- "At the time my parents passed away, I felt like I was the only orphan in the world. Now I know I’m not. That’s why I’ve shared my story with you"Penelop, Samfya Women Filmmakers
Latest news
The work of the Samfya Women Filmmakers and Camfed to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS continues. Here is the latest news
Where the Water Meets the Sky Wins Award at Jackson Hole Film Festival
Where the Water Meets the Sky was named Best Film in the Global Insight category at the Jackson Hole Film Festival, which was held June 5-9, 2008, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The award was granted by a prestigious panel of jurors, including Katie Evans, Vice President of Acquisitions and Production for National Geographic Films; Greg Rehm, Manager of Documentary Acquisitions at HBO; and Jonathan King, Executive Vice President of Production at Participant Productions.
Opened by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, this year’s festival was distinguished by a partnership with the UN, aimed at connecting humanitarian leaders, filmmakers and members of the entertainment community to raise awareness of critical global issues through film.
To read media coverage of Where the Water Meets the Sky from Jackson Hole, click on the links below:
UNICEF Radio produces podcast highlighting Where the Water Meets the Sky
In late May, UNICEF Radio invited David Eberts, director of Where the Water Meets the Sky, to join Ann Cotton, Camfed’s Executive Director, and Joe Richman, an award-winning independent producer who launched the public radio series “Radio Diaries”, for a discussion about the power of storytelling to help marginalized communities gain agency over their lives, and to provide the world with an insider’s perspective on issues such as HIV/AIDS.
Samfya Women Filmmaker Mwelwa Kamanda selected to attend 2008 Video Advocacy Institute
As a member of the Samfya Women Filmmakers, Mwelwa Kamanda has been selected to attend the 2008 Video Advocacy Institute sponsored by Witness. Chosen from a highly competitive field of applicants from different human rights groups around the world to attend this training, Mwelwa will gain valuable experience in applying video advocacy to achieve social change. The training, taking place in Montreal, will bolster the capacity of the Samfya Women Filmmakers as a group, and will be applied as they work on their next planned films, on early marriage and child labor.
Nine Samfya Women Filmmakers Enrol in Literacy Classes
Nine members of the Samfya Women Filmmakers, including Agnes – one of the central women profiled in Where the Water Meets the Sky – have enrolled in literacy classes in Samfya. Encouraged and supported financially by the group as a whole, many of the women have never before been to school. The literacy classes are being led by local teachers in the Samfya villages of Ngipi, Kananse, Chilumba and Mundubi.
Second Film on Early Marriage Moves Ahead
The Samfya Women Filmmakers are currently working on their second film, focusing on early marriage, which is one of the primary factors behind girls’ dropping out of school in their community. Deprived of an education, these girls remain particularly vulnerable and dependent, with almost no means of escaping the cycle of poverty for themselves or their children. Abibata Mahama, one of the Samfya Women Filmmakers’ Project Directors and Trainers featured in Where the Water Meets the Sky, is scheduled to return to the district in July to support the group in completing this film.
