Being a war journalist in Latin America sometimes puts the person at risk and caught in the middle of wanting to tell all sides of a particular issue and keep his/her family safe. Such is the case of Hollman Morris; the subject of Juan José Lozano's documentary Unwanted Witness. It's an intimate look at Morris' professional and personal life. The end result is an emotional film that provoked some very interesting comments and questions for the Q&A session that followed Monday's night screening the AMC theatre. One of the first questions came from an audience member from Colombia. He asked Morris why he feels he's not receiving proper protection from the Colombian government even when he's driven around in a bulletproof car and has guards with him at all times paid for by citizens' taxes; why does he not talk about the guerrillas and present all sides of the conflict afflicting Colombia? A loaded question to say the least. Morris calmly answered that yes, he's driven around in a protected car with bodyguards paid by taxes from the Colombian citizens but he feels his family is still not well protected and that troubles him. Morris also addressed how journalists are "the eyes and ears of society" and in order to present a balanced story, he also needs to focus on paramilitaries not just on the guerrillas. Othe audience members applauded Morris and expressed that he's a brave man for the work that he does. Morris expressed how being a journalist allows him to see the greatness and miseries of humanity from those who are for the left and right wings. He also mentioned that his country has been in turmoil for a very long time; such that, no member of his family from his parents to his children have experienced what it's like for Colombia to have some peace. Lozano also mentioned the situation in Colombia has not changed for half the country. They keep on suffering from this conflict between guerrillas and paramilitaries. This is the case of several countries in Latin America. This film discusses very serious issues and it's evident that not everyone will agree to Morris' side of the story. (Pictured here from L to R: Morris Hollman, Juan José Lozano, Josué Méndez - director of Dioses - and Juana Awad). |