By Nate Byerley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 19, 1998

'Elephants and Grass' chronicles Cuban conflict

Photo courtesy of Pan Left Productions Arizona Daily Wildcat Cuban citizens featured in "Elephants and Grass," a new documentary from two local filmmakers that explores the impact of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

It is a rare occasion on which one leaves a movie theater feeling empowered. Impressed, sure; moved, perhaps; but seldom empowered.

Pan Left Productions' documentary "Elephants and Grass" debuted Saturday with two showings at the Screening Room (127 E. Congress). A three-year project, which the filmmakers describe as the "first video we started and the last video we finished," "Elephants and Grass" takes a daring look at an issue most people know little, if anything, about - the Cuban Embargo.

Through a series of interviews with anti-embargo activists in Miami, Cuban citizens, and officials at the Cuban American National Foundation, filmmakers Lisa Wise and Jeff Imig piece together different perspectives on the issue. The documentary also chronicles their own journeys to Miami and Cuba (and back again), and their growing understanding of the legitimacy and effects of the Cuban trade embargo.

"While we couldn't be too close to the issue," said Wise, "by making our position very clear, we hope we were letting the audience establish their own opinion."

In a media environment where every bit of information is laden with propagandistic undertones, the opportunity to make an informed decision is a welcome change.

This is a fundamental philosophy at Pan Left. Established three years ago by UA graduates Wise and Imig, political science and media arts majors respectively, Pan Left aims at placing video cameras in the hands of those with something to say.

Imig explained that "almost everyone had access to video cameras as kids; we want to show that there are places to use them besides 'America's Funniest Home Videos.'"

Pan Left's first production, "Unity Crosses Borders," was anything but slapstick. A documentary of a more local nature, "Unity" investigated violence against Mexican immigrants, on the border and here in Tucson. The camera was used both as a passive observer, recording wrenching accounts of abuse, as well as an active element in the pursuits by Immigration and Naturalization Service officers; by placing their actions under surveillance, violence was less likely to occur.

Similarly, the camera in "Elephants in Grass" is both an observer and a tool to penetrate the issue at hand. After repeated attempts to arrange an interview with a representative of the Cuban American National Foundation, the filmmakers resorted to the infamous barge-in-with-your-camera-and-demand-an-interview method. The CANF, a federally funded organization, may play a large part in the violence against Cuban nationalists and those critical of the embargo.

"The camera, as a visual medium, facilitates a grassroots approach to the subject," explained Wise.

Although the subject matter of "Elephants and Grass" follows in the vein of "Unity Crosses Borders," the artistic and technical elements have undergone a laudable transformation. Seamless cuts of downtown Havana give way to engaging interviews and charming, if not a little corny, "acting" on the part of the filmmakers. Musical selections pleasantly adorn the video and info-collage. While Imig laments failings in terms of lighting, "Elephants and Grass" remains captivating, despite its shortcomings when compared to million dollar budget blockbusters.

"People have to be willing to suspend their preconceptions," said Imig. "It's not going to look like network TV, but it can be interesting and intellectually pleasing."

Arizona Daily Wildcat "Elephants and Grass" videographers Jeff Imig and Lisa Wise. The documentary, which was shown at the Screening Room last weekend and is available for purchase, focuses on the Cuban trade embargo and its effects.

While the difference between "Elephants and Grass" and the star-studded docudramas vying for Academy Awards is far greater than a mere discrepancy in funding, this dichotomy is revealing of the filmmakers' intentions; in spite of a Tucson Pima-Arts Council grant, private donations, and profits from Wise and Imig's for-profit video-recording company, Video Visions, unanticipated return trips to Miami and Cuba required the filmmakers to shell out cash of their own. Even the video equipment, including Hi-8 cameras and low-end professional video editing machines, was only recently paid off. To help offset their cost of production, Pan Left requested a five-dollar "donation" for admission at the two screenings last week.

According to Imig, there will be free public screenings in the future.

"We were never in it for the money" said Wise, though Imig reflected on the difficulty of producing something of importance and making it accessible to the general public.

"It's a hard balance," he said. "We want as many people to see it, but we still have to pay rent for our studio."

Private donations came from individuals who support the end of the Cuban Embargo, Imig explained, adding, "We should support that community."

With the filming and editing completed, Pan Left will turn to their new endeavor, distribution.

"This is only the beginning," Wise stated during the short discussion held after one of Saturday's screenings.

Wise and others will submit the film to film festivals, try to sell copies to libraries and schools, and broadcast their documentary on cable access stations.

When a member of the audience asked if she could copy the film and send it to a friend, Wise and Imig could only encourage her and others to do the same. If you purchase a copy yourself ($12 from Pan Left Productions), you won't see an FBI warning threatening imprisonment if you duplicate the tape. Of course, spending 12 bucks instead of pirating a copy only goes to support Pan Left's future ventures - their stake lies not in the accumulation of wealth, but in reaching as many people as they possibly can.

Pan Left holds meetings at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month, at a small downtown studio where members discuss current projects, fundraising and new proposals. Each proposal is evaluated by the group in terms of subject matter, technical needs and cost, clarifying the intentions of the filmmaker.

"It does take a large commitment of time," Imig said. "Maybe that's why it's popular with young people and those in school."

Projects currently simmering at Pan Left include a video on Arizona border rights involving the seven indigenous groups that live along the U.S./Mexico border and a collaborative project with BICAS, a local community organization that serves to recycle bicycles and teach kids how to maintain them. Pan Left's intention is to provide these groups with access to cameras, and the knowledge to use them so as to provide a voice where there might otherwise be silence.

Pan Left Productions is located at 118 S. Fifth St., Suite 110, and can be reached by phone at 792-9171 or by e-mail at panleft@azstarnet.com.