Archive for the ‘film showings’ Category
First of all, apologies for the lack of blog entires these past few weeks: I’ve got so much on my plate at the moment, and blogging sadly just doesn’t seem to make it to the top of the list very often! Nonetheless, there has been a lot of positive talk about AEFF on the net recently, which goes to show that more and more people are hearing about our educational film work and are interested in becoming involved with and supporting AEFF’s mission. Here are a few tasters of what is being said: The Mara Conservancy has been reporting on screenings of AEFF’s film, Natural Security in the Dupoto Forest, where elders from the community who saw the film requested for it to be replayed so that they could round up all the children and other community members to watch it, a clear indication of the importance they attached to the messages conveyed in the film. You can read more about it and see photos of the outdoor film showing here: You can watch a video of AEFF’s Simon Trevor filming scenes of a dead lion in a poachers’ camp and interviewing the rangers who caught the perpetrators in the Mara here:
I have also been busy with interview requests these past few weeks. Here I am on Babelgum TV, discussing the importance of film as an educational tool for conservation: Safaritalk is a vibrant online forum for lovers of Africa and her wildlife. I recently conducted an interactive interview with members of this forum, resulting in a wide-ranging discussion covering a wide spectrum of African conservation and travel issues. Read the full interview here:
More publicity for AEFF was gained from my interview with ExpatWomen, which you can read here:
Thanks to Matt Wilkinson, founder of Safaritalk, who kindly put in the time to create our profile, AEFF is now on Facebook - please come and join our network:
The effects of education are difficult to measure in specific terms, for in many ways the results of education are intangible - and yet we all know of its importance. So where do we find proof that our educational films about diverse wildlife and environmental issues really do have resonance with our audiences, really do touch adults and children alike, really do make a lasting impression? Yes, there are surveys that confirm this statistically… But you really get a palpable sense of this when you watch our audiences as they watch our films. You can see it in their eyes and faces as they sit mesmerized by the images on screen, you can feel it in their excited discussions, based on their newfound knowledge, as the final shot fades into darkness…this is living proof of what our films can do. Recently, we sent two sets of films to southern Tanzania; one set to the Iringa International School, the other to a conservation organization called Friends of Ruaha (FORS), who do an amazing job in and around the Ruaha ecosystem. FORS use our films as educational tools which complement their own work. This is a good example of how our films can help other conservation organizations, by laying a foundation of knowledge and understanding amongst a wide range of people (both children and adults), which by enabling greater understanding of the issues and illustrating how people can benefit by adopting conservation initiatives, garners greater support for conservation projects. But, enough from me - I would like to direct you to an account written by Alexander Klose in his blog. Alexander is a teacher at the Iringa International School, and his wife Anette works with Friends of Ruaha. Alexander’s account paints a vivid picture of the scene during a film showing to 300 people in a very remote rural corner of Tanzania, where there is no electricity, no TV, and where many of the people, though living close to the Ruaha National Park, have never seen a lion or an elephant…
| If you don’t have time to read the whole account, please just take a look at these few paragraphs, quoted from Alexander’s blog, which I think, speak for themselves: The projector, laptop and speakers were hooked up to the battery of the FORS Land Rover, and the screen was the side of a whitewashed, thatch-roofed building. Three hundred or so people encircled the screen, children sitting on the ground in front, an elderly man in a white robe and white kofia [hat] given a chair of honor at the front of the crowd, the rest standing. Our Tanzanian colleague stood up in front of the crowd to say “karibuni” [welcome] and to explain that the film shows are a part of FORS’ environmental education program - more than just an evening of entertainment. We showed two films in Kiswahili produced by the African Environmental Film Foundation, the first about the elephants of Kenya’s Tsavo National Park and the second about the recent drying of the Great Ruaha River. For people who’ve grown up without electricity, TV and movies, it was a spellbinding two hours, and for us, it was a joy to stand there with them and share in their reactions to the films. “EEH, EEH, EEH!” uttered the villagers each time they saw a lion, hyena, buffalo, hippo or crocodile. “TSSSCH” a collective sucking of teeth signaled their disapproval whenever slain elephants appeared on the screen. “EEEEEEH!” a cry of amazement upon seeing the thousands of tusks collected by park rangers. One of our teacher friends asked me, “Is there still poaching in Ruaha National Park?” Another asked me, “Do you have elephants in America?” A little girl in front of us exclaimed, “All the fish are DEAD…no good.” A man to our left saw the river sweep away earth and grass from the banks and said, “Erosion. Hmm.” Contagious bursts of laughter accompanied scenes of a baby elephant being covered with a blanket by its keeper, an orange-headed agama lizard hopping bravely across rocks in the river, storks and herons stealing fish from the crocodiles. In such moments, the power of these film shows was evident. Although these people live on the border of Ruaha, many of them have never had a chance to visit the park and see these animals. Whenever the smallest children saw a lion on the screen, they grabbed each other and pointed at the screen while saying excitedly, “Simba, Simba!” |
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