Director Aaron Biebert replies to my review of A Billion Lives

Aaron Biebert, director of A Billion Lives, has replied to my review of his documentary.

His comments are posted here, below the review, but I thought they deserved greater prominence. Unlike ASH Scotland I don't have a problem publishing opposing views or giving people the right of reply.

Aaron's response follows the film's latest trailer that promotes a special screening in Delhi on November 9.

Billed as the film's Indian premiere, it will coincide with the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) that takes place in Delhi from 7-12 November.

Hi Simon,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to go see the movie and to provide a thoughtful review. I don't agree with all of your conclusions or remarks, but I do appreciate them.

The movie was created for future generations to tell the story of how millions (or even a billion given enough time) people will die early from smoking and how corruption in our government and NGOs helped enable that death. Even though I agree 100% that smokers should have the right to smoke (and not be harassed), the movie was not about the right to smoke. With some estimating that there are now 1.4 billion smokers, that right is alive and well.

This was about the right to quit. Something that is quite serious to those seeking to do so (obviously not your camp).

I agree that some parts are less interesting to older people now, but the younger (& future) generations will be shocked.

A couple notes:

• I was saying "Preachers", not "Teachers"

• If 1.4 billion people are smoking and 70% would like to quit, that's approximately a billion people "trapped"

• You seem unsure if there's widespread corruption and lying about the topic, yet your blog is full of posts abouut such things. Are we both "conspiracy theorists"?

• We don't seek to interview the tobacco companies, because this film was not about the players in the vaping industry (which now includes tobacco companies). It was about the other side.

• I named the film "A Billion Lives" because that was the stat that caught my attention. I realize now that it's a contentious stat, but I'm not sure why the continuous harping on it. Smokers are dying early from cigarettes. People are dying early from many things they choose to do and I am ok with them choosing to do so. However, it seems a bit of a red herring to keep arguing about the stats. Would it be better if we called it 756,000,000 lives? What number is ok? I'm curious.

• The target audience is the public, who is very curious about these devices and the battle they hear about. We appear to have an audience, as it will be successfully shown about 100 times during the opening month. The UK is less curious for obvious reasons.

• We don't focus on the enjoyment that people get out of vaping, because that's not the point of the film. The internet is full of videos and blogs about how great it is. This was a corruption film.

• You might find my part to be a bit too strong, but we let the experts speak for themselves. No scripting. No hyperbole. Their recurring message was the base of the film.

• The reviews (professional and amateur) found on IMDB are quite positive. After 1000+ reviews, we have a 9.6 out of 10 rating. The two professional reviews they link to were fairly positive. The LA Times said we made "a compelling case".

Here are some other reviews:
NYC Movie Guru
Screen-Space
Ryan Jay Reviews

I've appreciated your continued interest. Honestly, I'll miss your blog posts. I always got such a kick out of how many people send me them all upset ... and how I usually was quite entertained. Even your review has me smiling a bit. We don't see eye to eye, but I do respect your passion.

Aaron Biebert
Director, A Billion Lives

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Thanks, Aaron, I appreciate your response and respect your passion too.

You make some valid points. I could reply to some of them but I won't because this debate could go on for ever.

Also, I know you're busy and I don't want to take advantage of that by trying to have the last word. Others can of course comment if they want to.

Good luck in Delhi. That's a premiere I would love to have attended!