non-partisan political comedy show dedicated to saving democracy one laugh at a time. Tonight’s show will feature Lee Camp (Comedy Central), Katie Halper* (TAKE PART!), Charles Star (The Onion), Benari Poulten (Shoot the Messenger), Hilary Schwartz (Urban Hee Haw), Diana Saez (Washington Post) introducing Amanda Milstein (Living Liberally), hosted by Elon James White (The Black Comedy Project)
So 
and come out to the show @ The Tank @ 279 Church (between White & Franklin). Because if you choose to snooze, you lose. And on an issue of your choice (see below)
Reports were circulating around the web yesterday that the new Gnarls Barkley music video Run was banned from MTV.
However it’s controversy wasn’t due to language, sex, or violence it was because of the intense psychedelic graphics and effects that occur mid-way thru the video which you can view here:
Apparently the trippy swirls and flashes of shapes are potentially dangerous to those suffering from epilepsy.
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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Don’t miss these excellent posts on some very engaging and thoughtful topics - from going green at the office to Julian Beever to dystopian film telling us to take action now. Check out our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.
Katie:
Katoucha’s Body Found: Model Helped African Women Escape Mutiliation
Julian Beever Brings Art to New Orleans Sidewalks
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Nicole:
Heath Ledger Nick Drake Video for “Black Eyed Dog” Hits Web
Top 10 Ways to Go Green in the Office
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Gina:
Top 10 Dystopian Future Films Telling Us to Take Action Now
Going to “The Edge of Heaven” with Fatih Akin
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Kerry:
Oh when will the ignorant humor epidemic end? You know, lame comedians perpetuating racial and ethnic stereotypes through lame shticks. We’ve seen it, we’ve heard it, and we still don’t think it’s very clever.
Fear not intelligent comedy fans! There are comedians out there who are making an effort to explore and celebrate their heritage on stage without being hacky. Better yet, there are groups of comedians joining forces to explore and celebrate their heritage without being hacky. One of those groups is The Black Comedy Project.
As explained on their site “there’s a difference between what people think “Black Comedy” is and what it actually happens to be. NYC Based comedians Baron Vaughn and Elon James White have reached out to comedians across the nation to finally let the world know that there’s very different voices within the community. Let us bring them to you.”
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Giulia:
