((L) Michael Scheuerman, the Oscars, Great Hall (R) Skye Fitzgerald, the Oscars, Great Hall | Photos courtesy of HUNGER WARD)
The most powerful art is born of necessity, as is often said. It cannot help but move us or shake our foundations. Sometimes this art can be a joyful experience — one of elation, celebration or revelation. Other times it is quite the opposite — instilling feelings of emotional pain, physical suffering and devastating loss. Sadly, these latter states of being are what drive HUNGER WARD, an Oscar nominated, 40-minute “documentary short” that provides a first-hand account of the civil war in Yemen that began in 2014, a war that has created a situation the United Nations calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis” (hungerward.org/the-crisis).
The crisis itself is driven by two major factors: 1. Indiscriminate Saudi Arabian bombing of areas occupied by Houthi rebels that have leveled schools, hospitals, farms and other foundations of innocent civilian life, and 2. A Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports that prevents much needed food, medicine and fuel from entering the country. Both factors have left “more than 24 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death.” Prior to the war, Yemen imported 90 percent of its food. So when food is used as a weapon of war, just as Hitler did during WWII, the effects are particularly devastating, especially on children.
(aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-remains-worst-humanitarian-crisis-un-office/2106553).
Directed by Portland’s Skye Fitzgerald and produced by Fitzgerald and Bend’s own Michael Scheuerman, HUNGER WARD follows Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they separately manage as best they can the disastrous effects of the war on Yemeni children. Set in two of the country’s most active therapeutic feeding centers, the film documents the interaction of each medical practitioner with one of the many hunger-stricken children they care for, an intimate portrayal that forces our participation in each painful moment.
For Fitzgerald, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Documentary Branch) and Oscar/Emmy/IDA-Nominated director, HUNGER WARD is the third “docu-short” in what he terms his “Humanitarian Cinema,” or REFUGEE TRILOGY. The first, 50 FEET FROM SYRIA (2015), examines “the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons in a global and interconnected world” while the second film, LIFEBOAT (2018), “bears witness to refugees and migrants desperate enough to risk their lives in rubber boats leaving Libya in the middle of the night” (hungerward.org/the-film). 50 FEET FROM SYRIA was shortlisted for an Oscar, and both LIFEBOAT and HUNGER WARD were nominated for Oscars. Of the trilogy, Fitzgerald states, “In a political environment increasingly hostile to immigrants and refugees, we believe documenting the real-life plight of those fleeing war and oppression is as essential and important as ever and a vital call-out to the conscience of the entire global community (hungerward.org/the-film).
Michael Scheuerman began working with Fitzgerald not long after the two met at the 2018 BendFilm Festival run by Executive Director Todd Looby, a former business manager for Chicago’s largest general construction firm who has led the BendFilm organization since 2014. After retiring from the tech industry in 2018, Scheuerman bought a pass to the festival and, while dining on closing night with V. Scott Balcarek, director of Satan & Adam, met Skye when he asked to join their table. “The three of us started talking,” Michael recalls, “and after that night I started helping with some minor social media marketing for LIFEBOAT during its distribution phase. Then we met about a month or two after the Oscars for LIFEBOAT and decided to co-produce HUNGER WARD. Michael continues, “Skye has a great relationship with BendFilm. LIFEBOAT was screened there. He was on the jury last year for doc shorts, and I’m on the jury this year for doc shorts. So there’s been a tight relationship with Skye’s work. If it wasn’t for BendFilm, he and I would never have met and started working on HUNGER WARD together. And BendFilm is so committed to social impact films like this.” Another Bendite, Robb Mills, sound designer and composer and senior sound designer for ArenaNet, a Bellevue, Washington game developer, provided sound design for HUNGER WARD. While we celebrate and honor the efforts and achievements of these passionate artists and activists, we must also reflect deeply on the content they present via the film itself as our
humanitarian imperative.
In an interview with Scheuerman, I inquired about the visibility and potential impact of documentary shorts since they are not a genre that receives much screen time at the big theatres or on major platforms like Netflix. Michael replied, “It can be difficult for short films to get visibility. We were fortunate to have MTV Documentary Films distribute the film globally on Paramount+ and Pluto TV. In addition, the Oscar nomination boosted awareness of the film and crisis in Yemen globally from the additional media attention.” Although HUNGER WARD did not win the Oscar this year in its category, the recognition it has received has already raised a great deal of awareness and generated numerous donations for the Yemeni cause. Here in Bend, Chelsea Callicott helps coordinate donations from people attending events and donating on the HUNGER WARD website. The film has already raised over $200,000 for the two clinics in the film.
Upon watching the film myself and feeling absolutely horrified by what I just witnessed, I caught a glimpse of my image in the blank, dark screen of my iPad just before the credits began to roll. In that moment, I became incredibly self-conscious, particularly with respect to all that I have and enjoy on a daily basis. Left with only my reflected image staring back at me and a mind struggling to process the sadness and strife that HUNGER WARD reveals, a single question forces itself upon me: “What will I do to help?”
Fortunately for me and for those who feel compelled to action as I do, hungerward.org provides four ways to get involved: 1. SIGN UP to receive email updates on the film, events, Yemen, and the clinics; 2. ENGAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow, Like, Comment On, Share Spin Film’s Posts and use #HungerWard and #YemenCantWait; 3. DONATE to directly support the two clinics featured in the film; and 4. ADVOCATE — Engage with our Partners to help Yemen.
Please visit hungerward.org/getinvolved to make a difference today!