Pangea Day — sharing stories worldwide
Posted on May 11, 2008 at 4:00 pm
The fist Pangea Day was every bit as heart-warming, inspiring, and thrilling as I had hoped. I was privileged to participate at the Epicenter Church, a new Christian Faith Community located in Rosslyn, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington DC. Pastor Paul Nixon and worship leader Ward Ferguson gave us a very warm welcome. We were a very small group, only nine of us, but through the huge screen we felt very much a part of the thousands world-wide who came together around the modern-day equivalent of a campfire to share our stories.
Pangea Day was like a cross between Live Aid, Woodstock, Oprah, and the Disney park ride “It’s a Small World After All.” It was the dream of film-maker Jehane Noujaim to bring people around the world together by allowing them to share their stories via film. Anthropologist Donald Brown spoke about his inventory of “human universals,” the things that connect all people in all cultures, from rituals and customs around meals, gift-giving, and life cycle events to sharing, insults, and the expression of feelings like mourning, competition, love — even tickling. There were live appearances, musical performances, and interviews, some a little awkward, cheesy, or glitchy, but all well-intentioned, and the four-hour presentation centered on the sharing of stories from film-makers around the world.
Each of the films is only a few minutes long and all are well worth watching. One of my favorites was “The Ball,” the first film shown, from Mozambique, about boys in need of a soccer ball. The funniest included “The Slap” and “Elevator Music,” but the one that provoked the biggest reaction from our group was “Laughter Club,” a mini-documentary about groups around the world who meet just to practice Laughter Yoga. The most poignant and moving films included “Dancing Queen” from India and brief segments from “Operation Homecoming,” with commentary from an American soldier serving in Iraq and Noujaim’s Combatants for Peace, with former soldiers from Israel and Palestine who are working together to find reconciliation and peace.
The most romantic included the wordless “A Thousand Words” and “Mutual Recognition,” an excerpt from Noujaim’s own film that includes an interview with a Sufi couple about what makes their marriage strong. Their message — through words and through their expressions as they look at and listen to one another — is deeply inspiring. Perhaps the film that best summed up the day’s message was “Wallyball,” a mini-documentary about a wall dividing a beach along the U.S./Mexican border. As helicopters and soldiers maintain national security by keeping these neighbors apart, the people enjoying their time on the beach develop a volleyball game across the divider. Be sure to watch for the ice cream truck. It reminds me of one of my very favorite short animated films, “The Hat,” by John and Faith Hubley.
Many of the stories affirmed the universality and connection of human experience. Topics like anger, love, and hope were addressed with brief comments by people all over the world. Some of the stories were about experiences so devastating most of us are unable even to begin to contemplate the devastation and trauma they inflict. Ishmael Beah
spoke of his two years as child soldier in Sierra Leone and his struggle to recover his humanity and transcend the experience, to “learn to transform the war experiences to they were no longer a burden but instructional tools.” Israeli Robi Damelin
and Palestinian Ali Abu Awwad held hands as they came on stage to talk about how the killing of their family members led them to forgive and seek forgiveness and to work for reconciliation and peace.
In a live interview with the former soldiers who appeared in the “Combatants for Peace” film, the Israeli veteran revealed that hours before his mother and brother were shot in a peace demonstration, a powerful reminder that there are daunting challenges ahead. But his appearance, even after that incident, with his new friend and former enemy was an even more powerful reminder that while it may be a long and difficult journey, we have taken the first steps.
Please take a moment to watch some of the films. And make some of your own to keep this conversation going.
: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition — an exploration of the psychology, history and biology of myth, and an introduction to the Western mythos.
: The Shaping of the Eastern Tradition –an introduction to the great mythic traditions of South and East Asia
Charlton Heston, who died this morning at age 84, had the screen presence for larger than life, heroic roles, and often appeared in films with religious themes. He will be best remembered for his Oscar-winning performance as 
and for appearing as Moses in 
. He also played John the Baptist in 
. Heston created audio recordings of 
and provided voice talent for a series of animated Bible stories for children. 
as a policeman who lives on the border, literally and metaphorically, and in a rare romantic comedy, “The Private War of Major Benson.” Whether he was leading a circus (
) or a stranded team of astronauts (
) or even trying to survive as the last man on earth (
), his conviction and commitment made him the essence of a movie star.
) and the heist film (
and “Rififi”) and for the marvelous 
, starring his wife, Melina Mercouri, as an earthy prostitute who is “educated” about ancient Greece by an American scholar (Dassin himself). 
The struggle I had with prayer, this person with half my IQ seemed so natural. I was filled with curiousity and envy. This was in the fall. His bar mitzvah was in May. I needed to get started quickly.