salaam dunk is a 2011 american documentary film directed by david fine about an iraqi university 's women basketball program , spearheaded by a us-born instructor as coach .

salaam dunk

iraqi women form their school ' s first women’s basketball team | salaam dunk , pt . 1
how female athletes in iraq beat oppression on and off the court | salaam dunk , pt . 2
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“of the majority of images and video to be coming from iraq…salaam dunk stands aside from the pack . ” – indiewire
set in northern iraq , salaam dunk is a documentary about basketball , friendship , and the pain of losing those we love .
our team included kristin vickery and josie leide . we were assigned a documetary film entitled salaam dunk . the filmmaker was director david fine .
' s salaam dunk , zendaya shares her thoughts on the challenges these women face culturally every day . how did you react to this series ? share your thoughts with us !
' s documentary series , salaam dunk , meet the players who formed the first women ' s basketball team at the american university in iraq and the tireless coach who leads them .
we at seedwell are proud to be part of nike jordan’s rise above campaign and to be given an opportunity to further spread salaam dunk’s message . here’s the video – tell us what you think !
salaam dunk has been an official selection at the international documentary festival amsterdam , doha tribeca film festival , and the los angeles film festival , as well as receiving accolades as a gold plaque winner at the chicago international film festival .
the daily life of young women living in iraq is full of strife , but salaam dunk tells a very different story . this stirring , four - part documentary series follows the first - ever female basketball team at the american university in iraq .
to celebrate the 2011 doha tribeca film festival screening of iraqi documentary ‘salaam dunk’ , qatar foundation’s education city hosted a dynamic basketball tournament between five of doha’s leading female basketball teams . the winners of the tournament will compete against the qatar women’s basketball club and the sta
sort of . there’s a feature length documentary , salaam dunk , about the women’s basketball team at auis , which i coached ( pictured above ) . the documentary follows the young women through their second season . it’s a sports movie that has both everything and nothing to do with sports .
a lot has happened in iraq and in the lives of the players since the documentary salaam dunk was filmed . today , we follow up with one of the players from the original auis women ' s basketball team , enji issa , to see where she is now and how basketball changed her life .
david has worked in the film and television industry in a variety of disciplines ( camera operator , editor , post production supervisor ) . after co - founding seedwell , david has been directing the company ' s viral & commercial work . he loves shooting documentaries and pulling down rebounds . salaam dunk is david ' s first feature film .
in episode three of salaam dunk , the women of the auis basketball team get a rematch with one of the first teams they every played . during the game they find the opposing players to be incredibly aggressive , and they must come together as a team and push themselves even harder to match them . find out how this close game ends .
dilband hassan was one of the original basketball team players at auis when salaam dunk was filmed . in the years since then , she has graduated from university and even started her own basketball club for women . sadly , since isis came to iraq in 2014 much has changed for her and everyone in iraq , and basketball has gone to the wayside .
through traditional interviews and private confessional video diaries , salaam dunk follows the ethnically diverse auis women ' s basketball team as they discover what it means to be athletes . from the joy of their first win to the pain of losing the coach who started their team , the film gives a glimpse into an iraq we don ' t see on the news .
salaam dunk follows the american university of iraq women ' s basketball team as they discover what it means to be students , athletes , and friends . this is a story of triumph in the face of chaos and a testament to the perseverance of a handful of young iraqi women . a filmbuff presentation . mpaa rating : not rated release date : 11 / 13
while salaam dunk and various university administrators earnestly try to make the case that aui - s is training the next generation of iraq’s young leaders , beyond winning basketball games and passing exams the stakes aren’t adequately clear for these charismatic young women . equating the rigors of training and competition with the challenges of rebuilding iraq stretches the metaphor rather too far to sustain an entire film .
flying high after the team ' s first victory , the women of the auis basketball team face a huge challenge when they ' re matched against a club team and must play without the support of one of their strongest players . see what other challenges these players face off the basketball court with a glimpse into the world they came from in part two of salaam dunk .
it’s the last game of the season for the women’s basketball team at auis , and this one requires them to travel north for an away game in dohuk . they want more than anything to finish the season on a high note , not just because it’s the last game , but because it is the last game for their beloved coach ryan . see what happens in the final episode of salaam dunk .
seedwell has worked with brands like google , pepsi , microsoft , htc and nike to create viral branded content that has reached hundreds of millions of online viewers . their work has been covered repeatedly in mashable , the wall street journal , npr , advertising age and more . in 2012 , seedwell produced a feature documentary , salaam dunk , that won awards at festivals internationally . seedwell later received funding from youtube’s original programming initiative to create an original youtube network called “american hipster” , documenting pop culture through the lens of hipsterism .
in the month and a half leading up to the festival we contacted the representative for our film and was told that they themselves had no interest in marketing their film at the festival and would not be attending . our contact said she would send us a pdf file of the poster , but then never got back to us . luckily , we had decided to go ahead and make our own materials to distribute . this included a salaam dunk poster stating the showing times at the festival , mini - basketballs with attached information about the show times for the festival .
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with an american ' s help and despite sparse funding , iraqis attempt to revive the sport in a conservative society .
sulaymaniya , iraq — the tallest player on the women ' s national basketball squad is 5 feet 7 inches . she and her teammates cannot practice in the nation ' s capital because of poor security . and in northern kurdistan , where they are now based , they practice outdoors , often in frigid temperatures .
nonetheless , what they lack in height they make up for in enthusiasm , said deb packwood , an american consultant hired to develop the fledgling team , which aims to raise its international profile and someday compete in the olympics .
packwood , who played some college basketball at ouachita baptist university in arkansas , is working on behalf of the iraqi basketball assn . and the national olympic committee , which are seeking to revive a sport that has been crippled by war , inadequate financial backing and the growing challenges women face in a nation that is increasingly religiously conservative .
the people , they don ' t like the girls to play ,
said team member rajwa abdul ahad , 28 .
they say , ' no . . . it ' s bad for you . ' but i don ' t care because basketball , it is in my blood .
since the blond , american athletic consultant from global sports partners began making the rounds in kurdistan this year , kurdish television crews and local newspaper reporters have sought interviews and flocked to tournaments . at one school alone , 85 girls expressed interest in playing , although packwood winnowed them down .
i think we are the best place for women ' s sports in all of iraq ,
said rizgar mohammed raouf , a physical education professor at sulaymaniya university and representative of the local basketball federation .
our community believes in freedom more than being covered .
but building the team hasn ' t been easy , particularly when the participants lack basic skills and the coaches themselves have no formal training . getting funding in the soccer - crazed , male - dominated country is also difficult , said sameera abdulla , head of the women ' s sports office for the kurdistan olympic committee .
but abdulla said the head of the national olympic committee promised :
if i helped you before with one hand , i will help you now with two hands . let me assure you , there is a chance for women .
as in many other sports , the team is often overshadowed by the men ' s basketball team .
with abdulla ' s assurance , packwood and the women have moved full - tilt . this week the team traveled to syria to compete in the west asia women ' s basketball championship , an event that has received almost no media coverage . they were knocked out by iran .
since the 2003 u . s . - led invasion of iraq , the ragtag national team has competed a couple of times in other middle eastern countries . the iraqis were beat soundly by women who towered over them , sometimes losing by as many as 50 points .
we cannot beat any team ,
abdulla said ,
but i think we will get better .
there ' s just one other nagging issue , packwood recently joked :
they really are lacking tall players here .
dunya najat , 26 , of sulaymaniya did not begin playing until she went to college - - in part because her parents would not allow it . now she is married to the basketball coach and plays on the national team . her hope , she said , is that iraq will become safer and that the team will be able to travel again to lebanon and jordan . and from there , who knows ?
i want to be famous ,
she said .
i want to go to america to see how they play . i hope to see michael jordan and shaquille o ' neal .
although the national team has several players in their 20s , coaches have their eye on young talent , girls who have expressed passion in the sport and persuaded their parents to let them play . this month , about 40 girls 12 to 14 years old have started practicing with eight new coaches .
kausar mahdi , 17 , said she has loved basketball since seventh grade , but had been rebuffed by her father .
he said : ' care about your lessons . care to go to a good college . ' but after three years , i asked my father again and he said , ' ok . '
she watched games at school and her father helped her put up a hoop at home .
