Film on Somalia's environmental devastation wins Award

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Very interesting film. The young girl's role is inspiring. I think the Award is already been presented, according to the schedule, yesterday.

 

--------------------

By Kent Mensah and Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, AfricaNews editors in Accra, Ghana

 

YouTube

 

A fiction on environmental and cultural devastation in Somalia - Charcoal Traffic - has won the Best Short Fiction award at the San Francisco, California (USA) VideoFest. It is a story of two brothers trapped in a murderous cycle of environmental and cultural devastation in Somalia.

 

Charcoal Traffic has been selected and screened at 19 film festivals around the world, a press statement to AfricaNews from Hot Sun Foundation on Monday said. Santa Mukabanah, Hot Sun Foundation Communications Officer, who signed the statement said: “Charcoal Traffic is especially close to our hearts considering that one of the co-founders of Hot Sun Foundation, Mr. Gordon Ojiambo co-produced the short film. He is a testament of the unique creativity available in the Kibera slum.”

 

 

It added: “Charcoal Traffic is the world's first short fictional film based on Somali pastoral culture. It was shot entirely on location in northern Somalia under very challenging conditions due to almost 20 years of civil war.”

 

What makes the movie unique, the statement said, is that it is made up of an entirely local Somali cast with no previous acting experience. It was acted in the Somali language but with English subtitles for international viewers.

 

Charcoal Traffic was directed by Nathan Collett, assisted by Godfrey Ojiambo, and co-produced by international award winning environmentalist, Fatima Jibrell with James Lindsay, co-founder of Sun Fire Cooking. Godfrey Ojiambo, resident of Kibera and trustee of Hot Sun Foundation, travelled with Nathan Collett to Somalia to film Charcoal Traffic.

 

The BEST SHORT FICTION AWARD would to be presented to Charcoal Traffic during the VideoFest in San Francisco, California, October 17-18, 2008. Charcoal Traffic was made possible because of an alliance between two unique east African organizations - Sun Fire Cooking and Hot Sun Films.

 

Source: AfricaNews/Sun Fire Cooking

 

more info, go to www.charcoaltraffic.com

[Koora-Tuunshe]

The People who made CHARCOAL TRAFFIC

 

Nathan Collett

Director/Cinematographer/Co-Producer

 

 

Nathan Collett was born in San Francisco, USA and grew up around the world in Venezuela, Australia, United States, Pakistan and Kenya. He makes his home in Nairobi, Kenya and has been filmmaking and researching in East Africa since 1997. He has made several award winning fictional films including the KIBERA KID short pilot film that won seven international awards.

 

Nathan directing and shooting Charcoal Traffic

 

Fatima Jibrell Producer

 

For more than 17 years, Fatima Jibrell has been working with pastoralists in Somalia. Fatima is the recipient of the 2002 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa, the most prestigious international environmental award. She was selected for the Goldman Prize for her leadership in creating a movement to protect diminishing natural resources in Somalia.

 

Fatima founded Sun Fire Cooking in 2004 to offer solar cookers as an alternative to the use of charcoal for household cooking in East Africa. Charcoal production to produce fuel for cooking has brought devastation of the fragile, semi-arid Somali environment, threatening the pastoral way of life.

 

Fatima and Nathan take a break from the scorching midday sun

 

 

James Lindsay Co-Producer

 

James has lived all over the world, serving as a career diplomat for Australia for 28 years.

 

One of the environments and cultures that especially intrigue him is that of northern Somalia. In recent years, James observed how the fragile semi-arid environment suffered from uncontrolled charcoal production.

 

In 2004, after retiring from the Australian Foreign Service, James co-founded SUN FIRE COOKING with his friend Fatima Jibrell to offer an efficient, sturdy solar cooker as an alternative to charcoal for household cooking.

 

 

James and Fatima envision everyone in Somalia working to protect and reclaim the land for future generations. They see a future when environmentally friendly solar energy replaces charcoal for cooking.

 

 

James Lindsay with production assistant Farxia

 

Source: Charcoaltraffic.com

[winnie]

cool.

yay fatima!

[winnie]

question: exactly how does solar power cooking work? what instruments must be involved?

and are people really killing each other over charcoal?