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A Grandmother's Tribe - Documentary Film and Campaign
Hosted by Qiujing Wong (October 2007)
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.
Altruism - and supporting the grannies
HI all - thank you Social Edge for the opportunity to talk about this subject on your great forum. I would like to start on an optimistic note by saying that I have been incredibly overwhelmed by the public support for the film and therefore this issue of grandmothers raising the orphaned grandchildren. It was always a very personal belief after I learnt from Roz Shepherd in Alberta, that grandmothers really are "the unsung heroes" (quote Stephen Lewis, Stephen Lewis Foundation, Canada) of our world. And if as a filmmaker I could do anything, it would be to give them a voice, and eventually the world's support would back that up. Whether you're a film buff or not, I do invite you to join in the discussion of the issue of grandmothers all over the world who are now stepping in to raise very young children, and what we can now do to help support them in this critical role. Thanks. Q
Community and Hope
Having the great fortune of working on this project has changed my perspective on how to give as well as having shown me just how impactful a story can be when it is told in a "first person" point of view.
Q and Dean have captured so beautifully the true strength of the Grandmother's of Africa. It is so important to show that these women do not need hand outs and the situation is not hopeless. They are raising strong, incredibly sufficient children who need us to understand their daily situation and what they actually need support in.
Another piece of this puzzle is building community with like minded people. Grandmother's globally are so incredibly important and a true benevolent resource for all of us. We hope that this film will inspire discussion between grandmother's and they can connect with each other and create valuable dialogue. I can not wait to see the power of the grandmother rallied and put into action how lucky we will all be.
Making a Positive Impact Without Making Waves...
One of the "distinctions" made during the process of this project has been the immense complexity of providing help where it is needed most, without creating more difficulties for the benefitting communities. The situation in Sub-Saharan Africa is affected not only by the extensive impact of the AIDS pandemic, but also by climate change (diminishing availability of potable water and food shortages), political unrest ranging from genocide to corruption, gender inequality and sexual abuse, to name just a few of the significant categories.
How do you begin to unravel the layers of a crisis to make a significant positive change?
As previously noted by Qiujing in her discussion notes, even the simple gesture of offering a small notebook to a young boy, could create difficulties for him at school. Bullying, beatings and having the item stolen would far outweigh the kind gesture of a simple gift.
The precarious balance of survival mode, during the making of A Grandmother's Tribe, extended to the filming process. The Kenyan "fixer", Felix, who was himself a grandmother-raised orphan and now photojournalist, provided the eyes and grassroots instinct for sizing up any situation. While filming an interview with Freda at her village home, Felix noticed that villagers were getting restless with the attention being given to Freda. If the outsiders were talking to her, maybe they've given her something we need. It was important not to put any of the grandmothers or their children in any kind of jeopardy, so when Felix said, "It's time to leave", he meant it!
So the notion of "adopting a grandmother" or a village for that matter, may be created from the best intentions but it could have devestating results for the recipients.
- And so, we learned... the bumpy, dusty, many small trips way... that the solutions need to come from within the situation. This requires important "field people", preferably born and raised in the region, who can operate small, regional relief initiatives. In a way, it is a brilliantly simple solution. Help resource people within the crisis for the solutions they need
- solutions that relate to the crisis priorities of that specific village, neighbourhood, or region.
We feel fortunate to have found and taken our first steps in supporting the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF --see web link above). Built on more than a decades' experience as UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen and his team created their foundation modelled on supporting grassroots organizations in Africa. They have local and extremely competent field representatives who visit, support and monitor the more than 100 African organizations now working with SLF, that provide care and support to women, children and people living with AIDS. They have now added "grandmothers" to that list as "unsung heroes" who have stepped in selflessly to carry the burden of raising their children's children. SLF distribute resources in a way that allows solutions to grow without overwhelming the local organizations. They are able to disperse the funds so that jealousy and security issues are minimized.
I could go on as the work and the individuals involved with SLF are incredibly dedicated to getting resources to the people who need it most. If there is interest, and in fact, SLF staff who would like to add to this thread of discussion, we have so much to learn as we grow in our capacity as humans to help others in the most compassionate and respectful way.
