Production Notes

Filmmaker's Statement

Our team first traveled to Sri Lanka in 2005 after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, intent on doing aid work in areas cut off to larger organizations due to the conflict. At the time, we were all still in college, broke, and had relatively no idea what was going on in the country. We decided to form our own non-profit group, called Sri Lankan Aid, and develop a permanent relationship with communities in need by returning to help them every six months.

Arriving home in America, our families and friends were eager to hear how things went. Everybody loved watching our home videos of the exotic scenery, wildlife, and cultures. They were also deeply moved by the problems faced by tsunami and war victims, but struggled to grasp what had and still is happening in Sri Lanka. We found ourselves repeating the same basic information over and over: “It’s 20 kilometers south of India. There’s a civil war. Not all Tamil people support the Tamil Tigers. Aid isn’t reaching a lot of tsunami refugees because of the war.”

It was apparent that the average American had little to no idea about what was happening in Sri Lanka. Suddenly, it hit me: why not make a full-blown film to show them? I set to work with my friend Nick, who founded Sri Lankan Aid, planning to make a feature length documentary alongside our aid work during the next trip. My good friend Marc, who co-created my senior thesis film with me, also decided to come along.

Returning to Sri Lanka for six weeks, we were in a unique position to document what was happening. As we had already established relationships with community leaders and government officials on account of our aid work, we obtained clearance into highly volatile regions in the east. On several occasions, we were the only foreigners present in crisis zones as refugees were being evacuated and artillery was fired into their homes. Our position became even more exclusive when 17 aid workers were killed nearby, causing literally every foreigner to evacuate…except for us.

Unlike news organizations and journalists who travel to Sri Lanka for a week to ‘get the scoop’, we were living and working with members of the community in eastern Sri Lanka, getting a deeper sense of what they were actually going through. We even went through some of it ourselves; Nick got malaria, we all got lice and ringworm, and I was attacked by a mob wielding AK-47s, who saw that I had filmed them killing two innocent civilians on the street. They destroyed my camera, but only after I had already recorded dozens of tapes that were kept safe back at the orphanage we were staying in.

We have altogether made five trips to Sri Lanka so far, and look forward to returning again soon. My main fear is that after Lions and Tigers is released, we won’t be welcomed back. Making this film has been a highly delicate endeavor, with extremists and fanatics at either end ready to pulverize anyone speaking out against them. I hope the powers that be can understand this film is only trying to portray the perspective of innocent civilians who are caught in the conflict. We don’t affiliate with any armed group and we shun them all equally. Our primary concern is the well being of refugees with the greatest need, regardless of ethnicity or location. Hopefully the film will not jeopardize our position, but encourage more people to foster peace in one of the most overlooked countries in the world.

- Cory Hoover

Tech Specs

Lions and Tigers was shot on a Panasonic DVX-100B and HVX-200 in 24p NTSC miniDV 16:9 format. 131 hours of footage were recorded between Summer 2005 and Spring 2008. Sound was recorded in camera with an XLR shotgun microphone and wired lavalier microphone. Editing took place in Santa Fe, NM, between Spring 2007 and Spring 2008.

Interviewees

Credits

Directed by Cory Hoover

Produced by Nick Batter and Cory Hoover

Cinematography by Marc Humpert and Cory Hoover

Edited by Monty Bass and Cory Hoover

Sponsored in part by The Harvard University McKinley Fellowship and Cathay Pacific Airlines

 

© Copyright 2008 Kenji Media LLC
Terms and Conditions