Noah Bingham
Producer, Noah Bingham, Personal Reflections On The Secret Trial 5
How do you undo a stereotype? How do you remove prejudice from policies, laws and their implementation? How do you break down misconceptions and fear that allow us to do what we wouldn’t condone for ourselves, families or neighbours to others?
These are question that are foremost in my mind during the making of this film and questions that propelled me to want to tell this story.
When I was a young adult and left home to study I had interests that were far from documentary film. I was interested in ecology and agriculture. I wanted to farm and live in a way that was in balance with the natural world. However, the events of 9/11 and the two subsequent wars that resulted afterwards interrupted these idyllic pursuits. They shook my focus and solidified how significant the stories we tell about each other had on the world. As I saw it, you had two small factions of people essentially telling the same narrative, one that demonized a large group of other people.
This is a pattern that has repeated throughout human history. These narratives plague the world over and are cause for much of the strife in it. This is strife in both large and small forms, be it war and genocide, or a store clerk keeping an eye on a certain profile of customer, or a dismissive look. I believe its naïve to think film can change such large issues. But I do feel that the stories we tell each other and ourselves have a part to play. Say a drop in the river of change that needs to take place to improve such problems.
What also motivated me to want to tell this story with Amar was the focus on family to discuss themes of anti-terrorism policy, national security and changes that happened as a result of the declaration of a global “War on Terror.” Headlines regarding hostages in Algeria, raids in Pakistan or the escalation of drone attacks are very much apart of these themes. But so are the smaller and quieter stories that don’t make such headlines. If we don’t tell stories where we can see ourselves in such situations, we will be bound to be apathetic or dismissive to injustices within these very real circumstances. In the case of the 5 individuals that our film is focusing on, one will read a name like “Mohamad” or “Jaballah” or see a photograph of Arab male with a long beard and go on to read they have undergone over a decade of prison and house arrest without charge or access to the evidence against them, and turn the page.
We hope to make a film that disrupts the narratives that we are used to when we hear of accusations of terrorism. Until we embrace understanding these serious issues in more nuanced, complicated and less fearful ways I do not feel we will get at the very roots of safety and security. If we do not see the impacts policies have on people’s lives and can also see ourselves in another’s shoes, no matter how divergent our lives may be, we will continue doing unto others things we wouldn’t except for ourselves or our loved ones. We hope to make a film that can contribute to these efforts.
Here’s hoping, but also here’s trying…
Noah
