News From the Field...
FilmAid's Recent Events...
FilmAid in the
News...
Grant Updates...
FilmAid is proud to announce
the completion of a series of 5 films about the prevention of malaria and
cholera, proper immunization, early marriage, and peace building. These films
were created as part of FilmAid’s Community-Based Video Productions. They were
filmed and produced locally and feature the refugee community in Dadaab Camp,
where the movies were filmed.
The films address the health and social
issues plaguing the predominately Somali community in Dadaab Refugee Camp in
western Kenya. The films were made in a culturally sensitive manner in the local
Somali language, ensuring that religious beliefs, social mores and ways of life
are portrayed accurately. The films are currently being screened to the Dadaab
refugee communities.
FILMAID CO-PRESENTS
"KIBERA FILM NIGHT"
On August 7th, 2008, FilmAid co-presented "Kibera Film Night" in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by Hot Sun Foundation. The evening consisted of a series of local films, screened outdoors for over one thousand people.
The event included the Kibera premier of
THE KNIFE GRINDER'S TALE, based on the short story by award winning (Photo courtesy of Hot Sun Foundation) Kenyan author,
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, about a father's journey to find out why his son was
pointlessly murdered in the slums of Nairobi. In attendance was Ishmael Beah, a
former child soldier from Sierra Leone, and author of the best selling book,
A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER.
The evening also featured AFRICAN RUNNERS, a documentary by Sir Mohinder Dhillon, internationally acclaimed Kenyan photographer, who was in attendance, and KIBERA KID a short fictional film, and winner of seven international awards, that tells the story of an orphan who must choose between a life of crime and redemption. The final film, produced by local Kibera youth, was TRAIN MENACE, a short documentary about the train that runs through Kibera affecting everyone’s daily life.
Kibera is considered to be the second largest slum in Africa with a population of about one million people.
A SPECIAL SCREENING IN UGANDA
In early July, FilmAid partnered with Open Air Cinema and the filmmakers and
producers of WAR DANCE to bring this
documentary back to the people of the Patongo refugee camp in war-torn Northern
Uganda where the film was created.
Charles
Otieno, FilmAid’s Kenya Country Manager traveled to Uganda and was on-hand to
help facilitate the screening. The documentary follows the courageous efforts of
Patongo’s students as they pour their hearts into winning Uganda’s National
Music Competition. This film screening was the first time the Patongo refugee
community – many of them the stars of the film – were seeing the
movie.
This past summer, field
volunteer David Osit worked with the refugee community in Kakuma Refugee Camp in
In conjunction with Janet Ousley from the IRC (International Rescue Committee) , David produced and directed a short film about Tuberculosis prevention and treatment, titled TB AND YOU. It was filmed with the participation of community members and IRC staff in Kakuma Camp. The film was created to lessen the spread of TB in the camp. The film will be shown in clinics and community centers throughout the camp.
David Osit is a Wallenberg fellow and undergraduate student at the
On June 20th, FilmAid was pleased to present a series of short films as part of the 3rd Annual Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan. The series was titled KAKUMA CAMP FILMS. The films are a by-product of FilmAid’s Participatory Video Program.
The theme of this year’s festival was “Refugees – the Human Side.” It focused on the complex issues in Africa, and the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The Refugee Film Festival is part of UNHCR’s year-round commitment to raising awareness of the plight of the world’s ever-increasing 33 million refugees. The festival aims to give a voice to seldom-heard stories of hope, despair, and courage, and to inspire involvement and encourage activism to make a difference.
FILMAID CO-HOSTS A RECEPTION COMMEMORATING WORLD REFUGEE
DAY
On June 20th, FilmAid co-hosted a reception with UNHCR-NY and The Aperture Foundation to commemorate World
Refugee Day. At this event, internationally renowned photographer and former
Afghan refugee, Zalmaï, shared his experiences as a refugee and presented select
photographs from his upcoming book, Silent Exodus: Portraits of Iraqi
Refugees in Exile (Aperture/UNHCR, October 2008) at the gallery of the
Aperture Foundation in New York.
Abraham Awolich, (seen on
right) was one of the guest speakers and is one of the “lost boys” of
Sudan. The “lost boys” refers to the more than 27,000 young men and boys who
were displaced and/or orphaned during the two decades long war in South Sudan.
Mr. Awolich shared his powerful story and talked about his work as an activist
for the New Sudan Education Initiative (NESEI).
Media presentations were made by UNHCR
and FilmAid on the global efforts being made to protect and support refugees.
FilmAid would like to thank all of the members of the art, photography, film,
and humanitarian aid fields that came out to support this event!
FILMAID-UK PARTNERS WITH THE CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSION TO PREMIERE SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL AT CANADA HOUSE IN LONDON
On July 22nd,
FilmAid-UK, in partnership with the Canadian High Commission, presented the UK
premiere of the Canadian film, SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL
at Canada House in Trafalgar Square. Director Roger Spottiswoode attended
the event and iintroduced the film.
