April 24, 2009

Documentary team aims to put cameras in African hands

SEARCY, Ark.⎯Four college students from Harding University and Samford
University will travel to Mozambique this summer to film a documentary
on African development in partnership with local residents.

The film, tentatively titled “The Kujilana Project,” will be a
feature-length, broadcast-quality documentary filmed by African and
American hands and will investigate the socio-spiritual aspects of
African development.

Harding students Nick Michael, a junior English major; Tyler Jones, a
junior political science major; and Kelsey Sherrod, a sophomore
English major, will partner with Maribeth Browning, a sophomore
journalism major at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

The team will help villagers gather footage of local stories predating
Mozambique’s Civil War and the Portuguese Colonial War while teaching
villagers video camera skills so they can film their own footage for
future use.

“The Kujilana Project matters because it’s going to give Africans a
voice like they’ve never had before,” says Michael. “We’ll be handing
them our cameras and saying, ‘Take it, and tell your own story. We’re
not qualified to tell it for you.’”

Amid fears that post-colonial Africa is in danger of becoming defined
by its crises such as AIDS, genocide and poverty, the team aims to
deliver another side of the story by showing Africa’s images of hope.

The team will depart on June 10 for Nomba Village, where two American
families run a development center called Malo Ga Kujilana, meaning,
“Place of Reconciliation.” MGK works as a community resource hub that
empowers Nomba villagers through various projects including
micro-loans, fish farms and child-safe, fuel-efficient stoves.

Kyle Holton, missionary in residence at Harding, cofounded MGK in
2006. He sees it as a means of supplying a community not only with
physical commodities but also with hope.

“Malo Ga Kujilana serves as a catalyst for creative community
development,” says Holton. “We are responding to living with our
neighbors, specifically in Nomba.”

The documentary team will partner with MGK and introduce film as a new
tool for community development. They will leave behind the rudiments
of a sustainable film library, archiving local stories, event footage
and how-to development videos.

“In the end, film is a tool of empowerment for everyone,” says
Sherrod. “It helps us understand our fellow human beings by putting
faces on Africa.”

Team members are currently raising awareness for the project and
collecting funds for film equipment through their Web site. Next fall
they plan to edit their footage and submit their film to festivals
beginning in 2010.

For more information, contact Nick Michael at 901-871-8699, or visit
www.kujilana.com.

Harding had a record enrollment this year of more than 6,500 students
from 48 states and 52 foreign countries. It is the largest private
university in Arkansas and attracts more National Merit Scholars than
any other private university in the state. Harding also maintains
campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France/Switzerland, Greece,
Italy and Zambia.