Tempelhof
by Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith
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Tempelhof
by Daniel Smith
Daniel Smith
Follow
Tempelhof, the documentary, offers a stunning, timely counterpoint to the dehumanization and stereotyping of migrants perpetuated by fear and misunderstanding by highlighting individual accounts of refugees trying to reach the West from Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria.
Tempelhof, the documentary, offers a stunning, timely counterpoint to the dehumanization and stereotyping of migrants perpetuated by fear and misunderstanding by highlighting individual accounts of refugees trying to reach the West from Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria.
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Story
Mission Statement
Our primary mission is to elevate the voices and stories of historically marginalized groups in an effort to create empathy, understanding, and tolerance. To that end, the Tempelhof cast and majority female crew are composed of a diverse array of cultures, races, religions, and gender identities.About The Project
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Tempelhof strips away the dehumanizing effect of anonymity surrounding the extraordinary number of refugees displaced since 2014, highlighting their individual journeys of courage, fear, and hope as they fled their homes for the west and began the process of cultural integration. Although the current migrant crisis has been ongoing for at least a decade, the inflammatory, often inaccurate rhetoric surrounding the topic of immigration and refugees has peaked again in 2018. Tempelhof, the documentary, offers a stunning, timely counterpoint to the dehumanization and stereotyping of migrants perpetuated by fear and misunderstanding. Highlighting individual accounts of refugees trying to reach the West from Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, through the Balkans and on to Germany, Tempelhof is the story of many people caught up in a vicious series of ongoing conflicts and political/cultural struggles within countries. By concentrating on the refugees and migrants as individuals, Tempelhof seeks to reverse the psychological process of dehumanization by creating empathy for and recognizing the humanity of each courageous interviewee.
Since the peak of the current refugee crisis in 2014, over 1.8 million refugees have entered Europe, fleeing from violence, persecution, poverty, war, and starvation. While the flood of refugees has slowed somewhat in the last three years, the inflammatory, often inaccurate rhetoric surrounding the topic of immigration and refugees has spiked again in 2018, leading to a growing surge of anti-immigrant voices in both the US and Europe as well as an increase in violence toward refugees.Dehumanization is a simple psychological process wherein a person views another person as less human. When a group is sufficiently stigmatized as intellectually and morally inferior, it becomes socially acceptable to persecute them, leading to a measurable increase in hatred, alienation, violence, and death. In numerous studies, groups that elicited the most disgust (rather than empathy) were poor people, drug addicts, and immigrants.
Although Tempelhof highlights the stories of Middle Easterners trying to reach the West from Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, through the Balkans and on to Germany, the effects continue to ripple outward, threatening to engulf us all. Except for the Native American population, the United States is made up of the descendants of refugees and immigrants. Like the current refugees, our ancestors were seeking religious freedom, economic opportunity, or fleeing war and oppression. An alarmingly vocal growing number of US citizens seem to have forgotten our shared experience. Utilizing the language of dehumanization, painting them as criminal, dangerous, lazy, and dumb to justify refusing entry, erases empathy, a critical human emotion, and paves the way for events like the separation of families at the border and the use of tear gas on women and children.
However, while dehumanization is the first step in escalating hatred and persecution against marginalized outgroups, the psychological process can be reversed merely by recognizing the humanity of others. The Tempelhof stories aim to challenge the growing culture of fear in the US concerning refugees and migrants by creating empathy and underscoring our common ground.My whole life has led up to telling this story.
I grew up on Long Island, New York. My mother was a schoolteacher and active in the Civil Rights Movement. She taught me to work to overcome racial stereotypes that affected how I was perceived and how I viewed myself. One of the most formative events in my life was attending the March on Washington with my mother in 1963. I learned from hearing Martin Luther King’s famous "I Have A Dream" speech that I should measure a person by their character and their actions, rather than the color of their skin. Fast forward, and my family ended up living in Japan for two years. In the fairly recent wake of WWII, my mother and father insisted my brothers and I learn about the Japanese as individuals and fully experience their culture.