i ' m not really good ,
she said .
i have to practice more .
farther north in irbil , 14 - year - old romrama shamael nano dribbles and shoots in a brand - new gymnasium , where she joins other aspiring female basketball players . their gym is the nicest in northern iraq , but they can practice and compete only when their coach isn ' t busy with his three other teams .
i want to be a very good player ,
romrama said . with the completion of the new gymnasium , the players hope more tournaments will be scheduled so they can do more than just practice .
now we have an opportunity ,
said abdulla , of the olympic committee .
kurdistan is free . it is different from the south and the middle . we want to make the iraqi people be together , especially in sports .
in the world of college athletics . . . : he ' s not an average joe : paterno wants to win - - and usually does - - but what sets him apart from many football coaches is that he won ' t put game ahead of academics , integrity
syncup recently had the chance to interview ryan bubalo to learn more about his role as studysync’s education accounts manager . last week , ryan described his new position at studysync .
now , here is ryan on his personal experience with teaching and technology in the classroom .
i am very fortunate to come to studysync fresh off of two amazing teaching experiences . the first was in oxford , mississippi , where , while completing my mfa in fiction writing , i was awarded a three - year teaching fellowship .
in addition to learning how to write , my experience at ole miss really taught me how to teach . my first teaching job was as a teaching assistant for tenured faculty members in literature classes . i also enrolled in courses that examined the history of composition pedagogy . prior to ole miss , i had done some substitute teaching at the high school level , and i think that experience , as well as growing up around teachers , had given me some background in teaching . but in graduate school i learned the nuts and bolts of the profession – everything from how to rearrange the desks to reinforce a particular type of learning objective , to how and when to divide a course plan into different learning modes .
those lessons left me well prepared to take over my own classrooms when the time came . i taught both composition and creative writing courses at ole miss , and in 2008 , after my first year as an instructor - of - record , the university’s center for excellence in teaching and learning awarded me their graduate instructor of the year award .
well , i followed up on my time in mississippi by doing what everyone would do : i took a job in iraq .
in the spring of 2008 , i was researching a novel that i wanted to take place in baghdad . i found an opportunity to work in iraq , and i just couldn’t pass it up .
i taught at the american university of iraq - sulaimani ( auis ) . the first thing for westerners to know in order to understand my job in iraq is that sulaimani is not baghdad . it’s a very safe city of around a million people located north of baghdad , and north of the line that separates greater iraq from iraqi kurdistan . that line demarcates the kurdish regional government’s ( krg ) area of control , and the krg area is generally much safer , for both westerners and iraqis , than greater iraq .
i walked to and from work . i ate out in restaurants . i rode the bus to the market . more than anything , i taught and taught and taught and taught . when i arrived , auis was a startup in its second year of operation – the facilities weren’t great , curriculum was still being ironed out , students were still getting used to an american system of education . but wow , were they willing to work .
the first course i taught was an esl immersion course – 19 students and me , 5 hours a day for 16 weeks . to say that i wish i had had studysync then would be the understatement of the year . the textbooks we used were all of about 100 pages , so if we covered more than a few pages a day , we would have run out of material in a quarter of the semester . every day was a combination of lessons and activities generated from scratch , group projects , and a lot of happy accidents and improvisation . it was simultaneously the best and worst class i’ll ever teach . i think teachers always have one class they’ll never forget , that they think of on the first day of any new semester , that they tell the most stories about . that one was mine .
i think it was my introduction to iraqi students , who , i’ve come to believe , are the hardest working in the world . granted , i’m biased . my students were so eager to learn , i actually had to be careful about how much homework i gave them because they’d stay up all night working to complete it and come to class unable to keep their eyes open . they asked for extra reading and writing assignments . they offered to walk to the bazaar with me on saturdays as long as we spoke english on the way .
honestly , i just can’t say enough good things about their work ethic , their intelligence , and their character . i know a lot of people perceive iraq as a violent , restrictive society , and i’m sure there are definitely parts of the country that reinforce that stereotype . but the young people i worked with , the ones who will hopefully become the next generation of iraqi leaders , defy those classifications . driven , intelligent , moral - the iraqi students forced me to become a better teacher just to keep up with them .
most of the young women had not played basketball before joining the team , so the game action doesn’t exactly look like the wnba . but these young women absolutely loved the game , and loved it in a way that you often don’t see in people who have played their entire lives .
the film premiered at the los angeles international film festival over the summer . it won the gold plaque award at the chicago film festival in october and also played at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam .
far and away my favorite showing , however , was at the doha tribeca film festival in qatar . in an incredibly gracious move , doha tribeca flew the entire basketball team ( 17 young women ) from iraq to doha for the premiere . i flew out from the states and met them and their new coaches there . it was a surreal experience . for a week , we stepped out of our normal lives to walk the red carpet behind celebrities and play games in a giant arena .
if you’d told me when i first started teaching that in five years i’d be working and advocating for a web - based literacy program , i would have thought you were insane . i began as , and in some ways very much still am , an old - school chalkboard and lecture english teacher . i thought technology in the classroom was , at best , a diversion to reward students for having completed their “real” work , or , at worst , the dumbing down of education to the level of entertainment ( or “edutainment” as it is sometimes derisively called ) .
as with pretty much all the growth i’ve made as a teacher , my students were ultimately the ones who motivated my change . the students in my composition course had read malcolm gladwell’s the tipping point and the group that was presenting on gladwell’s chapter about “stickiness” employed so many different methods to teach their lesson – power point , video , blog responses prior to class , on the spot questionnaires , and even some good old fashioned chalkboard writing . the presentation was unforgettable , the perfect blend of form and content .
from there i started dipping my toe in the technology waters . a youtube clip here , a powerpoint portion of a lecture there . it was still a full year , though , before i started using my school’s lms to post texts and have students read and respond in a blog thread . when i did , the quality of my class discussions increased fivefold overnight . students were coming into the classroom having already read and responded to the text , and having already read their peers’ responses . they had such a better idea of what they wanted to say and , because they were more confident , they spoke up more in class . suddenly , those wallflowers in the back of the class were mixing it up in a discussion about jamaica kincaid .
ultimately , i think using technology in the classroom is about engagement . as a teacher , i want to engage my students in every way that i can . the more ideas from my classroom that find their way into my students’ lives , the better the odds that they consider those ideas in a thoughtful way . i may be a passionate advocate for sitting down in a quiet room with an actual words - on - paper book , and it’s fine for me to encourage that , but if i want to engage my students , i need to be willing to meet them on their turf . they live multi - modal lives . we all do . we need multi - modal classrooms if we’re going to engage students with literacy , writing , and critical thinking lessons that remain as important today as they ever were . in fact , with the proliferation of media and information , you could argue that these traditional skills are even more important today . it would be a shame for us to fail to teach literacy and critical thinking simply because we’re unwilling to alter our own modes of delivery .
studysync incorporates much of what i said above . it definitely drives student engagement . it is also a great model for the kinds of literacy skills students need in this day and age . i mean , how often in your real life does anyone ask you to take two weeks , read a book , and then write a 1 , 000 - word response to it ? almost never , right ? it’s literature in a vacuum . but that’s the model still in place for teaching literature and literacy in many schools .
studysync® is a comprehensive blended ela / eld program . this complete curriculum is designed for today’s diverse classroom environments , with powerful digital instruction and the option for full print support . studysync links literacy and learning with the way today’s students experience the world . teachers benefit from an easy - to - use , flexible platform with strong classroom management tools and online standards - based assessment . excerpts in the studysync® library are intended as touchstones to generate interest in an author ' s work . studysync® believes that such passages do not substitute for the reading of entire texts and strongly recommends that students seek out and engage the whole literary or informational work .
