One World Emmys
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By Gareth Benest, OneWorldTV
"I've lived in four different countries in my life, but I've never left home." It sounds like a riddle of the Sphinx, but the quote from Homeland - about Ruthenian villagers who share language, culture and history but are divided by a fence - is typical of the real-life experiences vividly captured by young film-makers for the One World Broadcasting Trusts student bursary scheme. This year the Trust issued bursaries to 12 young filmmakers and visual anthropologists from the UK and beyond to facilitate the making of documentaries covering a variety of countries and themes. Homeland, by Hannah Skrinar, was one of the films, showcased at the Channel4 Cinema in London this week. The lucky recipients of the Trust's modest grants, sufficient to cover airfare and humble accommodation, tackled challenging subjects ranging from homelessness on the streets of Kiev to diamond mining in Sierra Leone and Bedouin communities in Israel. The plight of children living on the mean streets of Kiev formed the basis for Shira Pinsons emotionally charged film, Flowers Dont Grow Here. Here was a shining example of the courageous, informed and compassionate filmmaking that exemplifies the Trust's mission: to raise the quality and quantity of programming from and about the developing world. A tantalising short extract introduced the films leading characters, including a young couple who struggle to raise their children in the frozen underworld beneath a motorway bridge. Peter Conteh was a student at the Granada Centre of Visual Anthropology when he received funding from the Trust to chart the work of young men digging for diamonds in Sierra Leone. Conteh said he hoped his film, Diamonds on the Souls of her Shoes, would help inform others about the realities of diamond mining in the West African country while redressing skewed perceptions of his ancestral country following years of civil war. Saint or Fallen One by Jessica OKeeffe followed an aspiring young Ghanaian politician canvassing for votes in his middle-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, Accra. This was a witty, beautifully observed film, in which glib remarks from the Deputy Finance Minister on the indispensable role of controversy in politics gave pause for thought on the influence of his political mentors. Other films featured were Carola Hesses We Dont Exist, depicting life for a Bedouin family on the margins of society in Israel, and Voices Across the Ocean by Ganesh Gaikwad from Pune, India. Gaikwad was the first overseas student to be receive a bursary from the Trust, visiting London to make a nostalgic and insightful film about the BBCs Hindi radio service. This well-attended, relaxed evening again brought home the importance of supporting filmmakers capable of covering challenging issues with an informed, professional and compassionate eye. * For more information about the work of the One World Broadcasting Trust, including details about next years bursary scheme, contact Nynke Brett nynke@owbt.org *One World Broadcasting Trust |
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