Directed by: Dean Easterbrook & Qiujing Wong (Borderless Productions)
Duration: 54 minutes (incl credits)
World Premiere: 2007 DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival (Special Mention, Best Medium Documentary)
North American Gala Premiere: VanCity Theatre (October 2007), Vancouver, Canada
Languages: Luo / Luhya / Kiswahili - with English Subtitles
Available formats: Original Master - High Definition Camera / Viewing - Both NTSC & PAL DVD formats
A Grandmother's Tribe captures the lives of two Kenyan grandmothers who have stepped into the void after the loss of their own children to raise their young grandchildren. Through an "unobstructed lens" the film gives an insight into their world of survival in village and urban life as they prepare for Christmas in Africa. It is estimated that 63% of HIV-infected individuals in the world (approximately 25 of 40 million) live in the sub-Sahara region of Africa. These numbers have created an unprecedented 13 million orphans.
These two incredible women represent thousands of their kind who, in this late stage of life, are literally starting over again to raise orphaned children -- feeding, educating and caring for the "sickly" ones. The challenge is enormous as they deal with the grief of their own losses and poor health in order to feed, educate and care for an ever-growing number of orphaned children. They struggle on a daily basis to come to terms with a disease they do not understand -- an unnamed disease whose stigma isolates them further from the communities they depend on to survive.
The goals of the film are to...
• increase awareness of grandmothers in Africa who struggle every day to care for the orphans of HIV/AIDS.
• educate, with compassion and respect, a wide audience of viewers through film, broadcast and electronic media.
• create "global engagement" by connecting viewers to solutions that deliver grassroots results.
The Film's Journey
A Grandmother's Tribe was completed on September 6, 2007 (NZ).
To get the ball rolling, we spent the first 6-12 months networking through film festivals to profile the film and search for optimum distribution openings. During this time we also screened the film at a number of Theatres around the world for fundraising purposes and have received an overwhelmingly positive response. We also focussed on 'context screenings' where the film was presented along with discussion and dialogue. This is an emerging trend with major corporate and not-for-profit conferences. It also fits very nicely into our objective of connecting the film in meaningful ways with audiences that may be willing to take action.
We're now ready to release the DVD package with a bonus booklet that explains how you can join in the 'Take Action' initiative to help grandmothers in sub-saharan Africa raising young orphaned grandchildren by hosting your own fundraiser event using your personal copy of the DVD.
A Grandmother's Tribe - A Film by Dean Easterbrook and Qiujing Wong