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relentlessly positive but tough when necessary , coach ryan bubalo of an iraqi women ' s basketball team inspires both determination and loyalty among team members in this sports - oriented doc .
winning doesn’t come easily for the women’s basketball team at the american university of iraq ( aui - s ) , located in the northeastern city of sulaimani . the private english - language university opened in 2007 to iraqi students of all ethnic and religious backgrounds and many attendees have relocated from baghdad and other cities for the opportunity to study in sulaimani . due to the security situation in iraq , the last names of team participants have been withheld in the film .
after an inaugural season racking up an unbroken string of losses , the players return in 2010 determined to put as many points on the board as possible . in his second year training the team , coach ryan bubalo is hopeful that the women may see some wins , but isn’t leaving the outcome to chance , preparing them with frequent sprints , drills and intense scrimmaging . even so , it comes as a bit of a shock , followed by a burst of exhilaration , when the team wins its very first game by a single point . the thrill is short - lived however , as a series of tough matches that follows tests their skills and commitment .
many aui - s players never played basketball — or indeed any sport — before joining the team , since women’s athletics are still largely frowned upon in iraq . the teams they compete against are mostly better - trained and more experienced , factors that sometimes result in major point spreads during games . the women also need to focus on their studies and maintain their gpas , additional sources of stress that compound the challenge of building the aui - s basketball program .
relentlessly positive but tough when necessary , bubalo’s own basketball background and upbeat attitude inspire both determination and loyalty among the team members .
the women also have personal and family issues to grapple with , including relocation from conflict zones , personal experience with the violence of war , and the deaths of friends and family members in the ongoing conflict . a temporary english instructor at aui - s , bubalo intends to return to the u . s . , a fact that unnerves his players and frames the bittersweet 2010 season .
the hd technical credits are serviceable , combining interviews , game play and the women’s personal video diaries , but lack the dynamic filmmaking or editing expected in a sports - oriented doc . a lively original score and soundtrack of local pop tunes effectively spurs the film’s momentum .
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in the west , we are often bombarded with dramatic and horrifying images of a violent and war - torn iraq . this makes it easy to forget that people there do
regular
things . . . like play . . . see full summary »
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two years ago , most of the women on the basketball team at the american university of iraq - sulaimani ( auis ) had never been running before . many had never played sports . none had ever been on a team with other women . they came from all corners of iraq to attend this prestigious school , but many cannot tell family back home they go to an
american
university .
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basketball is much more than a game in david fine’s stirring documentary about an iraqi women’s basketball team at the american university of iraq—sulaimani ( auis ) in kurdistan . for the young women on the team , most of whom have never touched a basketball or been allowed to play sports at all before , it is a blissful escape from the realities of living in a war - torn nation .
the team members come from a variety of ethnicities and sects—arab , kurd , christian , sunni , shiite—but the joy they discover in playing together and the deep love they come to feel for one another and for ryan , their young american coach , reveals an iraq united in a way we’ve rarely seen before .
“a stirring example of the possibilities for young iraqis outside the country’s war zones . ” – variety
“sometimes , it’s the simple things that we take for granted that can become the subjects of powerful films when told through the eyes of people a half a world away . ” – film slate magazine
“the film captures their love for one another and for the game . it’s a purity that leads them to shoot free throws in the rain , or run layup drills at a hoop in the middle of nowhere . they don’t play for fame , scholarships , or money ; they play because they can . ” – espn
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a subtle indictment of a modeling industry that recruits very young girls from russia to work overseas .
this report concerns a project undertaken by volunteers working with the film festival marketing project for randy finch ' s film producer class at ucf .
each team was assigned a film that would screen at the florida film festival . working with the festival staff , and the various filmmakers , the volunteers were responsible for the guerilla marketing of the films .
beau ' score focus is forging relationships , strategic partnerships , and cultivating creative opportunities for content development at seedwell films . lewis is a passionate spokesman for emerging media - he enjoys applying his imagination and tchnical background to dream up new ways of telling stories . he has a bs in engineering form stanford university and a focus in international relations from oxford .
we decided the best way to go about marketing our film for the festival was to start with deciding who our core audience was and then reaching out and targeting specific groups and areas throughout the community where they would be exposed to the information about our film and possibly be convinced to attend one of the screenings .
once we had developed our distribution materials we mapped out where the optimally relevant locations were to post our fliers and distribute our basketballs , since we had a limited budget and limited supplies , we wanted to utilize the best possible locations to post our materials rather than wasting them by distributing them in as many places as possible and never actually reaching our core audience . we decided that the areas around rec centers , public basketball courts and multicultural centers would be in our first wave of distribution and in the second wave leading up to the film festival we would post in locations that allowed us to , close by to the enzian area , espescially near the rollins campus .
kristin created the poster design that we used and josie put together the mini - basketball fliers for us to distribute . all of the distribution was done together .
i received a positive response from a few of those that i was able to hear back from such as my contact at the muslim student association and muslim women for a cause who both said that the film sounded interesting and that they would pass on the information to people and see if they could get anyone to attend .
we were able to go on a radio show called time for talk on ucf ' s wnsc online streaming radio station and talk about the film and attempt to garner attention and awareness of it ' s showings at the festival , in hopes of pulling in a few possible audience members .
- our most rewarding interaction was probably with the local groups that we reached out to , unfortunately because or our show times being sunday at noon and thursday at 4 people were unable to make the screenings , due to work hours , scheduling conflicts etc . in fact , i actually had one of my group contacts say that if the screening had been in more of an evening slot they would have definitely made it to the film .
- we had originally planned on setting up a basketball hoop at enzian to gain interest in our film , we were however , unable to get a hold of a basketball hoop , and with our limited budget could not purchase one .
- attend and get in contact with intramural basketball teams to distribute film info .
- pass out fliers and basketballs in regal parking lot area and try and raise inerest in sunday screening .
- enzian pre - screening on thursday to pass out fliers and basketballs to garner interest for 4 : 00 screening .
our calendar , for the most part , followed what we had originally planned to do with our marketing , the main difference was we had to create more materials than expected because we never received the posters from our film contact . also , we decided to do more hand to hand marketing and less talking to the media than we originally planned for in our marketing brainstorming .
our experience with this project was definitely a learning experience . when we were assigned this film we were dubious from the initial description as to whether or not we would actually even like the film , but once we watched we realized what a great documentary it really was . this lead us to the lesson that if a film is difficult to market , or explain to people then it ' s easy for it to be over looked . most of the time when we tried explaining to people what this movie was about , they gave us the standard of
oh that sounds interesting
, but we got the feeling that they didn ' t necessarily find it compelling enough to make the effort to go and see it . however , we saw how useful all the techniques we learned this semester could be for marketing a film on a budget and yield really great results .
the story of one winning group of women basketball players at the american university in sulaimani , iraq . they came from all corners of iraq to attend this prestigious university , but many cannot tell family back home that they go to an
american
university . the team itself is a
mini iraq
- comprised of arabs , kurds , turkmen , and christians . there are laylan and enji , the team captains , safa , the manager , and ryan , their american coach .
the film follows the women ' s basketball team of the the american university of iraq – sulaimani ( auis ) for a full academic year . the players discover what it means to be students , athletes and friends in the difficult political , economic , cultural and ethnic / sectarian divide , and how basketball unites them around a game . the film follows the lives of some of the auis ' woman basketball players , notably laylan ( team captain ) , enji , ola and safa , and their basketball coach ryan bubalo , who is the university ' s contractual english language teacher . the film is a testament to the perseverance of a handful of young iraqi women , and is a story of triumph in the face of chaos and adversity .
the film gained mostly positive reviews . it also became part of the nike jordans rise above campaign , which featured basketball team captain laylan in a five - minute presentation .
doha tribeca flew the entire basketball team ( 17 young women ) from iraq to doha for the screening of the film , where they met their previous coach ryan bubalo , who had flown in from the us to attend the screening .
it won the gold plaque for
best documentary
award at the 2011 chicago international film festival . it was also nominated for the gold hugo
best documentary
award .
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the 23rd annual human rights watch film festival returns to new york from june 14 to 28 with a program of powerful human stories of oppression , injustice , and resilience from across the globe .
sixteen documentary and fiction films from 12 countries will be screened , including 14 new york premieres . a co - presentation of human rights watch and the film society of lincoln center , the festival will be held at the film society’s walter reade theater . most of the screenings will be followed by q & a sessions with filmmakers , and some by panel discussions with experts and film subjects .
the program this year is organized around five themes : health , development , and the environment ; lesbian , gay , bisexual , and transgender ( lgbt ) and migrants’ rights ; personal testimony and witnessing ; reporting in crises ; and women’s rights .
