What's the latest?
Projects Update
Training
We are pleased to report that the Marc Bolan School of Music (MBSM) have progressed from their 3-minute competition and are now working on a new 20-minute documentary. The current proposal is to produce a film on rural health and sanitation. This is a topical issue that has become of heightened importance during the current pandemic. MBSM will focus their efforts on local community distribution, and PFP will take responsibility for broader distribution through broadcast media and organisations.
Di Kombra Di Krai (Cry of a Mother)
Sierra Leone has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world, with 1,360 mothers dying per 100,000 live births (by comparison, the UK figure is 3.25 per 100,000). This shocking number of deaths is due in part to a shortage of hospitals, trained staff and ambulances. But lack of education also plays a part: and that’s where film can help. PFP & Future View Media Centre (FVMC) in Sierra Leone have now finished filming Di Kombra Di Krai (Cry of a Mother). You can view the film below. To learn more about Safe Motherhood, please click here.
We are currently making good progress with the distribution of our COVID-19 schoolgirls documentary, produced in partnership with The Kasungu Film Collective (TKFC). The initial focus has been on TV broadcasts, a pilot screening programme in local schools, and distributing DVDs/memory sticks to the government and NGO stakeholders.
Screenings have taken place in 5 secondary schools included in the pilot. At Chilanga, Kasungu C.C.A.P secondary school and Mphombwa, the film was shown in a classroom setting and in the school hall at Chankhanga. The process has reached an estimated 700 children.
Feedback from the team indicates that the screening process has gone very well, with positive responses from pupils and teachers. You can view this documentary here.
We shall soon be embarking on training in screenwriting in preparation for our anticipated upcoming feature film on Albinism. We are currently in the process of assembling team of local screenwriters, which will include Jonathan Mbuna and Aaron Mhone, who PFP have enjoyed working closely with before on other projects in Malawi.
We have exciting news from Kenya where we will be delivering our unique training programme to a group of school-leavers/out of school youth through “Chorus Box”, a creative space for young people established by Peter Bwire, a young Kenyan filmmaker. Peter is highly committed to using his skills to support youth engagement in community development activities in and around Kitale.
We are hopeful this could lead to further opportunities for the PFP training model to be rolled out to other counties in Kenya.
The programme consists of the following modules:
- 1-minute documentaries
- Training in interview techniques
- Editing exercise
- 3-minute documentaries
- 20-minute documentary and Distribution
Over the past month, we have resumed more regular contact with our friends at ADD International who have indicated they are keen to organise a further screening tour of Lisilojulikana in Pwani District.
In the hope that we may work more closely together, we have taken the opportunity to ask ADD to reflect on how film/media has impacted their work so far, and how we can use film to support their future programmes.
Latest News
Currently, PFP is making films and training filmmakers in four African countries, so a Christmas puzzler set in Africa seemed just the thing. Please enjoy this testing quiz and watch this space for answers to be posted after Christmas.
Christmas African Puzzler 2021
Spring Newsletter
Purple Field Productions' response to COVID-19
As the latest advice and news regarding COVID-19 continues to evolve quickly, PFP continues to closely monitor and respond to the situation and the impact on the people and communities we work alongside.
PFP clearly has an important role to play, and our recent experiences in co-producing COVID-19 awareness music videos, have demonstrated that we have the capability of operating even in the most trying of circumstances.
As an organisation we have supported our partners Future View Media Centre (FVMC) in Sierra Leone and the Kasungu Film Collective (TKFC) in Malawi to produce heath awareness music videos in their local languages.
Additionally, members of TKFC have been undergoing PFP supported training, covering film scripting, production, sound recording, and editing, which has led to the production of a short documentary on the effect of COVID-19 on schoolgirls in Malawi.
Stay up-to-date with advice from the World Health Organization (WHO):
Community
PFP Summer Quiz Night – We hosted a virtual summer quiz on Thursday 9th July via Zoom in aid of our Safe Motherhood Project in Sierra Leone. Thanks to everyone’s generous support we reached our appeal target which will go towards distributing the film around communities in Sierra Leone.
If you’d like to find out about our Safe Motherhood Project you can read more here.
Buy a face mask – Sewing machines have been whirring overtime as a group of Ilminster volunteers get to work producing face masks — over 500 so far. These are now available to the public from the Silver Street Dairy and the Green House in Ilminster in return for a donation — 50% of which goes to PFP’s COVID-19 work in Africa.
Archive
Latest news
DI KOMBRA DI KRAI (CRY OF A MOTHER) RELEASE
Our latest project updates and news including:
- Our Safe Motherhood film ‘Di Kombra Di Krai’ has been released!
- Producing face masks for the community
- How Lisilojulikana continues to change the lives of Kenyan families
- Online shopping through Give as You Live