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A Grandmother's Tribe - Documentary Film and Campaign
Hosted by Qiujing Wong (October 2007)
Our documentary, “A Grandmother’s Tribe”, began as a personal challenge. Would it be possible to create a film that was independently funded by a community of supporters and could it, in turn, benefit a challenged community of strangers?The impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has devastated the “parent generation” of sub-Saharan Africa. There are now more than 13 million AIDS-orphaned children in the region and the number is growing. It is estimated that grandmothers are raising 50% of orphaned children. In quiet and selfless ways, these elder women have taken on the burden of housing, feeding and educating the future of Africa and yet their efforts remain largely unnoticed by international aid organizations.
The time had come to tell their story. The resulting 53-minute documentary, without narration, has provided a direct voice and connection between African grandmothers and the world. Their message of hope, courage and love creates a much-needed sense of humanity in the crisis, a message that is relevant on any continent.
We quickly realized that there was a special momentum to this story and a powerful opportunity to inspire and motivate change. It was an effortless first step in becoming social entrepreneurs.
• The Film
The 54-minute documentary was financed entirely by private donations from business and individuals initiated by word-of-mouth referral. The film cost US $60,000 to produce, and has had more than US $90,000 donated in time and discounts by producers, directors, executive producers and film industry experts.
The film was released on September 29, 2007 at the DocNZ Film Festival in Auckland, New Zealand where it won a Special Mention award. It is now being submitted to a series of selected film festivals. Avenues of theatrical and television distribution will be the second phase of the film’s roll out. Screenings will also be booked in North America, Australia and New Zealand. There will be a companion book and DVD released at a future date.
• The “For-Purpose” Campaign
“A Grandmother’s Tribe” is both a documentary film and a “for-purpose” campaign. We decided at the outset of the project that we would dedicate proceeds from distribution, sales and special events to grassroots solutions in Africa. In addition to informing and educating the public through the film, we wanted to motivate people to engage in solutions.
By aligning with like-minded organizations, we have been able to take a village tale and make it a global story. Our business model is premised on proceeds from the film flowing directly to our beneficiary partner, the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Canada, which supports African community-based organizations that serve those affected by HIV/AIDS, including “grandmother families”.
We have also aligned with the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education in Vancouver to position the launch of the film in North America.
Our role as social entrepreneurs has evolved from creating and distributing a product to stewarding a thread of humanity’s voice. Business becomes process. Social enterprise in film and media is the process of educating hearts. Our role was to ensure that the voice of the grandmothers would be direct and unobstructed, and to research and align us with organizations that would make a tangible, community-level impact.
• Discussion Points
1. On a couple of occasions while filming, we learnt the important lesson of “how to give”. I had wanted to buy schoolbooks for one of our main characters (a young boy) and soon learnt that if I had given that to him, he may be the butt of jealousy at school and could even be put in danger if friends think he had come into money. We followed the guidance of our local guide and ensured we no longer imposed our western views of giving onto them.
2. Having NO agenda: Our approach in making this film was to ensure that as filmmakers we would not “get in the way” of their story. We felt that this was the best way to stay authentic to the story – without a voice over, or agenda.
Questions? Comments? Join Qiujing Wong in the conversation.
Thank You, Social Edge!!
After a year working
under the radarand becoming part of a momentum that this film has created, it is a huge honour to be sharing this with the world. It has also become a growing passion to talk about our motivation to not only tell an unobstructed story on film, but to also find the film's connection to the world. The voice of African grandmothers has a way of touching the human heart that we seem to be longing for! There is something very powerful in letting others tell their story and in seeing that, given a change of circumstances, they want create and build their solutions. The Stephen Lewis Foundation has exemplified this model of international aid in such an effective way. And the support gets to the people who need it quickly.We feel extremely fortunate to be at this stage of the film's journey, as it begins its life in media and screenings. We look forward to sharing it with you and to the dialogue about its journey.