“what is truly inspiring and hopeful about this year’s program is how many films showcase the powerful impact that individuals have on human rights issues on the world stage , ” said john biaggi , human rights watch film festival director . “these films demonstrate that committed individuals can generate positive and lasting change . ”
“for over 20 years , the human rights watch film festival has provided a forum for the creative community to share stories that bear witness to the human condition , ” added rose kuo , film society of lincoln center executive director . “we are proud to support their mission of bringing important issues to the screen . ”
the festival will launch on june 14 with a fundraising benefit night for human rights watch , featuring kim nguyen’s war witch , an emotionally powerful drama about a 14 - year - old girl abducted by a rebel army in sub - saharan africa . the main program will begin on june 15 , with the opening night presentation of alison klayman’s festival favorite ai weiwei : never sorry , an up - close look at renowned chinese artist and activist ai weiwei and his ongoing battle with the chinese government . the closing night screening on june 28 will be katherine fairfax wright and malika zouhali - worrall’s call me kuchu , which follows the bold efforts of ugandan david kato and a close - knit group of activists to repeal their country’s homophobic laws and liberate their fellow lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender citizens , or “kuchus . ”
health , development , and the environment three american - directed documentaries highlight the wide - ranging effects of corporate commoditization on human rights . matthew heineman and susan froemke’s escape fire : the fight to rescue american healthcare skillfully examines the powerful forces maintaining the status quo of a broken medical system—a system designed for quick fixes rather than prevention , for profit - driven care rather than patient - driven care . micha x . peled’s bitter seeds is a vibrant investigation into a suicide epidemic among india’s cotton farmers , deeply in debt after getting caught up in program that uses genetically modified seed program . beth and george gage’s bidder 70 profiles courageous environmental activist tim dechristopher , who was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2011 for deliberately sabotaging a much - protested bureau of land management auction of oil and gas leases on pristine public lands in utah .
lesbian , gay , bisexual , and transgender ( lgbt ) and migrants’ rights while the closing night documentary call me kuchu looks at the injustices facing the lgbt community in uganda , two other festival titles highlight the issues and abuses faced by predominantly african migrants in europe . in the emotionally charged documentary special flight , director fernand melgar gained intimate access to his subjects , rejected asylum seekers and unauthorized migrants in switzerland’s frambois detention center . german filmmaker maggie peren’s drama , color of the ocean , tells the moving story of a father and son , congolese refugees whose paths collide with those of an altruistic tourist and a canary islands police officer—changing the course of all their lives .
personal testimony and witnessing four films in this year’s program—including the narrative portrait war witch and the documentary profile ai weiwei : never sorry—reveal the permanent and pervasive impact of human rights abuses on the lives of individuals . annie goldson’s powerful brother number one follows new zealander rob hamill as he is given the chance to testify at the cambodia war crimes tribunal against comrade duch , the man responsible for ordering the death of thousands of prisoners at the khmer rouge’s notorious s - 21 prison , including rob’s brother kerry . lieven corthouts’ little heaven is a touchingportrait of 13 - year - old lydia , as she goes about her daily life in an ethiopian orphanage for children living with hiv .
reporting in crises three documentaries offer insight into the work of courageous journalists the world over who , despite the many risks they face , refuse to stay quiet . mexican - american filmmaker bernardo ruiz’s reportero follows veteran reporter sergio haro and his colleagues at zeta , a tijuana - based newsweekly , as they boldly ply their trade in what has become one of the most deadly places in the world to be a journalist . beate arnestad’s silenced voices is told as a personal encounter with exiled journalists from sri lanka who have been “silenced” and almost killed in their home country because they exposed war crimes , corruption and massacres of civilians . egyptian - american director mai iskander’s words of witness focuses on daringyoung cairo - based internet reporter heba afify as she takes to the streets to report on an egypt in turmoil .
in conjunction with this year’s film program , the festival will present the photo exhibit unreported stories , south african photographer brent stirton’s visual investigation into abuses against people living near the porgera gold mine of papua new guinea . stirton and human rights watch won a 2012 peabody award for their investigative work in the mine . the exhibit will be featured in the frieda and roy furman gallery at the walter reade theater for the duration of the festival .
all films are screened at the film society of lincoln center’s walter reade theater , 165 west 65th street , north side / upper level ( between broadway and amsterdam ave . )
ticket information : ticket information for the 2012 human rights watch film festival can be found at urltoken or in person at the walter reade theater box office . hours : mon . - fri . opens at 12 : 30pm , sat . / sun . opens 1 / 2 hr before first public screening ; closes 15 minutes after the start of the last show . the box office closes at 6pm when there are no public screenings . for more information visit urltoken , urltoken or call 212 - 875 - 5600 during operating hours . experience the festival on the go with hrwff’s mobile site : visit urltoken from mobile devices to buy tickets , browse the film schedule , view trailers and listen to interviews with filmmakers .
program details benefit film & reception thursday , june 14 , 6 : 30pm post - screening panel discussion : featuring jo becker , advocacy director , children’s rights division , human rights watch and grace akallo , former child soldier and co - author of “girl soldier : a story of hope for northern uganda’s children . ” moderated by carroll bogert , deputy executive director for external relations , human rights watch .
nestor almendros award renowned cinematographer and filmmaker nestor almendros ( 1930–1992 ) was a founder of the human rights watch film festival , actively involved in the selection of films and the promotion of human rights filmmaking . even while deeply immersed in his own projects , he took the time to call the festival team to mention a strong documentary or promote a work - in - progress . believing in the power of human rights filmmaking , nestor devoted himself to becoming a mentor to many young filmmakers . it is in the festival’s loving memory of nestor and our desire to celebrate his vision that we proudly bestow this award to filmmakers for their exceptional commitment to human rights . the festival is delighted to present kirby dick and amy ziering—filmmakers of the invisible war—with our 2012 nestor almendros award for courage in filmmaking .
in the guarded forests of mt . elgon , in kenya’s rift valley , we journeyed to report on the struggle of a collective of widows waiting for justice and fighting the truth . the plight of these women , whose husbands were forcibly disappeared or were killed during the 2006 - 2008 clashes between the insurgent sabaot land defence force and the kenyan government , represents the heart of the story human rights abuse buried in mt . elgon . in october 2011 , we sent our findings to members of the us senate , and in november , they passed a bill imposing conditions on military assistance to kenya until the government establishes thorough and credible investigations of alleged crimes by the kenyan military in mt . elgon in march 2008 .
by broadcasting these unreported stories to policymakers and the media , we became a loudspeaker for issues that may have gone ignored . armed with photographs , video , testimony and in - depth and long - term investigative work , we were able to shine a light on stories that matter and deserve to be reported .


hawk the slayer is a 1980 british sword and sorcery adventure fantasy film directed by terry marcel and starring john terry and jack palance .

hawk the slayer

vultan , leader of the hawk men from flash gordon . two hawk the slayer references from a single character !
sword and sorcery … the poster for hawk the slayer . photograph : itv / rex shutterstock
to quote a well loved british sitcom :
hawk the slayer is rubbish .
hawk the slayer is a british film , made in 1980 by terry marcel and harry robertson . it is the story of hawk , professional hero , swordsman and slayer , and also of voltan , hawk ' s evil brother .
i love the music in hawk the slayer . especially that eagle shriek . i would assume that ' s the shriek of a hawk . . . ; )
vultan : jack palance ‘at his scenery - chewing worst’ in hawk the slayer . photograph : itv / rex shutterstock
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of hawk the slayer by terry marcel .
this is a video informing fans of hawk the slayer , an old sword and sorcery b - movie . that there is going to be a sequel it has been confirmed . just wikipedia hawk the slayer and visit the links , thanks for watching .
for the religious among us who choose to believe lies , the self - proclaimed experts at wikipedia have an article about hawk the slayer .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing fantastique : hawk the slayer near you .
hawk the slayer seemed like a much bigger world than what you actually saw in the film . was it always the intention to open it up ?
