VZCZCXRO8381
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0304/01 1490820
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290820Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2989
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 3358

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SCUL PREL LT
SUBJECT: CRACKING THE CODE: FINDING SUCCESS FOR A U.S. FILM FESTIVAL 
IN MASERU 
 
MASERU 00000304  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  After a series of film screenings at the beginning 
at Embassy Maseru's seven-week U.S. film festival (March 8 
through April 19), the event closed with a packed, standing room 
only showing of Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center."  Attendance 
grew remarkably during the course of the festival, demonstrating 
how the festival was a learning experience for Embassy's Maseru 
Public Affairs Section.  Lessons from the festival on "how to 
fill the seats" will be carried into future Public Diplomacy 
events.  An active discussion among festival attendees of 
September 11 following the final film's close demonstrated the 
impact that such cultural events can have in Lesotho.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
The Maseru U.S. Film Festival 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  On Thursday, March 8, the Public Diplomacy Section (PAS) of 
U.S. Embassy in Maseru launched a seven-week film festival 
focusing on the themes of the African-American experience, 
HIV/AIDS, and contemporary United States history.  The films, 
shown under the State Department's blanket agreement with the 
Motion Picture Licensing Association (MPLA), were shown weekly 
on Thursday evenings at a partner hotel in Maseru.  These films 
included The Tuskeegee Airmen (1995), Glory (1989), Apollo 13 
(1995), Philadelphia (1993), The Shawshank Redemption (1994); 
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977); and World Trade Center 
(2006).  The Embassy's partner, the Maseru Sun Hotel, provided 
free space for the festival in their conference facility, use of 
a popcorn machine, and staff for logistical arrangements.  A 
large cloth for the movie screen was donated by representatives 
of the local textile industry, and an oversized screen frame 
(four by six meters) was procured from a local vender using 
budgeted PD funds. 
 
¶3.  Under the State Department's agreement with the MPLA, no 
mass media advertising can be utilized for this type of event. 
To make the event known to the general population, Embassy 
Maseru's PD staff designed a poster which was posted at local 
grocery stores and sent to various diplomatic missions, local 
NGO's, and other partners in the city.  The DCM, PAO, and a 
cross section of other mission officers used short presentations 
before films to highlight the significance of these movies and 
the issues raised by them.  In the case of the African-American 
history films, racism and discrimination were used to 
demonstrate that U.S. democracy is a work in progress and that 
the United States understands the obstacles facing Lesotho in 
its democratic development. 
 
----------------- 
Cracking the Code 
----------------- 
 
¶4.  Embassy Maseru's Public Affairs staff worked diligently 
during the festival to raise attendance numbers, including by 
noting the festival during unrelated radio appearances and in 
other forum consistent with the State Department's agreement 
with the MPLA.  During the course of the festival, however, the 
PAO learned  that our efforts to present the festival as a 
wholly public event had collided with a common public perception 
in Lesotho of many diplomatic events as elite and by invitation 
only.  Many average Basotho, it seemed, believed they would be 
unable to gain access to the festival if they arrived without an 
official invitation in hand. 
 
¶5.  For the closing event, a showing of Oliver Stone's "World 
Trade Center," the PAS opted to issue seventy official 
invitations to a wide cross-section of the Embassy's local 
contacts, ranging from politicians to academics to individuals 
in grassroots HIV/AIDS support groups.  The conference hall's 
100 seats were completely full, and the discussion of September 
11 which took place after the film fulfilled the Public Affairs 
Section's hopes concerning the possible impact of this type of 
event.  Attendees anxiously inquired when the Embassy would hold 
its next U.S. film festival. 
 
--------------------------- 
Comment: Perceptions Matter 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6.  COMMENT:  At the end of the film festival, particularly 
after the showing of "World Trade Center," it appeared the 
showings had moved their Basotho participants and implanted 
strong impressions about the American experience.  As organizers 
of the festival, we also learned a great deal about "filling the 
seats."  While the average Mosotho feels completely comfortable 
walking into a village wedding feast held for strangers, the 
perception is that such behavior is unacceptable relating to an 
event sponsored by a diplomatic mission.  We will take this 
 
MASERU 00000304  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
lesson to heart as we plan future events, emphasizing that our 
welcome mat is large and, in fact, most welcoming.  END COMMENT. 
MURPHY