Stories about Film from April, 2012
Ghana: Shinning Light on Akan/Twi Movies
African Movie Critic shines light on Akan/Twi movies from Ghana: “I have always said local movies in both Ghana and Nigeria (e.g. Yoruba movies) ALWAYS seem to have a better story line. Why is that? Is it because the actors and actresses are able to perform better and let the...
Egypt: The Other Homeland
Al Jazeera World broadcasts a small film entitled “Egypt:The Other Homeland”, narrating the history of the once thriving Greek community in Egypt through personal interviews and archive material. At the beginning of the 20th century,there were about 200,000 Greeks in Egypt. Today, the Greek community there has approximately 1,000 members.
Kenya: Kenyan Films in Africa Movie Academy Awards
Hot Secrets blogs about Africa Movie Academy Awards: “The list of nominees for this year’s Africa Movie AcademyAwards (AMAA) has been released. Kenya has a total of 14 nominations. The organizerand founder said, “Our theme this year is Africa Rising. Africa’s economies areconsistently growing faster than those of almost any...
Armenia: The mob rules
Unzipped again comments on last week's cancelled festival of Azerbaijani films in Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri. The blog concludes that the campaign and demonstration against local peace activist Georgi Vanyan illustrated that the ‘mob rules’ and “state structures in Armenia failed to protect constitutional rights and freedom of...
Armenia: Support for Georgi Vanyan
Following the cancellation last week of a festival of Azerbaijani films in Armenia amid threats of violence, alternative voices online comment on the campaign targeting the organizer, peace activist Georgi Vanyan.
Argentina: “I Don't Believe in Schools but I do Believe in Education”
Educacion Viva (Live Education) has released the first of their videos challenging traditional education systems, titled I Don't Believe in Schools but I do Believe in Education. In the subtitled video, more than 20 men and women read aloud a poem on the educational system and how it is different from what they believe education is.
Tanzania: Farewell to a Film Star
Tanzania bid farewell to one of its most popular film stars, Steven Kanumba, with an emotionally-charged funeral on 11 April, 2012. He died early on Saturday morning, aged 28, after an altercation with his girlfriend Elizabeth ‘Lulu’ Michael.
Spain: Christ Dances to Brazilian Pop Hit in Religious Procession
During the religious procession marking the end of the Christian Easter week in Alhama de Murcia, Spain, the image of the Resurrected Christ was struck by the Telomania, when the brotherhood carrying the image decided to play and dance to Michel Teló's international hit "Ai Se Eu Te Pego".
Armenia: Nationalist Threats Against Local Activist
Just weeks after one example of censorship in Armenia comes another with local peace activist Georgi Vanyan receiving abuse and death threats from nationalists opposed to screening Azerbaijani films in the country.
Nepal: Documentary Focuses on the Children of the Conflict
The documentary “Ujyalotira” (Towards the Light) is made by the Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NCBL) and the Women Development Society (WODES) and aims to raise awareness on the impact the conflict in the region is having on the children.
Argentina: Documentary on Urban Natives Looking for Subtitles
The previously featured Creative Commons documentary Runa Kuti on the identity of urban dwelling indigenous descendants in the city of Buenos Aires is looking for volunteers to help them subtitle the documentary into indigenous languages found in Argentina such Quechua, Aymara, Mapuche and Guaraní as well as into English.
Video: Alleged Tsunami Footage after the 11 April Indonesian Quake
On twitter, a video of a large wave crashing on a beach is making its rounds: some people share it as a video from the 11 April, 2012 Indonesian Quake, and others insist it is 2004 footage rehashed.
Brazil: Human Rights Violation in Several Prisons
General conditions in all Brazilian prisons remain the focus of much debate. In a country where 1 in every 262 adults is in prison, solutions to assure a reduction of these rates are just as essential as the construction of new prisons. Fernando Sapelli reports.
India: Illegal Asphalt Plant's Pollution Causes Cancer in Villagers
A video report by Video Volunteers' India Unheard project exposes the plight of a community in Rajasthan, is where the people and farms are being affected by the pollution caused by several illegal asphalt factories. Juliana Rincón Parra reports.
Chile: Short Film on Kayaking ‘Shows Chile at its Best’
“Breathless in Chile” is a short film that has been submitted to the 2012 Kayak Session Best Short Film of the Year Awards. Blogger Robert L. Funk says that the film “shows Chile at its best.” You can watch the five-minute film on Vimeo.
One Day on Earth: Worldwide Collaborative Music Video Released
A new music video has been released in preparation for the worldwide screening of the Global Collaborative film One Day on Earth, which will take place in locations all around the planet on Earth Day (22 April, 2012). The video features musicians, poets and dancers captured on film all during the same 24 hour period in 10 October, 2012, artfully recut and remixed by Cut Chemist.
Colombia: Award Winning Journalism Video Making Rounds on the Web
The award winning video [es] of 2011 that tries to explain why Colombians are poor despite the natural wealth of the nation has strongly made its rounds on the web, getting close to a million views.
Laos: Creative Minds Come Together to Produce Children's Programming
Through a workshop on Innovative Communication for Early Childhood Development, creative minds in Lao People’s Democratic Republic came together with UNICEF to generate quality media for children, as can be seen on video in Young People's Media Network's post.
Video: Nonprofits Show Their Work Through Award Winning Videos
Winners for the 6th Annual doGooder Non Profit Video Awards were announced on 5 April, 2012. Following, the winning videos for the 4 different categories: small, medium and large organizations and best storytelling, and the 4 winning films in the fearless category.
Video: Firefox Flicks Video Contest
The Firefox Flicks worldwide contest will give awards for short films teaching web browser consumers about online issues such as privacy, choice, interoperability and opportunity, and how the non-profit Firefox brand helps people to face these issues.
Haiti: Women & the Spoken Word (Part 2)
Haitian-American spoken-word artist Melissa Beauvery talks to Global Voices about the inspiration for her first project, the importance of oral tradition and the close-knit community that is the Haitian diaspora.