‘a medieval fistful of dollars’ : hawk the slayer’s band of avengers , starring john terry , second left . photograph : itv / rex shutterstock
the faux patriot sissies at conservapedia think that hawk the slayer is liberal communist blasphemy against jebus and thus refuse to have any articles about it at all .
rebellion have also snapped up the games and publishing rights to the property . with exquisite timing , a new hawk the slayer blu - ray is out on monday from network . we ' ll update on hawk the hunter shortly , following the kick - starting of the kickstarter .
the first two videos were then taken down from youtube by the representative of the harry robertson estate [ citing ] soundtrack copyright as we’d used a few seconds of original hawk the slayer music without permission .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing slayer near you .
tragically , hawk ' s producer harry robertson died in 1996 . without his vision , a new hawk is impossible .
if you took a dungeons & dragons adventure written hastily by an 8th grader during study hall and turned it into a movie , you’d wind up with something a lot like hawk the slayer .
leitmotif : the pan flute cue every time hawk is about to do something .
in january 2009 , a sequel to this movie , hawk the hunter ( ? ? ? ? ) was announced , the sequel ' s scheduled release will be thirty - one years after this movie . the tagline reads :
the slayer returns . the hunt begins
.
i loved hawk the slayer as a kid ! now that they ' re finally planning a sequel ( hawk the hunter ) , i wouldn ' t be surprised to see it getting more attention from the rpg community . not sure what system i ' d use for it , but probably something more narrative - based .
chronic backstabbing disorder : drogo , who kills the man who informs him of hawk raiding the slaver camp .
damsels in distress : a good part of the movie involves hawk and his gang rescuing the captured nun .
crow is alive ! i have seen again . great underrated low budget fantasy movie . in 80 - s were more than 20 fantasy universes on the screen , but i remember good hawk the slayer , conan the barbarian and red sonja only of them .
they wanted to make a medieval fistful of dollars . they ended up with a cult hit that triggered the sword and sorcery boom . now , hawk the slayer is set to return – with better fights and special effects , but still plenty of cheese
hawk also manages an effective throw of his mind sword against the bandits that held ranulf hostage .
hawk if its on - watch it . it is lord of the ring without a budget !
some say that hawk is the definitive masterwork of the heroic fantasy film genre . others go further , and say that hawk is the definitive masterwork of all cinema . controversially , some even say that hawk is the finest piece of dramatic artwork ever produced by any human at any time throughout history . but all of these people insult the mighty hawk with their faint praise . in fact , hawk is the finest artwork in the entire universe , and if thou sayest otherwise , knave , then thou shalt taste cold steel !
i loved hawk the slayer as a kid ! now that they ' re finally planning a sequel ( hawk the hunter ) , i wouldn ' t be surprised to see it getting more attention from the rpg community . i suggest you track down prisoners of the lost universe , which terry marcel made three years after hawk , and which is totally not in any way the same plot with a goofy sf backstory ( and has apollo from battlestar galactica in the lead role , to boot ) .
karmic thief : hawk needs 2000 gold pieces for the ransom , so he steals them from the hunchbacked slave trader .
clearly it ' s a week for unexpected and belated sequels . a day after the news that robin hardy is prepping the final part of his wicker man trilogy , comes the revelation that hawk the slayer is also set to return , 35 years after his first adventure . original director terry marcel , in cahoots with 2000ad publishers rebellion , is about to launch a crowdfunding campaign for hawk the hunter .
right here , right now , jack palance is dead . following
hawk the slayer
though , palance enjoyed a remarkable career including films like
batman ,
the pros and cons of hitchhiking ,
and
city slickers ,
for which he won the academy award .
fwiw , i watched
hawk the slayer
and immersed myself in a litany of 80s s & s films while putting magic world urltoken together . ( legend , ladyhawke , willow , archer and the sorceress , conan the barbarian - - and endless conan ripoffs - - and more ! ) . hawk the slayer , ladyhawke , and willow specifically were big influences on the default campaign setting in the book (
the southern reaches
) . i always figured crow had a magical bow , rather than some innate ability to rapidfire arrows . back in the day , we just figured it was something like the runequest
multimissile
spell .
terry : i totally believe that this is an 8pm slot , as per hawk the slayer . the fans will kill me if i don’t keep all the elements of hawk in : we’ve got the giant , we will introduce a new dwarf called hanfer ; there’s a female in the new one ; crow , the new crow is still in it , but the old one’s in it as well , because in the sequel , the new character who plays crow comes across an old elf dying .
if you are from a parallel earth where youtube is a video site instead of a drainage pipe emporium , you can listen to the hawk the slayer soundtrack online . like everything else about hawk , the soundtrack is brilliance from beginning to end . sure , conan was good with its basil poledouris soundtrack , but imagine how much better it could have been with a bit of disco .
the grand finale fight between voltan and hawk lasts about 45 seconds and was filmed completely in slow motion .
we were also issued with a statement that under no circumstances were we allowed to use the hts soundtrack music to promote the sequel hawk the hunter .
hawk ' s enemies are overpowered by glowing golf balls + 1 . they are unstoppable !
i love the music in hawk the slayer . especially that eagle shriek . mind you . . . tallest dwarf , and shortest giant , ever . good chemistry between the two - i always liked the ' holy food ' gag : ) and crikey , jack really chewed the scenary . ' i will wait for you at the gates . . . of hell ! '
terry : we’re constantly getting requests for merchandise , like , can we buy a sword ? so apart from what jason’s doing , there’s a whole other area that we never got into on hawk the slayer that we’ll get into on this . the offers for the sword itself don’t stop . they pester me like mad .
hawk the slayer , after seeing both his father and bride die at the hands of his malevolent brother , voltan , sets out for revenge and the chance to live up to his title . tooling himself up with the
mind - sword
and recruiting a motley band of warriors : a giant , a dwarf , a one - armed man with a machine - crossbow and an elf with the fastest bow in the land ; hawk leads the battle against voltan to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones .
crow the elf , a man of few words . for moviegoers , though , this may have been their introduction to seeing an elf portrayed on the silver screen . ray charleson made it work . following hawk the slayer , he went on to star in
john and yoko : a love story
and
empire of the sun .
hawk the slayer was important to me as a boy ,
says rebellion ceo jason kingsley ,
and has remained an important touchstone for me now as an adult . it blazed a shining path of true sword and sorcery movie magic for others to follow . i am delighted , and slightly awed , to be part of the team helping to create more adventures for hawk and his friends .
andrew : it’s the licensing , the games . they’re a genre publishing company . jason’s a huge fan , and wants to expand the world of hawk : all the characters that terry’s created , he wants to branch off . only terry can do this : where did crow come from ? where did hawk come from ? what were hawk and voltan like when they were younger ?
this is followed by laughter a fight . drogo ' s red shirts are mostly killed , and drogo is mortally wounded . two henchmen drag him back to voltan , where he dies . voltan is furious and starts killing his own people . this is because he is evil ( in case you had forgotten ) . once again , voltan swears vengeance on hawk . ( play the
hawk the slayer
drinking game if you are an alcoholic or just desparate to win kudos from your dorky friends in the chess club . you must take a drink whenever a character says
death
. but beware that true hawk fans will look down on you for watching hawk in an intoxicated state . watching hawk is serious business . )
the kickstarter campaign for hawk the hunter is ongoing now – click here to back it . visit the official website for more details , or follow them on twitter .
gort the giant , portrayed brilliantly by the late bernard bresslaw , saved the day repeatedly with his mighty hammer . bresslaw , standing at 6 & apos ; 7
, was no stranger to playing giants . following
hawk the slayer ,
he went on to play another giant in the movie
krull .
because of his height , he was briefly considered for the role of frankenstein in the 1957 production
the curse of frankenstein .
first appeared in the uk . what’s the story behind the long wait for the sequel ?
dull surprise : john terry ( hawk ) seldom cracks any sort of expression . except at the end when he starts smirking .
this is a dream come true ,
says marcel .
iām delighted to be working with a true fan of sword - and - sorcery whose talent means the possibilities for hawk are endless ā keep watching hawk fans !
terry : like we did in hawk the slayer , we will go for some very well - known english actors to play all those minor parts that they were so fantastic in the other script . people like roy kinnear , annette crosbie and warren clarke , i hope i can get one those named actors to come across and do this .
on 30 august at frightfest , a kickstarter campaign was launched with the aim of raising funds for sequel hawk the hunter , which in turn will hopefully lead to a tv series , hawk the destroyer . we spoke to original director terry marcel and producer andrew grocock about what to expect…
the fellowship of the hawk begins to form . with the help of the witch , hawk is teleported to the locations of three companions : a giant , an elf , and a dwarf . each companion is engaged in some heroic fantasy activity that introduces them to tha audience , summing up their personality , motivation and personal background .
