One World Media Festival Programme

Keynote: Creating Global Conversations

We were delighted to introduce the festival's keynote speakers: Peter Barron, Google’s Director of External Relations, EMEA and writer, digital Guru and creative consultant  Mark Kaigwa from Nairobi. Guided by Mariéme Jamme, Co-Founder and Curator, Africa Gathering, the speakers presented insightful and visionary examples of digital platforms that have been created to enable a more rigorous and fair exchange of information across borders.

Through discussion and q&a, this session explored how the worlds of technology and journalism can come together to create better global conversations and provide examples of some of the platforms that are making it possible for native journalism to find a place on the global news agenda. A video of this presentation will available on our website soon.

Borom Sarret / The Wagoner

Film screening

dir. Ousmane Sembène, Senegal, 22mins, 1963

Often cited as the first film made by a black African in Africa with full control, Borom Sarret follows a day in the life of wagon driver in Dakar. "I think given the fact that there is such a diversity of languages in Africa, we, African filmmakers, will have to find our own way in order to ensure that the message be understood by everyone, or we’ll have to find a language that comes from the image and the gestures…I then realized Borom Sarret, my first true short film." -Ousmane Sembène

One World Media was proud to show this film on its 50th birthday. It has recently been shown as part of the Cannes Classics programme in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Putting the ‘Foreign’ back into Foreign Correspondent

Panel discussion

Satellite, cable and wireless technologies have given “On-The-Ground” reporting greater possibilities through video streaming, instant messaging and social media. Yet, there still exists a palpable resistance by national media towards using local journalistic talent when reporting news from that country. In this session we explored the ethics and practicalities presented by the use and non-use of local reporters and the impact local contributors have on global news stories. A video of this session will available soon.

Speakers:

• Rita Payne, President, Commonwealth Journalists Association (chair)
• Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs, Channel 4
• Joanne Episcopo, Development Executive for Global Languages, BBC
• ​Sorious Samura, Journalist, InsightNews TV
• Sanjay Suri, Editor in Chief, Inter Press Service
• Ben Sutherland, Deputy Editor, BBC World Have Your Say

African Spelling Book

Double film screening with director q&a

dir. Angelo Loy, Italy/Kenya, 5min excerpt, 2005

The African Spelling Book is a participatory video project made by the Dagoretti Children Village in Nairobi, where a group of children tell their stories through the letters of the alphabet. The One World Media Festival screened the letters A and B.

AND

TV_Slum

dir. Angelo Loy, Italy/Kenya, 2003, 57mins

TV_Slum is entirely filmed by eight Nairobi street kids, the result of three months of work between the shanty towns of the Kenyan capital. In the hands of the children, the camera isn’t only a means of knowledge and denunciation, but becomes an original chance of redemption.

Angelo Loy, director and facilitator of these participatory film projects, was present for a post-screening q&a.

Agarrando Pueblo / The Vampires of Poverty

Film screening

dir. Carlos Mayolo & Luis Ospina, Colombia, 27mins, 1977

A dark mockumentary made by two independent Colombian filmmakers who masquerade as a German TV channel making a film about poverty in Cali and Bogota in ‘70s Colombia. An improvised cinéma veritè-style film that manages to be warm and hilarious, but also searingly critical of the 'porno-misery' style of filmmaking, it subverts the patronising gaze often found in well-meaning socio-political documentaries.

This film is available on the website Cinépata.com under the creative commons license.

The Rising Voice of the Global South

In the UK, what’s considered common opinion is being challenged by migration and globalisation. The authoritative voice of the Western media is being challenged by the authentic voice of the Global South. Media professionals and informed individuals are taking media platforms into their own hands to provide the 'Other' perspective. In this session we heard from UK media platforms who are representing the voice of the Global South and explored how they reconcile conflicting global opinions to provide independent and balanced news stories.

Speakers:

• Agnes Gitau, CEO, London Africa Media Network (chair)
• Ope Bankole, CEO, The Weekly World
• James Blue III, Managing Director, Current Affairs & Special Programmes, ARISE News
• Egon Cossou, Editor, Africa Business Report, BBC World
• Ken Wilson-Max, Editor-in-Chief, The Weekly World
• Dominique Young, Producer, Witness, Al Jazeera English

Enjoy Poverty (episode 3)

Film screening

dir. Renzo Martens, Congo/Netherlands, 90mins, 2009

Why do the poor not benefit from the poverty industry? This thought-provoking performance-cum-documentary explores the media’s role in perpetuating poverty in Africa and challenges the role of the Western filmmaker. Shot in the Congo, it suggests that local photographers would be better off selling pictures of suffering to Western news agencies. Martens attempts to expose the relation of power between the audience and those who are being watched.

Screening of Wadjda

Wadjda is the first feature-length film to be made by a woman in Saudi Arabia and one of few films to emerge from the country. Director Haifaa al-Mansour critiques her country’s gender politics through the frame of a light and unassuming story about a young girl. Wadjda, a ten-year-old growing up in a world dominated by men,wonders if life could be different. She concocts a plan to buy a bicycle, in defiance of traditional rules that forbid girls to ride them and enters a Qur’an recital competition with a cash prize. The film gives audiences a rare look at the dominance of men and conservatism in Saudi society while putting women in the forefront.

