Immigration Equality
There are three significant obstacles that are preventing Alex and Ali from living together as a couple:
1) Alex could get a visa to travel to Iran, but be in danger of being arrested, tortured, or even executed as homosexuality is against the law.
2) Getting Ali out of Iran is problematic, as Iran is very restrictive in allowing short term travel visas
3) Finding a place where both Alex and Ali can legally reside. Since US immigration law does not recognize same-sex couples, Ali is not eligible to get a green card. Thus, the best chance of Ali living in the US is to be granted asylum.
There are organizations who can help. Left Brain/Right Brain Productions is excited to announce that Immigration Equality will be a social action partner for I am the Water, You are the Sea. Immigration Equality provides critical legal counsel to clients, and advocates on Capitol Hill for compassionate and inclusive immigration reform.
LGBT people fleeing persecution from around the world call Immigration Equality for help. Over the past three years, Immigration Equality and its pro bono partners have won asylum for 271 people – a 99% success rate.
You can help us reunite Alex and Ali, and get the film made by donating on Kickstarter.
Thank You to (and from) Donors
We are 1/3 of the way through our Kickstarter campaign, and continue to be energized at how people are responding to the story of Alex and Ali. In addition to pledging money, individuals and organizations have contacted us and offered to help. We are grateful.
Here are some notes from those who have pledged . . .
“It’s a beautiful story. It chokes me up every time I watch one of your teaser videos. It really brings home the power of love and the importance of patience, which is a good lesson for me now because my boyfriend is in Alabama and I’m not a patient person lol. It’s proof to me like nothing else that no matter what race, nationality, background, or even gender, love from the soul transcends all. These two men need to meet. They deserve their chance at happiness together after all this time.” – Sarah
“The backstory is just so amazing I decided to donate some money. There’s never a bad time to make a love story, but it seems even more relevant considering how the world’s attention is currently turned to the Middle East and Iran.” – Rachel
“We feel special sympathy for the story. Having gone through a somewhat tedious and complicated process to be together, gave us an idea of the enormous complexity of their situation.”- Nicolas and Katharine
“I chose to support the project because I was touched by how and when the two met. I was also touched by your connection to them. I am excited for them and for you.” – Daniel
“I have supported a couple things on Kickstarter. I think the ‘kickstart’ program is brilliant – a wonderful way to get the word out, let folks know what something is about and who’s behind it..and give them a chance to “put in their two cents”, quite literally.”- Cindy
Better Together
The Interfaith Youth Core, a client of Left Brain/Right Brain Productions, recently launched a campaign called “Better Together.”
As IFYC President Eboo Patel said,
“The Better Together campaign asks students to do three things. First, speak out about the importance of interfaith cooperation in the world and on your campus. Second, mobilize your peers to participate in interfaith action on a social issue that close to your heart. Third, sustain these efforts on your campus through leadership transition and further interfaith action.”
We love supporting the vision of Eboo, the IFYC, and students across the globe proving that both our similarities and differences can be valuable in producing change.
Possibilities for Change
I did not grow up in a gay-friendly environment. In fact, the official platform of my church could very well have been, “Gays shall burn in hell.”
What’s interesting is that the very values I was taught in this environment wound up being the values that changed my mind about how I viewed, behaved, and interacted with such “sinners.”
It began my freshman year of college at Butler University. After attending a student government seminar in Michigan on breaking down barriers between the gay/straight populations of college students, I returned home and had a fight with one of the pastors of my church about my changing attitudes on the LGBT community. The conversation went something like this:
PASTOR: So I hear you’re getting brainwashed by the liberal gay agenda.
MALACHI: I just don’t understand why the church shuns gays.
PASTOR: Gays are evil and going to hell. The demonic spirits that influence gays will try and influence you as well.
MALACHI: But Jesus himself was attacked by people of his day for spending time with “prostitutes and sinners.” Would he not have spent time with gays as well?
PASTOR: No. He would have told them to repent, or burn in hell.
And so on. I eventually left the church altogether, but continued to hold on to (some of) the values I’d learned – compassion, fairness, justice, etc. And within a fairly short period of time, I went from being homophobic and “anti-gay” to advocating for the LGBT community.
Why share this story? Because I think I’m proof that people can and do change. In spite of the environment in which I was raised, I actually used values within that system to open my mind, my heart, and stop the hate which could have continued through me and my own life. Who would have thought that the same Evangelical kid who preached “turn or burn” to gay kids in his high school would go on to direct a film about the reunion of two gay lovers, one of them a Muslim?
I am the Water, You are the Sea is about breaking down barriers – barriers of fear, intolerance, misunderstanding, hate. Barriers of politics, religion, laws. Barriers that, for me, were rather formidable. But I was able to change. And, with your help, I think we can continuing breaking down barriers, building bridges, bringing people together. The message of the film is all in its title – “I am the Water, You are the Sea.” We’re all the same, connected, one – in the here and now. It’s a beautiful thing.
Towleroad Features I am the Water
Our thanks for Towleroad for bringing attention to I am the Water, You are the Sea:
They write:
Here’s a kickstarter campaign for a documentary/love story with an interesting premise — to reunite a binational couple:
Towleroad began in 2003 and is now a leading online news source offering a broad range of information on politics, pop culture, gay culture, media, entertainment, photography, fashion, technology, men, music, and travel.
You are the Sea: The Love Letter
We’ve been asked a number of times, what is the meaning of the title? I am the Water, You are the Sea.
Over the 33 years that Alex and Ali have been separated, they have exchanged a number of love letters. In one of Ali’s most eloquent letters, around 1978, he said,
“I never had it in my power to resist loving you. I am the water in a stream, flowing inexorably toward the sea which is you.”