i ' m still holding out hope that hawk will live again , but if this campaign couldn ' t even muster the full support of its own fans , maybe the wider world just isn ' t that bothered about seeing hawk do battle with voltan again .
who can save hawk now ? will the nun ever be rescued ? escape seems impossible . . . but wait . . . !
not only did hawk set the standard for heroic fantasy , it was also the genesis of an artistic tradition . musicians have their
twelve bar blues
, and writers have their own equivalent in the
generic quest story structure
popularised by hawk . leading hawkologist nick lowe summarises the key properties of a derivative work .
good hawk ( john terry ) and his bad brother , voltan ( jack palance ) , vie for the power of a magic flying sword .
burn the witch ! : hawk meets the witch by rescuing her from a couple of locals who want to burn her for . . . being a witch , apparently .
long before the lord of the rings there was
hawk the slayer ,
a fairly low budget , dungeons & dragons inspired movie , that has soared high through the test of time . it qualifies as one of those movies ; it was good , and even when it was bad , it was bad in a good way . here it is 33 years later , the movie is still around , and many of the stars are showing up where you would least expect them .
hawk pioneered the quest - based story structure that would later be copied by lesser authors such as shakespeare , tolkien , homer , robert e . howard and jim theils . like all the quest - based stories that ripped it off , hawk ' s plot can be divided into four sections :
kingsley and rebellion ( co - founded by jason and his brother in 1992 ) are helping to produce hawk the hunter , much like they did with 2012 ' s dredd . rebellion will also do some cgi work for the film , and kingsley is mulling over plans for a game and novels in the hawk universe .
as a result of his psychotic hatred , voltan tries to kill hawk and has his face partly burned off by elaine . this is why he wears a mask . all who see below the mask scream in horror ! voltan gets immediate revenge on elaine by shooting her with a crossbow and she dies in hawk ' s arms . at this point , relations betwen hawk and voltan sour slightly .
so marcel was persuaded to map out a whole new mythic architecture for hawk . the sequel , if it is made , will see the slain vultan reanimated without a soul and looking for an evil sword to counter hawk’s weapon . there will be a couple of female additions to hawk’s crew instead of just nuns and witches , and a new cast of unknowns to play hawk , vultan et al . ray charleson , who played crow the elf in the original , has agreed to take a small part opposite his replacement , in what grocock refers to as “a poor man’s version” of the spock - meets - spock moment in the star trek franchise .
the final scene takes place at the convent , as voltan attempts to take revenge on hawk . this is the first place in the film where the sword of mind ' s special powers are actually any use , because hawk is able to call on the sword and ( at long last ) kill voltan . and thus evil is defeated and the saga ends . . . or does it ? ( see
sequels
below )
that brother is hawk ( john terry ) , who arrives too late to save his father but in time to hear the prophecy that he had been guarding and which had seen him slain by his own son . as he dies , hawk ' s father gives him a magical sword ( which voltan had desired ) and the two are set on a path that will see them face one another in battle . when voltan breaks into a convent and kidnaps the mother superior , a one - handed man with an automatic crossbow seeks out hawk . hawk comes to the rescue of the sisters of the holy word , promising not only that he will raise the two thousand pieces of gold but will defeat voltan . carrying his sword before him , hawk sets out to gather a band of warriors . . .
the back story is told through the innovative medium of flashbacks . at various points in the story , hawk will say something like
i have good reason to suspect that voltan can ' t be trusted
. the camera will pan upwards slightly . then there is a fade to idyllic countryside , where hawk is chilling out with his newlywed wife elaine .
meanwhile , hawk is riding around in the forest , searching for voltan . he rescues a witch from being burned at the stake , and the audience sees that he is good . unusually , the witch admits her witchiness , and luckily turns out not to be evil . she will periodically reappear in order to resolve plot holes . next , hawk rescues ranulf , the messenger from the church sent to find him . ranulf is about to get a bandit ass - raping despite his 1337 crossbow skills , but hawk steps in to save him .
ok so it may be feature the worst special effects ever but that does not stop this movie being an all time fantasy classic . long live hawk !
badass boast : drogo will slay hawk himself and claim the gold , and
then voltan will see who is the lord of the dance !
well , he seems to think it ' s badass anyway .
ooc is serious business : in one or two cases hawk changes his standard dull surprise expression and threatens to kill voltan . this is the cue that voltan has really crossed the line .
the fellowship play a lethal prank on a hunchback . from left to right : gort , ranulf , hawk , crow , baldin . note the clever use of forced perspective that makes gort look taller than the others .
kingsley got involved with the sequel through a series of happy coincidences . a while back , he was in the middle of a move and already thinking about old franchises that might be ripe for renewal within abaddon books , one of rebellion ' s book imprints . as kingsley was rifling through a box of
those things you keep but only ever look at when you ' re moving ,
he ran across his copy of hawk the slayer on vhs .
good witch versus bad witch : the unnamed witch supports hawk and his band , while voltan ' s evil master serves as the movie ' s bigger bad . they never fight directly , though .
our dwarves are all the same : averted . hawk ' s dwarf companion doesn ' t have a long beard , and he uses a whip instead of an axe .
in the second part of the adventure , the fellowship executes their plan to defeat evil . they do this by stealing some gold from a hunchbacked slave trader , noting that
the ends justify the means if we can save the mother superior !
( this the first hint of the moral ambiguity of the
good
guys : hawk is a very complex story where nothing is truly black or white . )
the details of hawk the hunter are sketchy at present , pending a full announcement by marcel at frightfest next month . we know that marcel will be delegating the directing duties this time , but it ' s unclear who ' s replacing him ; whether any cast is yet in place ( although ray charleson seems possible - see below ) ; or if this is the same film as hawk the destroyer , the unrealised sequel marcel was already talking about thirty years ago . all - or at least more - will no doubt be revealed in due course . update : marcel has now announced on hawk the hunter ' s facebook page that rick wakeman will be providing the soundtrack .
the sound effect used for the black wizard ' s healing crystal is the one used for the sound of scaramanga ' s laser in the man with the golden gun ( 1974 ) .
terry : if you’re a sword and sorcery fan , come take a look , because i think this’ll be worth watching . it’s going to be a good script , and if people enjoy a good story , and you haven’t seen hawk the slayer , there’s a reprise at the beginning that tells you why the brothers fought and what happened . so at least you can come into this without having watched the original and still enjoy it . it’s for anybody , but if you’re a sword and sorcery you’ve got to come and see this .
summon to hand : hawk can make his mindstone blade fly into his hand by thought alone . well , not fly , exactly . slowly float .
making a sequel for hawk would be like writing a sequel for the bible . no improvement is possible , and anyone attempting an improvement would probably be crucified for their heresy against the mighty hawk . the same goes for any remakes that anyone might think of doing . if you try , the true hawk fans will be waiting like the pharisees with a cross and some nails . so don ' t even try it . i ' m looking at you , nicholas cage , in your shitty wicker man remake . i ' m also looking at you , tim burton , with your pisspoor
version
of planet of the apes . get lost , you mongs .
the lost woods : much of the scenes seem to be in the same patch of british forest .
not forgetting the sword and the sorcerer urltoken too and the warrior and the sorceress , which is the closest thing i ' ve ever seen to a dark sun movie .
never trust a trailer : the trailer mentions
two armies
,
voltan ' s army - the devil ' s army , and hawk ' s
. in the actual movie , hawk ' s
army
consists of exactly six people , while voltan ' s
army
is in no way satanical and has nothing to do with the legions of hell - it ' s a band of some 100 or so normal human bandits .
hawk , having suffered the ignominy of watching both his father and fiancée die at the hands of his brother , voltan , sets out on a quest for companions to aid him in his fight to stop his brother ' s reign of evil and free the abbess .
terry : anyone who is alive , we’re going to try and get back in different roles . patricia quinn – she doesn’t know it yet , but there’s a new character called fod . she’s in the television series . a lot of the strategy for the new series is based around the kitchen . she sort of runs the household for hawk and the others , and of course , although she’s a rough , fairy - type creature , she loves hawk ; she calls him the master , and she’d do anything for him . and so , all the planning , plotting – it’s all done in the kitchen , and fod oversees it .