Get it Made, Get it Seen:
How to get your documentary off the ground

You have a good idea for a documentary, but how do you make your story come alive? This session looked at how emerging filmmakers interested in covering international stories can get their ideas onto the screen and gain a foothold within the media industry. A panel of industry experts from the UK and Europe discussed the best ways to find funding for your film, who to pitch to and how to get it seen by audiences once it's made. A video of this session will available on our website soon.

Speakers:

• Hugh Purcell, Head of Studies, ESoDoc (chair)
• David Cornwall, Managing Director, Scorpion TV
• Paul Pauwels, Independent Consultant and Executive Producer, Belgium
• Charlie Phillips, Deputy Director, Sheffield Doc/Fest

Mare Chiuso / Closed Sea

Film screening

dir. Andrea Segre & Stefano Liberti, Italy, 60mins, 2012

The on-going deaths and human rights abuses that occur as migrants attempt to enter Europe go largely unreported. In 2009, Berlusconi and Gaddafi signed an agreement to control migration flows between Italy and Libya. Since then, all migrants intercepted at sea by the Italian navy were forcibly pushed back to Libya, where they have been exposed to abuse by local police. This documentary tells the unknown side of the story: how this 'push-back policy' has been implemented, what actually happens on the boats, and what subsequently happens to migrants after their deportation.

Followed by a discussion with Pauline Donald, co-author of Bad News for Refugees

Championing Mixed Media: a presentation of media by OWM-funded students

Presentation

Emerging media producers presented the diverse media that they’ve made in the Global South with the help of One World Media’s production fund. For over a decade, the scheme has supported UK media students to cover stories and issues about the wider world in interesting and innovative ways. Past recipients talked about how they turned their ideas into media productions and what they learned. Project Manager Tania Ghosh talked about funding opportunities currently available for young journalists to make media abroad.

Speakers:

• Tania Ghosh, Project Manager, One World Media (chair)
• Phil Clarke-Hill, Photographer
• Tom Dale, Multimedia Director
• Jeong One-Park, Director
• Hugh Purcell, Head of Studies, ESoDoc

Vol Spécial / Special Flight

Film screening

dir. Fernand Melgar, Switzerland, 103mins, 2011

Fernand Melgar immersed himself for 9 months in a detention centre in Switzerland where he followed the daily lives and struggles of asylum seekers and the employees that work with them. This film offers unique access and insight into the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and migrants in chilling scenes where those who refuse to leave voluntarily are handcuffed, tied up, forced into wearing helmets and diapers and then forcibly put on a plane.

The Challenges of Reflecting a New Africa

Panel discussion

in association with Africa-UK

In October 2009, Orange Prize-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave one of Ted Global’s most celebrated talks, titled “The Danger of a Single Story”. Adichie warned that “if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding”. Five years on, we explored whether mainstream media have heeded her message. Our panel was made up of leading journalists and commentators who are celebrated exponents of breaking the single story. A video of this session will available soon.

Speakers:

• Onyekachi Wambu, Director, AFFORD (chair)
• Ikenna Azuike, Founder, What’s up Africa?
• Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, SOAS
• Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Poet & Novelist
• Minna Salami, Writer and Blogger, Ms Afropolitan, Guardian Online

1000 Voices

Double film screening

dir. Tim Travers Hawkins, UK, 9mins, 2009

On an answering machine in a government basement, those detained indefinitely in UK deportation centres leave messages, taken from real telephone calls by asylum seekers. As they speak, their experiences materialize in nightmarish images. This short animation made by four UK animators won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Festival Cinema et Droits Humains in Paris.

Tim Travers Hawkins introduced the film.

AND

Leave to Remain

dir. Bruce Goodison, UK, 89mins, 2013

Following the real stories of teenagers seeking asylum in the UK, Leave to Remain is a coming-of-age drama that depicts a world hidden from view. The filmmakers worked with the youth to write the script, training them as cast and crew over two years. This film is remarkable for its participative approach and its powerful performances from an ensemble cast of emerging talent and young refugees. The screenings were followed by Q&A with director Bruce Goodison, producer Kate Cook and actor Noof Ousellam.

How Media Can Change the World

Presentation

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Mick Csáky presented two innovative multi-media projects that helped change the world in different ways: the BTselem camera training and distribution project that enabled Palestinians to capture visual evidence of abuse in the Occupied Territories; and AFRICA LIVE: The Roll Back Malaria Concert in Senegal, West Africa, featuring music from Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal, Angelique Kidjo and the Toureg group Tinariwen, plus many more, all performing to raise awareness of the devastating effects of malaria throughout the continent.

Pre-show reception supported by SABMiller

Bono and Geldof are C**ts

Closing event: Live comedy show

Multi-award winning author and comedienne Jane Bussmann takes an acerbic look at how celebrities manipulate the media in order to control global conversations. How celebrities, fuelled by charities, steal the voices of the most vulnerable and present messages that instead of alleviating the problems they campaign for, in fact precipitate them. Bussmann deconstructs and lays bare how 30 years of the most sophisticated charity media campaigns has created “The Poverty Industry”.