“Shake Hands with the Devil” is a
dramatic Canadian feature film about Romeo Dallaire, based on his book, Shake
Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.The film recounts Dallaire's harrowing personal journey during the 1994
Rwandan Genocide and the UN's failure to heed Dallaire's desperate pleas for
help.
FILMAID PARTNERS WITH GRAND CLASSICS FOR BENEFIT SCREENING
On June 3rd, FilmAid was honored to be the beneficiary of a screening of the film, THE QUIET MAN hosted by award-winningactor Gabriel Byrne.The event took place at Soho House and was co-sponsored by THE WEEK and The Diamond Trading Company.
The GRAND CLASSICS film series, launched by
Katrina Pavlos and Vanessa Wingate Bowlby of Indyssey Entertainment, features a
selection of the world’s most renowned filmmakers and actors presenting the
films that have most influenced their careers.
FilmAid would especially like to thank Katrina Pavlos, everyone at GRAND CLASSICS, and those who attended the event for believing in and supporting our cause.
(Photo courtesy of Joe Corrigan - Getty Images) (From left to right - Vincent Sandoval-FilmAid Volunteer, Caroline Avakian-Director of Communications and External Relations for FilmAid, Gabriel Byrne-Emmy nominated actor and star of the HBO series In Treatment, and Steven Mendelsohn-Executive Director of FilmAid)
FILMAID AT THE DOWNTOWN LA FILM FESTIVAL
The first annual Downtown LA Film Festival
took place August 13th- 17th. As a community partner of the Downtown LA Film
Festival, a series of short films produced by the young people involved in
FilmAid's PVP (Participatory Filmmaking Program) were screened as part of the
film festival's Afrique 360 film series. The series took place on August 16th at
L.A. Center Studios and James Brooke, FilmAid's L.A. Director was on hand to
facilitate the PVP film screenings.
The Downtown Film Festival was established by the organizers of SLFF, Inc., the Silver Lake Film Festival a 501(c) 3 nonprofit arts organization), to celebrate the resurgence of Downtown L.A. in all its facets – its historic movie palaces core, its legendary cultural and ethnic institutions, and its thriving business and residential communities. In 2008, its inaugural year, the Downtown Film Festival – Los Angeles will showcase why Downtown has become L.A.’s most exciting “new” community.
FILMAID CELEBRATES ITS SECOND “POWER OF FILM” GALA
On April 9th, FilmAid International
celebrated it’s second annual Power of Film Gala at Capitale in New York City.
The event was a huge success. Over 300 people joined Caroline Baron, Founder
& Co-Chair of FilmAid International and presenter and supporter, Christy
Turlington to celebrate FilmAid’s achievements of using the power of film to
educate, entertain and inspire the world’s most vulnerable people.
(From Left: Danny
Glover, Caroline Baron, and Valentino Achak
Deng)
Our distinguished honorees that evening
included Valentino Achak Deng, the Sudanese “lost boy” who is the subject
of the new Dave Eggers book, What is the What; actor, producer and
activist, Danny Glover; journalist and special correspondent for the
Oprah Show and National Geographic Channel, Lisa Ling; and Sean
Fine, Andrea Nix Fine & Shine Global, filmmakers and
producers of WAR DANCE.
Thank you to all of our friends and contributors who made our 2nd Annual Power of Film Gala such a positive and memorable evening. We are proud to be where we are positioned today: educating and brightening the lives of over 1 million displaced people living in refugee camps and communities left out of the information age – and poised to reach many, many more.
FILMAID FOUNDER CAROLINE BARON FEATURED IN VARIETY'S PHILANTHROPY REPORT 2008
Variety Magazine’s Philanthropy Report issued annually features FilmAid founder Caroline Baron and her work with FilmAid. The piece titled “Cinema’s Helping Hands” discusses how moviemakers are using film to give back to society and the world around them. To Read the Article Click Here!
FILMAID IS THE RECIPIENT OF EXCITING NEW GRANTS
FilmAid has proudly been chosen
to be the recipient of a grant from Glamour Reel Moments to go
towards improving the lives of women and girls in East Africa. Glamour Reel
Moments is an award-winning short film series inspired by Glamour readers’ real
life stories. Directorial alumni include Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, and
Kirsten Dunst.
FilmAid has also been awarded a grant
from the Hollywood
Foreign Press Association. The grant will support the HFPA Kakuma Peace and
Reconciliation Series for Sudanese refugees in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya
and the Participatory Video Project for refugee
youth.
The Academy Foundation
has awarded FilmAid an institutional grant for our evening screenings in
Kenya. One of the Academy Foundation's fundamental purposes is to foster
educational activities between the public and the film industry, and to
encourage an appreciation of the motion picture as an art form and a vocation.
Additionally, FilmAid has received a
grant from the M•A•C AIDS
Fund that will go towards HIV education and awareness in the refugee camps where
FilmAid works. Established in 1994 by M•A•C Cosmetics, the M•A•C AIDS Fund
supports men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS
globally.
