‘This is a very moving film. It is poignant. It is very effective in getting its message across that we are all one people…’
That is a quote from Bruce Laingen, former president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, after he watched Bam 6.6 at the Washington National Cathedral. The documentary chronicles how a Jewish American pulled from earthquake rubble in Iran in 2003, Adele Freedman, was given the best hospital care at no cost and showered with compassion until she was well enough to leave the country. The massive tremor destroyed nearly all of the beautiful city of Bam, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it failed to shake the local tradition of hospitality to travelers, which remained from the city's heritage as a stop on the ancient Silk Road.
Mr Laingen watched Bam 6.6 from a vantage point that we can learn from. In another era, he was the highest ranking U.S. diplomat held captive for over a year in Tehran. When he told a television interviewer recently, "I'm still a friend of Iran, I have enormous respect for the people of Iran," his magnanimity mirrored a spirit displayed by everyone featured in the film. Far from holding a grudge, he is a strong advocate of dialog and normalization of U.S.-Iranian relations.
It was just this kind of urge to respect and understand "the other side" that prompted Adele's, and her fiancé Tobb Dell'Oro's, decision to see Iran, we learn from a lifelong friend interviewed in the film. The Iranians that the couple met matched the goodwill, even before the earthquake struck. "When we told them we were American, it made them even warmer and more welcoming," recalls Adele.
Relying entirely on interviews, Bam 6.6 succeeds in shattering the common Western stereotypes about Iranians. Although the earthquake killed and injured tens of thousands of Bam residents, the overwhelmed Iranian survivors and volunteers did not overlook the injured American tourists. Adele was flown to one of Tehran's best hospitals, where the attending medical team decided "we will treat her first because she's a guest in our country," recalls the local guide who, according to Adele, "hardly ever left my side." Flowers were brought to the hospital by unmet well-wishers and Adele's parents were "received with open hearts," her father tells us in the film. "I am a professional nurse, and I couldn't have given my daughter better care," adds Adele's mother.
Audiences coast to coast have been enthralled, and in some cases brought to tears, by Bam 6.6 in the short time that the full 55-minute version has been available on DVD. (An early version was screened at the 2007 UN Association Film Festival.) This is a tool more powerful than speeches or reading material for anti war organizers and other people of conscience who believe anti-Iranian propaganda has gone too far in our name. You will not see or read interviews with the uniquely qualified Freedman and Dell'Oro families anywhere but in Bam 6.6. I urge you to give it as a gift and your group to consider arranging a screening in your community. Order your copy from www.essenceofiran.com and ask about nonprofit screening rights by sending an email to golestanparast@sbcglobal.net .
Rostam Pourzal Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran www.campaignIran.org
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Here's an interview with the filmmaker.
