Shaheen Dill-Riaz - Ironeaters - Eisenfresser (2007)

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The 5th International Nuremberg Human Rights Film Festival comes to an end on Wednesday. 90 films exploring human rights issues from all over the world have been shown over the past ten days, from experimental short films, through documentaries to features. Shaheen Dill-Riaz's "Eisenfresser", or "Iron-eaters" about the ship-breaking industry in Bangladesh impressed with its stunning cinematography.

PHP is the philosophy of the owner of one of the biggest shipyards in Chittagong on Bangladesh's southern coast -- "Peace, Happiness and Prosperity". But peace does not reign in the shipyard where vessels from all over the world are sent to be dismantled by an army of seasonal workers.

Barefoot and devoid of protective clothing, these boys and men breathe neither happiness nor prosperity.

The ship-breaking industry feeds three million people a year -- mainly men from the north who are annually driven south by floods and poor harvests to find work.

When there are discussions about poor pay, unpaid wages or overtime, the standard line is: "What choice do we have? We have to feed our families."

Some families accompany them but many stay behind. One poignant scene towards the end of the film depicts one man crying as he kisses his toddler, whom he hasn't seen for four months.

From luxury to misery

Highly-acclaimed on the world festival circuit, the film depicts a world which is barely imaginable to many in the west. Some of the scenes are almost absurd -- the men sent to dismantle the massive vessels, from disused military ships to outmoded luxury cruise-liners (symbols of a luxury the men can barely imagine), are dwarfed by their size. These dinosaurs lie on the beach and are painstakingly taken apart by teams of men and boys.

The Bangladesh-born director, Shaheen Dill-Riaz, a photographer by training, films the back-breaking labour with great care and an impressive aesthetic sense: the scenes of men hoisting ropes, carrying sheets of iron so heavy their legs buckle under the weight, or welding (creating sparks like fireworks) are achingly beautiful.

Surprisingly, the work does not manage to break the men's souls as well. As they work, the men sing and tell jokes, make fun of each other's accents and try to make the most of an incredibly difficult situation.

Depicting the daily struggle

Dill-Riaz wanted to really get to know to the workers and follow their daily struggle at close-hand -- he was not interested only in showing anonymous workers being exploited by a dog-eat-dog world. By filming them sharing their food at night and talking about their concerns, he succeeds in bringing across their humanity.

He also gives a voice to the managers and owners so the viewer is given the chance to draw his/her own conclusions without commentary from the filmmaker.

In a post-screening discussion in Nuremberg, Dill-Riaz explained that he had lived with the workers and gradually got to know them better. He also said that he and his team had tried to help them by giving them money when the managers refused to pay them, but he added it was important not to be too emotional in order to make the film.

He said that he hoped his film would help to have an impact on the Bangladeshi government, which buys the steel from the shipyard owners at an exorbitant price, and also the EU, which is currently trying to pass laws forbidding European ship companies from dumping disused ships on the Subcontinent's shores without regard for the workers.

At the moment, Dill-Riaz is conducting intensive negotiations with film distributors and television companies so that the "iron eaters" get maximum exposure.

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Shaheen Dill-Riaz - Ironeaters - Eisenfresser (2007)

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