Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir! 請別打我，長官

Dear Taipei Friends,

Our film, Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir! 請別打我，長官！by P. Kerim Friedman & Shashwati Talukdar Will be playing in the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival 臺灣國際民族誌影展 next month, and we’d love it if you could help us spread the word: tell your family, friends, students colleagues, classmates, strangers, etc!

It is on a Tuesday afternoon (10/11 15:00) so we really need help trying to attract an audience. We’ve been working hard on this film for 6 years, so we want as many people to see it as possible!

Information about the film is in Chinese and English below.

http://www.tieff.sinica.edu.tw/ch/2011/films_d1.html

關於本片

超過六千萬印度人隸屬於被英國政府所監禁的「生而為罪犯」社群。Chhara位在印度西邊，是198個「犯罪部落」之一。一個Chhara的青年團體透過街頭戲劇藉以宣稱他們是「生而為演員」而非「生而為罪犯」，並用來對抗警察的粗暴、賄賂與對他們所貼上的犯罪標籤，此種標籤早已被老一輩Chhara人內化。「請不要打我，長官！」一片跟隨著這群年輕運動者和其家人的生活與在街頭上的奮戰。希望他們的戲劇將能夠觸發一場革命。

電影不只是展現藝術力量-做為對抗與社會改變的工具，電影更讓我們進入Chhara社會以揭示一個轉變中的社群。在五年的影像製作過程中，我們與當地人密切協同合作，「請不要打我，長官！」一片探討當地老一輩與年輕人之間的緊繃關係，老人家早已習慣做自認為是自給自足的事情（或許一般人會認為是偷竊的行為），而年輕人的戲劇則提供新的契機。

在電影拍攝過程中，我們與當地社群緊密合作。每一年我們都會回去Chhara，並呈現毛片與徵詢當地人意見。我們也將這些討論過程拍攝起來，本片中的許多張力來自於這些討論聚會時社群內部的緊繃關係。因為這個社群的邊緣本質，所以協同合作是必要的，但也更是因為這些年輕運動者的才智與見解。有許多議題是我們無法立即拍攝到的，而透過他們所寫的簡短情節，我們得以一窺他們的才智，並將這些最好的情節整合入電影中。如本片中有一幕是一位婦女重演抗議情景時，警察進來收賄款（以讓婦女能夠釀造非法私酒）。本片的能量來自於此種協同合作的獨特本質，而信任是建立在當地五年多的電影拍攝時光中。

http://www.tieff.sinica.edu.tw/ch/2011/en_films_d1.html

About the film:

Over sixty million Indians belong to communities imprisoned by the British as “criminals by birth.” The Chhara of Ahmedabad, in Western India, are one of 198 such “Criminal Tribes.” Declaring that they are “born actors,” not “born criminals,” a group of Chhara youth have turned to street theater in their fight against police brutality, corruption, and the stigma of criminality — a stigma internalized by their own grandparents. Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir! follows the lives of these young actors and their families as they take their struggle to the streets, hoping their plays will spark a revolution.

Not only does the film show the power of art as a tool for resistance and social change, it also takes us inside Chhara society to reveal a community in transition. Made over a five year period, during which the filmmakers worked in close collaboration with their subjects, Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir! exposes the tensions that exist between an older generation who did whatever it took to make ends meet and young people for whom theater offers a new world of opportunity.

In making the film we worked in close collaboration with the community. We returned year after year to show rough cuts and solicit feedback. We filmed these discussions, and some of the film’s most intense moments come out of the community tensions revealed at those meetings. Collaboration was essential because of the marginalized nature of the community, but it was also possible because of the talent and insight of the young actors. We tapped into that talent by having them write short skits about topics we couldn’t film directly and integrated the best of these skits into the film. In one scene Chhara women reenact their protestations when the police come to collect their bribes (in exchange for allowing the women to brew illicit liquor). Much of the film’s energy comes from the unique nature of this collaboration, and the trust that was built up over five years of filming.

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