Making this work sustainable
The big question I keep asking myself, is "now what?". I think its important to any social entrepreneur who wishes to make effective change happen to be able to be sustainable in their work. I'd be interested in knowing the "best" model to continue making films like this that make a great change in the world without burning out our energy in the process. Advice?
Next moves?
Hi, Qiujing and all...
First, I'd like to congratulate you on your accomplishment. But what next, where to go from here?
One thing I wondered is whether you have contacted Participant Productions for any advice or collaboration they might be in a position to offer. We have a special affection for them here at SocialEdge, and they're working on making socially beneficial films and using them to leverage social change...
http://www.participantproductions.com/
The other idea that occurred to me was that you might want to put a clip or three on YouTube. When I read the intro here, I wanted to see a clip from the film. I eventually saw the trailer, and that's not quite what I had in mind; it's fine as a trailer but a bit too clozse for advertising for the YouTube market, I think. Something more like a short excerpt telling a particular story, perhaps? My sense is that if the heart content is there, the word can spread quite fast on YouTube, but it's passion rather than promotion that gets the attention.
Anyway, two more ideas to add to the pile. Many many thanks for all your work, and may you have every success.
- A continent skipping a generation is a bit like an individual missing a heartbeat! I'm so glad for the continuity you are achieving across the gap
- despite the awesome nature of the task!
Thank You...
Thanks Charles. Yes it would be an honour to engage Participant Productions in a discussion about this film and campaign. We held the Special Vancouver Gala Screening and Fundraiser here in Vancouver this wednesday 31 october 2007. The response to the film was incredible - and to our surprise, the audience erupted at the end requesting to sponsor homes to be built for the grandmothers who feature in the film. Voiceless Children will do this work, and 11 homes have already been committed. Its an amazing model for sustainability.
I'll take your advice on the YouTube avenue...and will send a package to Participant Productions for their feedback as well.
We'd love to now work with a Distributor who is able to work with the film and issue as much as we've felt compelled by it all.
Regards, Q
A Grandmother's Tribe
Were it not for my late grandmother, I don’t know where I could have been today or may be tomorrow may never have come.
Today the world will realize and recognize the efforts of grandmothers through “A Grandmother’s Tribe” this tribe has been forgotten, the unsung heroes, the roll models, handed the burden of looking after millions of orphans yet in their sunset days. To me I think this story is the way forward to the Aids pandemic solutions, the only way to wake up Africa the sleeping giant, is by making these grandmothers and widows stand on their feet. This to me is just the begging of the journey of a thousand miles and being a passion driven, I think Q and Dean alongside supporters of this film had a dream to make the change they wanted to see and live not because Africa is another continent but because it’s One world. We have watched suffering and killings with emaciated images but little has been done on bringing Hope, Resilience and Positive stories like grandmothers expressing themselves in a way they would want to be portrayed. A Grandmother’s Tribe not only brings hope but also reduces the culture and assumption of handouts, by grandmothers wanting to be self reliant and youths taking the lead in building lost hope. I think this is the best gift of the year in a long time since I joined the media world, may those with like minds come together and make this world a better place through A Grandmother’s Tribe. I return to Africa energized and I know it’s a new begging, God bless you Q and Dean, Elaine and Kimberley for uniting the village through a farm project, No doubt a million voices heard through this film. Keep the flame
Community funding platform for films
Hi Quijing,
First I commend you on bringing "A Grandmother's Tribe" to life. The story you're telling is one too few know about it. Your film will help educate and inspire action.
I also wanted to let you know about IndieGoGo.com - an online social marketplace connecting filmmakers (just like you) and fans to make independent film happen. I am one of the co-founders, and we just launched a few weeks ago. My co-founders and I started IndieGoGo to help filmmakers do exactly what you did to make a "A grandmother's Tribe" happen. If you'd like to broaden your audience raise more money, perhaps IndieGoGo.com could help.
Anyhow, thanks for having the heart and the might to make it happen. Keep up the good work, and good luck in the festival circuit!
Best, Danae
- s. below is an example of a project building its audience and raising money on the site if you/re curious.
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.