New Zealand Documentary Film,
'A Grandmother's Tribe', raises CA $50,000 for African grandmothers
New Zealand company, Borderless Productions', latest film, 'A Grandmother's Tribe' has already raised
CA$50,000 for African grandmothers.
The film tells the story of two grandmothers in Kenya - one rural and one urban - caught in the riptide of
HIV/AIDS and left to raise their orphaned grandchildren. The film premiered a few weeks ago at a black-tie Gala
Screening, sponsored by Vancouver-based Element & Associates. Following the screening, a guest in the audience
raised his hand, and asked how much it cost to build a home, like the one shown in the film. The answer was
$3,000USD. Without hesitation, he offered to sponsor a new house.. Within minutes, the audience had
spontaneously sponsored 10 more!
Developed as a model for "media and social enterprise", proceeds from 'A Grandmother's Tribe' special screenings,
fund-raising & film distribution will be directed, through the 'A Grandmothers Tribe Fund - held in trust by
Borderless Foundation NZ'. This Trust will work with community-based projects in Africa that support
grandmother initiatives.
"This is just the beginning of our global campaign to raise support for these grandmothers. This initial $50,000
raised will now go towards the building of eleven two-bedroom homes for grandmothers featured in the film, a
fellowship for Felix Masi, the Kenyan photojournalist who, through his grass-roots organization, has been helping
the grandmother-families of Funyula village and Kibera slum (in Nairobi) , Kenya.", says co-Director / Executive
Producer, Qiujing Wong.
'A Grandmother's Tribe' was financed through sponsorships from organisations and individuals around the world
beginning with AMP Financial Services who, in 2006 awarded Qiujing Wong a $5,000 scholarship to "kick-start"
the film. Since then, all costs have been covered through sponsorship of cash and in kind donations.
This unique model of filmmaking has subsequently enabled a vibrant grass-roots campaign. The vision for the
campaign is to mobilise support for all grandmothers in Sub-Saharan Africa raising their orphaned grandchildren.
The campaign will initially target "relevant and interested groups" in North America, special screenings and
conferences and educational events. Each organisation will be able to hold "special screenings" whereby friends
and colleagues may attend, watch the film, and make donations to the grandmothers.
The filmmakers recently hosted an online film and social enterprise dialogue on the "Social Edge", a website
dedicated to social entrepreneurship, spearheaded by Jeff Skoll, of eBay fame, and his Skoll Foundation initiative.
The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education honoured the film in Canada as presenting sponsor for the evening,
marking the first time the Center has embarked on film exhibition. The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
has aligned eight Nobel Peace Laureates in its mission to "educate the heart".
In February 2008, the filmmakers will take the film back to the grandmothers in Kenya and for the first time, they
will see their story being told.
From here, the film will journey to film festivals around the world where it will garner interest and support, growing
the grass-roots initiative and further support for African grandmothers.
'A Grandmother's Tribe' can be seen next in New Zealand on 28 November 2007, in a special WORLD AIDS DAY
screening at the Academy Cinema. This event is hosted for the public by Oxfam New Zealand, World Vision, Child
Fund New Zealand, YWCA Auckland and Positive Women.
For information about future screenings of 'A Grandmother's Tribe' in festivals and theatres around the world, visit
the movie website www.agrandmotherstribe.com
About the Documentary -
A GRANDMOTHER'S TRIBE (2007)
Duration: 54 minutes incl. credits
Directed by: Dean Easterbrook & Qiujing Wong
Production Company: Borderless Productions Limited (NZ)
"When Grandmothers speak, peace will return to the Earth." (Hopi Prophecy)
Set between a tiny village and the largest slum in Africa, comes a story of two remarkable grandmothers.
A
Grandmother's Tribe is a 54-minute documentary that reveals the lives of countless grandmothers of Africa, left
behind after the loss of their own children, who, with determination and tenderness are now responsible for the
rearing of more than 16 million orphaned children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Directors, Dean Easterbrook and Qiujing Wong, of Borderless Productions Limited (NZ) bring audiences an
unobstructed story of Emmanuel Makokha and Silas Odhiambo and the grandmothers who have selflessly stepped
forward to raise, educate and prepare them for a better future.
Their story begins seven days before, and leads up to Christmas Day as we witness the struggle, survival and reality
of these grandmother-headed homes.
'A Grandmother's Tribe' first premiered in New Zealand at the 2007 DOCNZ International Documentary Film
Festival at the end of September and won the Special Mention Award in the category of 'Best Medium New Zealand
Documentary'.
About Borderless Productions -
Dean Easterbrook and Qiujing Wong, founders of Borderless Productions are New Zealanders with a big dream; to
build an international screen production company that delivers world-class cinematic-quality, humanitarian films to
the world to watch. Their mantra - "Films that Change Lives".
END
For further information please contact:
Qiujing Wong
Executive Producer
Borderless Productions Limited
NZ Phone: 09 3023103 Cell: 021 620 348
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