“we have a studio deal and a sales deal , ” says marcel , himself quite elfin at 73 . games company rebellion has also signed up to produce a hawk game and a putative range of books or comics , and to provide cgi and funding for the sequel . rebellion’s co - founder jason kingsley described the original hawk as “a touchstone” of his life and said he was “delighted and slightly awed” to be part of the new venture .
in the first major part of the story , voltan kills his father . his brother hawk arrives - too late to save the old man , but just in time to be granted the sword of mind . it glows and flies across a room into the hands of its owner . ( george lucas would later copy this idea for star wars . )
new powers as the plot demands : hawk gets the mindsword and his father explains that it ' ll come to him if he wills it . but when he and ranulf travel through a haunted forest , he somehow knows the light it sheds will keep them protected from evil spirits ?
it’s a big cast , i saw the trailer , all i kept thinking was lord of the rings . i hope it works , because i want people to be aware of sword and sorcery . i hope it’s a big success , but i don’t think competition - wise i’ve got much to worry about . there’s a sword and sorcery space , and they’re going to eat up part of that space , but there’ll be plenty left for little old hawk the slayer . it’s six episodes of advertising to us , and it’s a great story ; terry brooks is a hell of a writer .
crow : hawk turns up just as crow begins a shooting contest with two homosexuals . the audience learns that crow is the last elf in the world , is really good at shooting , has spock ears , and talks like a robot . ( orlando bloom studied crow ' s scenes repeatedly in preparation for lord of the rings , as the character of legolas is transparently based on crow . tolkien used profits from
the hobbit
to buy a cine projector for his oxford home specifically so that he could watch hawk every day until lord of the rings was completed . he saw it over 9000 times . )
rewarded as a traitor deserves : well , voltan offs the noviate who betrayed hawk , but he ' s such a bad boss you really can ' t say he treated her any differently than his own henchmen .
terry : i had him . i went to a fairly well - known distributor , and they said , ‘tom hardy’s never going to make it . ’ lost him . that’s the trouble with working with a studio . this isn’t going to have a huge budget . hawk the slayer was £61 , 000 . you need to be in a sensible budget area . you need to be able to say , ‘those people are investing in this , i believe i’ve got a good chance of getting their money back , ’ and i believe that if the audience is there , we can get a tv series , which is the ultimate aim .
human sacrifice : hawk rescues baldin from a group of religious nutters who ' ve tied him to a raft that they ' re trying to set alight with arrows on fire .
keen - eyed fans may recognize the dwarf from our release prisoners of the lost universe . also , the actor playing hawk went on to portray jack’s dad in lost - - hmmm , prisoners of the lost universe . lost . time to dig up your old lost conspiracy theories because there’s something happening here . it’s all connected !
eye scream : voltan ' s scar is apparently a result of his being stabbed in the eye with a piece of burning wood by hawk ' s girlfriend . the wizard he gets magic pain relief from mentions that it inexplicably refuses to heal , and in fact the flesh seems to be melting .
the stoic : nearly everyone , due to bad , bad acting , but hawk and his elf buddy rarely show any expression other than
intense staring
. gort , baldin and voltan are pretty much the only exceptions , since they can actually act somewhat .
page spelling out some of the reasons why the campaign had faltered so spectacularly .
horror dvd of the week : shadow of the vampire ( 200 . . .
torn from the headlines : the ' secret history ' of d . . .
torn from the headlines : the ' true ' face of count . . .
with the arrival of the red dwarf the roleplaying game series sourcebook , i ' m calling an end to my quixotic quest for the ' holy . . .
the pan - galactic gargle blaster ( 18 . 19 ) is a drink from the hitchhiker ' s guide to the galaxy
as you may be aware , the kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful so we are re - evaluating the project . i hope to have news before the end of the year
for us , it’s outside of the usual stuff : we’ve got a fantastic t - shirt . to get them involved , there’s a fan day . terry’s got this fantastic scene that he’s going to direct with gort and hanfer , and there’s a big fight scene in a tavern . we’re asking fans to pay the money , come on the day and be in the movie . we’ve commissioned a coin . hawk is a lord , so he’s got a currency . when people are gambling in the movie they use these silver coins . those coins as a prop will be available as a reward . we’ve had rifftrax , they’re huge hawk fans . as a reward , they will riff hawk . they’re going to do it anyway as a digital download , they will provide it for the film and take the mickey out of it . we’ve done loads of stuff .
all of this is in early stages of planning and a lot of it hinges on hawk the hunter ' s kickstarter campaign , which launches on august 30th . the film ' s budget is $ 5 million , and marcel , kingsley and company need to raise the final 20 percent , marcel told the guardian earlier this month . for now , kingsley can dream big and hope for the best .
there was talk in 2009 about a sequel entitled
hawk the hunter .
as you have no doubt noticed , there has since been no such movie . as a matter of fact , the message board which announced the sequel has since only received one post . the stars , on the other had , have gone on to successful careers , many showing up in places you may not have realized .
note : the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer ( s ) .
yannick bisson is best known for playing the titular william murdoch in the . . .
, while the second part got 1 , 382 and the first 1 , 527 .
wwf , the world wrestling federation ( 10 . 20 ) not the world wildlife fund
: voltan actually specializes in throwing daggers ( not throwing knives ) . when forced into an actual sword fight ( after this fails against hawk ) he clearly has no idea what he ' s doing .
hawk was sponsored by ye olde militarie and industrielle complexe , the dark age arms manufacturer that was eventually closed down by henry viii , as it was ( 1 ) richer than him , and ( 2 ) had sold siege engines to the pope . this was the medieval equivalent of selling a weaponized ebola virus to kim jong il .
the
don ' t panic
sticker ( 18 . 3 ) is a reference to the hitchhiker ' s guide to the galaxy
this is one of those rare early 80 ' s movies that i love . everything about it is terrible and yet something about it is great ! it has the feel of a saturday
matinee
and is certainly an entertaining piece of work ( although far from a masterpiece ) . essentially , this movie is a guilty pleasure . if had to choose between it or
the beastmaster
, i would certainly take hawk the slayer . i recommend this movie as a must see ! although i am not blind and can certainly see all of the faults , i still love this movie . i even sampled sound bites from this movie and created a dance mix ! ( not for commercial purposes . . . just for fun ) . if interested , check out the messages boards as i have posted a link to the sound file there .
) to see the enthusiasm was there at the start , but then dropped away dramatically .
top of the pile : trick ' r treat - days of the dead . . .
idiot ball : the abbess and nuns at the convent juggle a whole host of idiot balls , all based on the belief that voltan isn ' t the obviously evil chronic backstabbing disorder shoot the dog bond villain that he is .
baldin : hawk finds baldin tied to a raft and being shot at by priests . those wacky dwarves ! in this scene , the audience learns that baldin is really good at eating , drinking and telling bad jokes . he also comes from ironforge . ( hawk has attracted criticism from dwarven rights activists for this stereotyped portrayal . dwarf rights activist ricky gervais points out that not all dwarves are fat , drunk and unfunny , even though ricky himself is frequently all three . )
it looks like we don ' t have a synopsis for this title yet . be the first to contribute ! just click the
edit page
button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the synopsis submission guide .
voltan ( jack palance ) is pissed that hawk ( john terry ) has married elaine . he has been stalking elaine for several years , has even spoken to her a couple of times , and once brushed against her boobs . therefore , she is rightfully his . anger and jealousy turn him to evil . ( remember - if it ' s in hawk , it ' s not a cliche . hawk invented this stuff . other people copied it , making it cliched . just like jokes about
it ' s built on an old indian burial ground
. it sounds cheesy when you hear it in the shining , but you are wrong , because that ' s where it comes from . )
terry : not really , no . the sequel in its original form was just another adventure with hawk and his team . but i opened up the world because of the tv show . with tv , you have to know where you’re going . with dark knight , i only ended up doing the two series , but i knew where it was going , where it would end and what my arc was .
the magnificent seven samurai : there are only five of them ( six if you count the sorceress ) , but it ' s pretty overt . a few of the recruitment scenes are even fantasy takes on the ones from the magnificent seven .