I learned to recognize and overcome stereotypes I had within myself about how I saw the Japanese. I learned to measure a person’s actions as well as their beliefs to determine if there is common ground on which to base a friendship. Tolerance and empathy became part of my moral compass.
As an adult, I lived and served in the US military in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe from 2001 to 2014. While deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Horn of Africa, and Germany, I saw first hand the effects of war on people caught up in the relentless cycles of continual conflict. There was a moment, still seared into my memory, from Kurdistan that really became the driving force of my vision. I passed a little girl in a field. She was barefoot, wearing a fluffy, bright pink dress and had thick, curly black hair. When I saw her, I thought immediately, "She looks like my daughter!" The impression so shocked me that I couldn’t even speak. After we had passed her for a few minutes one of the soldiers with me turned and said, " You know that little girl looked exactly like your daughter."
It changed the whole narrative of war for me. Humans went from enemy combatants to people who had families like mine, desperate to survive in a combat zone. It became so much more than winning a war. It became building peace so they could have a better life.
From 2011 to 2017 I carefully followed the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, and the rise of the Islamic State. As refugees fled from Syria and Iraq to Europe incidents of terrorism and violence erupted both against refugees and host nation civilians. I wanted to meet the refugees to hear their stories and determine if they were a threat.
In the spring of 2017, I traveled from Lesbos, Greece, through the Balkans to Berlin, Germany interviewing refugees, migrants, and social workers. Tempelhof documents the refugee and migrant situation from the Balkans to Berlin, Germany. I am planning to do the same covering refugees from southern Italy to Berlin.
On the base of the Statue of Liberty, are these words “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Tempelhof has the power to help US citizens realize our society is more than our past, more than our trumped-up fears, and to help viewers understand that how we respond determines our future. How will we deal with the waves of people who arrive in the US and Europe to build new lives? With disgust, alienation, and persecution or empathy, understanding, and support?
Über das Projekt
Tempelhof beseitigt die entmenschlichende Wirkung der Anonymität im Zusammenhang mit der außergewöhnlichen Zahl von Flüchtlingen, die seit 2014 vertrieben wurden und zeigt deren individuelle Reisen in Mut, Angst und Hoffnung, seit sie aus ihren Häusern in den Westen flohen und den Prozess der kulturellen Integration begannen. Im Jahr 2018 hat die aufrührerische, oft unrichtige Rhetorik rund um das Thema Einwanderung und Refugees ihren Höhepunkt wieder erreicht, doch die gegenwärtige Migrationskrise währt seit mindestens einem Jahrzehnt. Die Dokumentation "Tempelhof" bietet einen erstaunlichen, zeitgemäßen Kontrapunkt zu der Entmenschlichung und Stereotypisierung von Migranten, die durch Angst und Missverständnisse aufrechterhalten wird.
Indem sie einzelne Berichte über Flüchtlinge, die von Afghanistan, dem Irak, Ägypten und Syrien über den Balkan bis nach Deutschland in den Westen zu gelangen versuchten, beleuchtet, ist Tempelhof die Geschichte vieler Menschen, die in eine schreckliche Reihe von fortbestehenden Konflikten und politisch-kulturellen Kämpfen in verschiedenen Ländern verwickelt wurden.
Durch die Konzentration auf die Flüchtlinge und Migranten als Einzelpersonen sucht Tempelhof den psychologischen Prozess der Entmenschlichung umzukehren, indem er durch Wiedererkennen und Empathie für die mutigen InterviewpartnerInnen schafft.
Seit dem Höhepunkt der aktuellen Flüchtlingskrise im Jahr 2014, sind über 1,8 Millionen Flüchtlinge vor Gewalt, Verfolgung, Armut, Krieg und Hungersnot nach Europa geflohen. Während sich die Flut von Flüchtlingen in den letzten drei Jahren etwas verlangsamt hat, nahm die hetzerische, oft unrichtige Rhetorik rund um das Thema Einwanderung und Flüchtlinge im Jahr 2018 erneut zu, was zu einem wachsenden Schwall der Stimmen gegen Einwanderer, sowohl in den USA als auch in Europa, sowie eine Zunahme der Gewalt gegen Flüchtlinge führte.