Some of the letters will be published in a limited edition book, available as a premium when you donate $500 or more towards the project.
I am the Water Fundraising Begins
Our Kickstarter page for I am the Water, You are the Sea is now live! We are raising $25,000 to fund the documentary filming of Alex and Ali. Why should you donate?
1. For Alex and Ali: Your money helps bring together lovers who have been separated for 33 years.
2. For inspiration: A powerful love story brings more hope and joy to the world
3. For social change: The human characteristics of their story transcends gender, geography, and religion, showing that despite differences, we are all water in the seas of humanity
4. For you: The premiums are awesome.
Share with friends, and chip in what you can!
Thank you.
Interview with LGBT Asylum News
While in the planning stages of producing a new feature length film, I am the Water, You are the Sea, we are exploring some of the cultural and political issues surrounding the film. This week I had the opportunity to speak with Paul Canning, the founder of LGBT Asylum News in the UK.
Todd: Why do you do what you do?
Paul: There is a gap in the understanding of LGBT stories internationally. There are many places in the world where sexual minorities are being harmed, prosecuted, or not allowed to live freely. We are filling the gap in sharing those stories.
We report on the Global South in this context: ‘We document the situations in countries from which LGBT people are fleeing hoping for a safe haven and the problems they can face from the asylum system in many countries.”
Todd: Is there a global movement for LGBT human rights?
Paul: LGBT human rights are not distinct from other human rights. The outcry over the proposed legislation in Uganda, or even what happened this month in regards to Eurovision and Azerbaijan show how public opinion and politics are shifting, at least in some places. There are organizations doing great work all across the globe, and we are getting more connected.
For example, South Africa hosts thousands of LGBT refugees from all of Africa. But the process of getting to South Africa is dangerous. There are refugee agencies there, and an LGBT community, but only recently has there been a formal effort to connect the disparate parts across the continent.
As a web person and journalist, I saw the transformative potential of raising awareness online. Then, helping gain asylum for Medhi Kazemi validated how the right mix of information, action, and politics can produce change.
Todd: Speaking of Medhi Kazemi, what is actually happening to human rights in Iran after Ahmadinejad’s statement that “there are no homosexuals in Iran?”
Paul: Iran is complicated. It’s often portrayed in a simplistic way, particularly if one has an investment in it. Many people seem to have an agenda in regards to Iran.
But there is a history of its culture having a somewhat liberal outlook. In Tehran, and in the other big cities, there is an underground gay scene. At the same time, the authorities have been known to raid parties and track people down online. The minute someone speaks, there is danger of being apprehended. But it is hard to get accurate information. The complexity has been well documented by the recent Human Rights Watch report, and also seems to be captured in the Sundance film Circumstance. The international human rights community has shied away from shining the light on Iran because it’s so difficult.
Using Film to Amplify a Story
The Joffrey Ballet, a client of Left Brain/Right Brain Productions, recently featured three new works preceded by a short video to highlight the choreographers’ approach and relationships to the dancers. We were privileged to have access to rehearsals, and to be able to illuminate the “story behind the story” as well as the process of creation.
Chicago Sun-Times dance critic Hedy Weiss wrote:
“The superb video by Malachi Leopold that prefaces this program is a zesty introduction to the wit and thought processes of the three choreographers (Julia Adam, Yuri Possokhov and Edwaard Liang), whose ballets, all dealing with various notions of the dream state, are on display.”
The video showcases the power of amplifying a story, in this case a dance, with the visual storytelling of film. We do not have to create a story, only visualize the story that is already being told. Whether it’s a business helping their community, an organization providing legal assistance, or entrepreneurs sharing the challenges and delights of starting an enterprise, there are many stories waiting to be amplified.
Announcing: I am the Water, You are the Sea
We are excited to publicly announce our first feature film project, I Am the Water, You Are the Sea. Combining elements of documentary and narrative film, I Am the Water, You Are the Sea tells the true story of two lovers: Alex, an American Peace Corps volunteer; and Ali, an Iranian Muslim. The two have been separated for more than 33 years. In 1967, while Alex was working with the Peace Corps in Iran, the two met, fell in love, and kept their relationship secret for 10 years. With political unrest escalating, and the Iranian revolution fast approaching, Alex was forced to leave Iran – and Ali – in 1977. The two haven’t seen each other since.
There are so many things I love about this project – first, it celebrates the belief in the importance of love between two individuals, two human beings – intimate, profound, true. The belief that, despite all the odds, this love, this connection, this sharing of a life, this making of a life together – is worth fighting for. I love the fact that I could never invent a story like this - it’s a true story about an American Peace Corps volunteer and an Iranian Muslim in a gay relationship. And I think the timing couldn’t be more perfect given the current political climate.
Besides the fact that I’m wondering what implications of the recent changes sweeping the Middle East are for the GLBT community there – but also, since the demise of Osama bin Laden, there seems to already be a shift of attention onto Iran’s leaders, and I think it’s more important than ever for America, and the rest of the world for that matter, to separate the ‘leaders’ of Iran from its people. It’s people are open, giving, generous, pro-American, pro-west, pro-democracy. It’s political leaders’ days are, in my opinion, numbered, and it’s only a matter of time before there’s a significant political change. Forming a positive connection with the people of Iran is, in my opinion, important as they need our support for whatever changes are coming.
And as if all this isn’t enough, while living in Iran, the American in the story taught English as a second language to employees of the Iran Atomic Energy Company. So you have Iran, Islam, atomic energy, AND gay sex all wrapped up in the same, beautiful love story. Who could ask for more! But seriously, the story just inspires me so much – here are these two men, still in love after all this time of separation – finally being reunited for the first time in 33 years. It’s as epic as Romeo and Juliet – or Romeo and Romeo, I guess – but with a happy ending. I love it!