the zapruder film is part of the john f . kennedy assassination conspiracy ( 0 . 9 )
wade ' s passphrase ,
you have been recruited by the star league to defend the frontier against xur and the ko - dan armada
is from the last starfighter ( 1 . 81 )
baldin , the obligatory dwarf in the movie , brought the expected comedic flare to the film . peter o & apos ; farrell would go on to star in several major motion pictures including
harry potter and the chamber of secrets ,
legend ,
and
prisoners of the lost universe .
answer the question , claire
( 17 . 58 ) is a quote from the breakfast club
aside from the fact that the there were instants where the men moan when they die , the lines coming from that elf being extremely wooden to the point of laughable , the cut shots of arrows firing that would even make legolas laugh , the corny acting / lines , and the corny 80 ' s music that plays whenever the protagonist rides off . . . watch this while you ' re stoned , drunk , or multitasking . . . - _ -
terry : andrew’s been working with me for a long time , and one day he said , “i’ve had a request for you to do this interview . ” he said , “you ought to write a sequel to hawk” , and i said “i’ve written a sequel to hawk ! ” he said “we ought to go out and try and put this together . ” so i got hold of the old script that harry and i had written , and it needed a bit of work on it , so i did that .
i offered to interview them on my blog and help spread the word . i heard crickets back . the social media campaign for the kickstarter was pitiful .
andrew : it’s all down to the kickstarter . it’s going to be interesting , terry’s done so much work on not just the script , but the background he’s built into the world for the tv series . the sequel really is a cinematic pilot , basically . and we’ve got interest from actors that are aware of the situation . it’s quite an exciting time .
gort : hawk arrives shortly after gort has beaten up an angry mob . gort is a giant , and therefore excellent at being stupid and tall . gort is also very bad at acting : bad enough to appear in several carry on films .
dwindling party : two of the party members are dead by the end , and one is grieviously injured .
horrible judge of character : the nuns are utterly convinced they can trust the dark one at his word .
pay evil unto evil :
the end truly justifies the means !
uh , sure . . .
the campaign launched on august 30 , and ran until october 1 , hoping to raise a cool half - a - million dollars , the final 20 per cent of the finances needed to get the film made .
archer and the sorceress i am glad to see that someone else remembers this movie . in the us , it was known as the archer : fugitive from the empire and was a failed tv series pilot . i wish it was available on dvd in the us .
the finished film evokes both derision and devotion . apart from terry ( who had been a carpenter ) and palance , it has an extraordinary cast : patricia “rocky horror” quinn , harry andrews , warren clarke , roy kinnear , annette crosbie , cheryl campbell . marcel readily admits the fights are sketchy and the dialogue between the giant ( bernard bresslaw , 6ft 7in ) and the dwarf ( peter o’farrell , 5ft 6in ) is “cheesy” but hawk was meant for a family audience . he does wish he’d had more to spend on effects , though : “most of the flying - sword sequences involved me throwing it to the actor . ”
and the warrior and the sorceress , which is the closest thing i ' ve ever seen to a dark sun movie . i ' m glad i ' m not the only one to think this ! : cool :
“the budget is $ 5m – half an episode of game of thrones – and we’re short 20 % , ” says marcel . “so andrew [ grocock , co - producer ] suggested a kickstarter campaign . ” this will be formally launched after a screening of the original film followed by a director’s q & a during frightfest , the horror film festival , in london in august . marcel hopes to start shooting in november . he also has plans for a tv series , “the third part of the trilogy” , called hawk the destroyer , which he reckons could run for five years .
has been ' in the works ' for more than 30 years , you have to question some of the decisions made as the film raced towards its final hurdle .
i like novelisations of films to expand on the original , providing new insights into the characters , building on the backstory . this , unfortunately , doesn ' t .
i would assume that ' s the shriek of a hawk . . . ; ) that ' s what i thought but i was told no ! in my defence , i was ten and didn ' t know a thing about birds - my dad told me the producers had got the wrong sound effect and it was definitely an eagle . i ' m going to have to have a few words with my dad the next time i see him . . . : )
fans would get in touch asking if he’d agree to novelisation , if they could buy the mindsword . grocock’s theory is that hawk touched a chord , coming at the end of the austere 1970s and the start of a brave new 1980s world of atari computers , vhs recorders and dungeons and dragons role - playing games . famous nerds who grew up at that time seem to bear this out . “bill bailey is a huge fan , simon pegg is a massive fan , ” says grocock . another fan , rock wizard rick wakeman , has apparently agreed to write the music for the sequel .
in that voltan returns and this time he’s after the dark sword which was made before the mind sword , the dark sword is evil and has been hidden away by a troll . if voltan gets his hands on it , we’re in deep trouble so there’s a race to find the dark sword . we also see the development of hawk beginning to understand the power of the mind sword . we’ve just put up a prologue on youtube which gives away a little bit about the stones . there were three stones and one of them ends up with the wizards , who are in fact elves and one ends up in the sword – the other one i can’t disclose ! they were discovered by a rock - finding troll who’s digging away in a tiny tunnel . he breaks through into this gigantic cavern where he finds this skyscraper - sized crystal buried in the ground . around the crystal are three shining stones , the three sisters . he grabs them and runs but as he does so the giant crystal bursts into life and that’s when magic is born in the land . it’s all to do with crystal magic and in the sequel we begin to see how it all works , why it works and i had to reinvent everything to give a reason for the mindstone .
curb - stomp battle : two guys with automatic weapons and a powerful witch vs . ordinary medieval soldiers . even without the guy with the magic sword ( and the dwarf with the whip ) it would have been a walkover .
in this , you have to have a bigger view of the world , and so it was fairly obvious to me to start from , what was going to be the key to the series : magic . and where did the magic come from ? magic came from the stones . where did the stones come from ? and then bit by bit i rebuilt the whole thing and created a massive world .
films , playing sparrow ; you always get extra from those sorts of people because they’re such distinctive character actors . but we’ve got to look to the long - term . we want to know that whoever’s going to play hawk is going to come and stay with us for the series . i think we’ll probably end up with complete newcomers for all the main parts . there is one troll who’s about twice the size of a human and i’ve always wanted brian blessed for that , he’d be perfect .
caroline munro ( from the golden voyage of sinbad , the spy who loved me , dracula ad 1972 , starcrash , maniac , the last horror show , sl . . .
magrathea is a planet in douglas adams ' s the hitchhiker ' s guide to the galaxy ( 4 . 13 )
with the stolen gold as bait for voltan , the trap is set . the fellowship lie in wait for voltan and his men . but voltan doesn ' t appear . instead , his useless adopted son drogo turns up , without the kidnapped nun . the heroes refuse to hand over the gold until the nun is safe . drogo is angry .
i am no messenger ,
he says .
but i do bring a message . the message of death !
andrew : you make it , and the generation in which it was made watch it and go away , and then their kids discover it , and they start to like it . because it’s got two generations of fandom , it becomes a cult , you’ve got an older and a younger generation , it becomes a cult , because the younger generation discover it , and the older generation say , ‘that was ours’ , and that’s what happened to hawk .
harry robertson died in 1996 and jack palance in 2006 . john terry went on to appear in lost ( as jack’s dad ) but still gets asked to sign hawk memorabilia at sci - fi conventions . because hawk wouldn’t die . “it still sells well globally , ” says grocock . “scandinavian countries , america , south america . it’s big in japan , south africa . you still get cheques from germany , terry . ” marcel adds cheerfully : “yes , about £12 . 65 last time i looked . i’ve never made any money from it . ”
not forgetting the sword and the sorcerer urltoken too i love that movie . it might ' ve been a better conan movie than conan the barbarian . just as good , anyway .
good guy hawk ( john terry ) and his evil brother , voltan ( jack palance ) , both want control of
the power ,
a magical flying sword . this comic - bookish exercise in sword - and - sorcery gibberish is dragged down by its excess of slow - motion battle scenes , though palance makes an enjoyable villain .
bigger bad : voltan ' s dark master . he never gets directly involved in the plot , but is clearly manipulating things behind the scenes . he ' s also shown to have great magical powers , including the ability to resurrect the dead .
everyone calls him barkeep : the closest thing to a name that the blind witch seems to have is
woman
.
hoist by his own petard : the hunchback is killed by the exact method by which he threatens gort ' s life .
although planned as the start of a franchise amid much local publicity , the movie was released in the uk as the supporting feature to saturn 3 ( 1980 ) before it was picked up for theatrical distribution in some territories such as north america .