Wie auch immer, auch wenn die Entmenschlichung der erste Schritt ist, um den Hass und die Verfolgung von Randgruppen zu eskalieren, kann der psychologische Vorgang schon durch Erkennung der Menschlichkeit Anderer umgekehrt werden. Die Tempelhofer Geschichten zielen darauf ab, die wachsende Kultur der Angst vor Flüchtlingen und Migranten in den USA in Frage zu stellen, indem sie Empathie schaffen und unsere Gemeinsamkeiten unterstreichen.
Incentives
$5
Thank you for your support! Get a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a private contributor's link
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Sharable Shout out on Face Book! Also, a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's link.
Here is a chance for you to have your name annouced on social media.
$50
Lapel Pin with a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access with a private contributor's only link along with Special Thanks!.
Get yourself a pin to show your support. The word Tempelhof in Arabic. Special Thanx means your name appears in end credits.
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A digital download of three postcards Tempelhof, Sinjar, and Arbakai projects
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$75
Tempelhof music track download plus $20 and $25 contribution incentives.
Composer Elena Maro created a track for Tempelhof titled Echoes.
$85
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Copy of the film and aTempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a private contributor's link along with Special Thanks!
As a thank you for your support get a copy of the film you supported.
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$150
Copy of the Script and a Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's only link along with Special Thanks!
A copy of the script for Tempelhof - warts and all. If you have never seen a documentary script here is your chance.
$200
Professional Story Consultation with Kay Tuxford. One hour sessions added with downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof.
Special Thanx included!
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Signed copy of the movie plus theTempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's link and Special Thanx!
Get special thanx for the help with a signed copy of the movie.
$250
Signed Tempelhof poster. Get downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to Tempelhof with a contributor's only link along with Special Thanx
Get a copy of the poster art signed by Pavy.
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Signed copy of the script and other perks: post card and access to Tempelhof with contributor's link.
Get a your copy of script signed by the writer along with Special Thanx!.
$500
Big Thanx! Get Associate Producer Credit! Be named in an exclusive list for Tempelhof in IMDB to show your friends.
See your name in the credits and in IMDB as Assocaite Producer for Tempelhof!
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Get Producer credit for Tempelhof in IMDB. We could not do it without you. Also receive post card, poster, and on-line access.
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$5
Thank you for your support! Get a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a private contributor's link
$25
Sharable Shout out on Face Book! Also, a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's link.
Here is a chance for you to have your name annouced on social media.
$50
Lapel Pin with a downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access with a private contributor's only link along with Special Thanks!.
Get yourself a pin to show your support. The word Tempelhof in Arabic. Special Thanx means your name appears in end credits.
$60
Digital download post card set plus $20 and $25 contribution incentives.
A digital download of three postcards Tempelhof, Sinjar, and Arbakai projects
Claimed: 0 of 250
$75
Tempelhof music track download plus $20 and $25 contribution incentives.
Composer Elena Maro created a track for Tempelhof titled Echoes.
$85
Cabuwazi Children's Circus T-Shirt in addition to a Tempelhof post card and on-line access to Tempelhof with a contributor's only linkl
Claimed: 0 of 30
$100
Copy of the film and aTempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a private contributor's link along with Special Thanks!
As a thank you for your support get a copy of the film you supported.
Claimed: 14 of 50
$150
Copy of the Script and a Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's only link along with Special Thanks!
A copy of the script for Tempelhof - warts and all. If you have never seen a documentary script here is your chance.
$200
Professional Story Consultation with Kay Tuxford. One hour sessions added with downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof.
Special Thanx included!
Claimed: 0 of 10
$200
Signed copy of the movie plus theTempelhof post card and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's link and Special Thanx!
Get special thanx for the help with a signed copy of the movie.
$250
Signed Tempelhof poster. Get downloadable Tempelhof post card and on-line access to Tempelhof with a contributor's only link along with Special Thanx
Get a copy of the poster art signed by Pavy.
$350
Signed copy of the script and other perks: post card and access to Tempelhof with contributor's link.
Get a your copy of script signed by the writer along with Special Thanx!.
