I think I could have talked to Samira Goetschel for at least seven hours, but for your listening pleasure I kept it to about ten minutes. Goetschel’s new documentary, Our Own Private Bin Laden , chronicles her personal journey to try to unwrap the media phenomenon that has become of Osama Bin Laden. Goetschel, born in Iran, escaped when her father was executed during the Islamic Revolution. Living in New York, she thought she had escaped Islamic Fundamentalism, then September 11 happened. She decided to confront her fear and anger by making this film. We talked about her personal journey, how to ask questions without an agenda, refusing distribution deals to avoid hypocrisy, and revelations in the editing room. Goetschel is a remarkable person who demonstrates the courage it takes to ask simple questions, and receive extremely complicated answers.
Starz Denver Film Festival, Spout podcast, Our Own Private Bin Laden, Samira Goetschel
One Comment
I wonder who ended up accepting to fund or market her film? it sounds like she’s gone through quite a lot to make this, get it out in the circuit, get people to see it without judgement.
You would expect this one to have a picture of Bin Laden on the cover, and if she wasn’t holding on so tightly to her vision, it would have been slapped on the cover and put out as an agenda piece.
Thank goodness that she’s held on so tightly here. Hope to see it soon.