FAI And RESPECT Share Similar Goals
FilmAid International (FAI) was formed in 1999 against the backdrop of the conflict in Kosovo. Its founders realized the basic requirements for survival, food and shelter, were being met. However, the less tangible psychological needs that help make life more bearable, were being overlooked or even forgotten.
Within weeks of its creation FAI was showing movies to refugees in Macedonia and offering a much needed distraction to the troubles around them.
Following their success in the Balkans, the Red Cross and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked FAI for its assistance in Africa. In 2001 FAI was able to offer its services to refugees from Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.
Natalia Tapies, a Programme Director for FilmAid International who has been based mainly in Africa since October 2001, says the project provides an invaluable service for the well being of refugees who may have been in camps for up to ten years.
'The film screenings are often a way to escape from the narrow existence in the camps, where refugees wait for years and years for a solution to their situation,' says Ms. Tapies, who is currently involved with projects in Kenya and Tanzania.
'They feel cut off from the world and with not much more in mind that daily survival…these films therefore allow refugees to escape, even for a few hours, from that limited existence, and sometimes also help them imagine a better future for themselves.'
Ms. Tapies says refugees and the host communities prefer to use local films because they can relate better to the characters and the stories. FilmAid East Africa alone has built up a library of around 300 titles covering a range of issues and formats. Only about 10% of these titles originate from Europe, Asia, or America.
Each camp has an advisory committee - made up of refugee and local leaders representing the different social and ethnic groups. The advisory committee is involved in the selection and approval of movies. Ms. Tapies says one of the great strengths of FAI's work is its sustainability, fostered by the employment and training of local people.
The projects not only serve to distract, but also to educate. Included in FAI programmes is the chance to discuss information on a range of issues from conflict resolution to environmental conservation to infectious diseases.
Marc Schaeffer of RESPECT International feels FilmAid's Participatory Video Project (PVP) dovetails neatly with RESPECT's recording studio projects (reported on in the last issue of the e-Zine) and offers the potential for a useful exchange of ideas. He believes both projects offer young people the chance to express themselves, while at the same time helping build their confidence and self-esteem.
Commenting on this potential Mr. Schaeffer said: 'I would love to see [FilmAid]… use the equipment they already have to view and create films…It would be wonderful if they could get a webcam, some freeware software for editing to produce short films - and to have access to Video CD-ROMs to educate their communities.'
He added: 'This might be a way to affect the lives of people in many regions with little funds.'
Ms. Tapies says that FAI is currently exploring a number of different possibilities for expansion, though this is likely to focus on areas where FAI already has some sort of presence such as southern Sudan.
'This the first step to be able to actually effect change,' she says of FAI's work. 'And for them to be able to imagine things can actually be different.'