$500
Big Thanx! Get Associate Producer Credit! Be named in an exclusive list for Tempelhof in IMDB to show your friends.
See your name in the credits and in IMDB as Assocaite Producer for Tempelhof!
$1,000
Get Producer credit for Tempelhof in IMDB. We could not do it without you. Also receive post card, poster, and on-line access.
Get a downloadable Tempelhof post card, full size poster, and on-line access to see Tempelhof with a contributor's only link! You can select another perk of your choice.
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Current Team
About This Team
Producer and Screenwriter: Daniel W Smith:
A Screenwriter and Producer grew up on Long Island, New York, and Japan. After graduating from Marquette University, he volunteered for military service. Daniel deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Horn of Africa, and Germany. He retired from US Army Special Forces in 2008 and worked as a contractor at U.S. Africa Command as an operations planner, and at a U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron supporting U2 and drone operations. Dan graduated with a BA from Marquette University, College of Journalism, George Mason University, MFA in Poetry, and New York Film Academy with MFA in Screenwriting and Producing. He has written seven screenplays and two documentary scripts. He has produced and completed three short films.
Cinematographer: Pavlina Popovska
Pavlina is an award-winning cinematographer and photographer who demonstrated a record of achievements in the field of still and moving images. She graduated with an MFA in photography at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. Pavlina performed a critical role as photographer and cinematographer in several productions. She acted as a lead photographer in the highly acclaimed editorial Sweet Era, which was produced at Metropolitan Fashion Week in Los Angeles in 2016, and published in The LA Fashion Magazine. She was the lead photographer of the editorial The Travelers for Obscura Magazine; Inside-Out exhibited as part of the group exhibition in Silver-Lake Art Gallery. In 2014 she directed her first short length movies Eternity and what it means to be a Man. She continued as director of photography on the following productions: 50/10 Saul Turteltaub, The Witness, Smallest Gesture Can Change Someone’s life AKA The Gamble. She performed as lead photographer for Royal Gor Studio for the Brant Shapiro Foundation in 2015.
Sound/Translation: Grischa Dallmer
Grischa works as a programmer and is also active in sound and film editing. Together with Matthias Coers, he has been involved in the distribution and organization of events with the documentary film RENT REBELS in Germany and abroad. He is part of the Berlin tenant movement and has been organizing series of events with the Berlin tenants' association. Thanks to his linguistic knowledge, he has been working in fields of global communication and translation for various projects.
Assistant Director, Camera, and Digital Information Transfer: Matthias Coers
Matthias is an independent filmmaker and sociologist. As a freelance journalist and cameraman, he produces photographs, texts, and videos for trade unions, tenant organizations, the AIDS aid, and newspapers. He cooperates with participative initiatives, organizes lectures and series of events focusing on urban development, social infrastructure and commemorative culture. Since the premiere of the documentary „RENT REBELS – Resistance against the sell-out of the city“ in spring of 2014, he has held over 200 lectures and film events in over eighty cities. In e.g. Moscow, Naples or Vienna, at the invitation of scientific conferences, political organisations, the Goethe-Institut, citizens and experts were informed about the neighbourly commitment in Berlin. The film produced in co-direction is shown at film festivals, has had projections in 20 countries and is currently subtitled in the tenth language. Matthias Coers is responsible for the photo editorial department of the MieterEcho and holds lecture screenings. In 2016 and 2018 he was a member of the Berlinale Peace Film Award jury. Since spring 2017 his documentary THE OPPOSITE OF GRAY, produced in cooperation with Right to the City Ruhr, has been shown countrywide and in cinemas. Currently, he is working on the subjects of housing issues in Berlin, the history of anti-fascism in West Germany and housing in Europe. www.zweischritte.berlin
Editor: Simone Gobmeier
Simone Gobmeier started her promo producing editing career in her early twenties after she graduated from the “Schule für Rundfunktechnik SRT” (now known as ARD ZDF Media Akademie), where she learned not just editing, but also budgeting, directing and shooting. She performed as a promotion producer at the German Pay-Tv Channel Premiere (now known as SKY) for about ten years, where she produced commercials and short documentaries.
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