WeOwnTV: Idriss Kpange Filmmaker Fellowship

Greetings to our wonderful GlobalGiving supporters,

There has been a lot of great energy and excitement around fellowship projects so far in 2019. All the fellows have been working hard on their supported projects. We are thrilled to report that three WeOwnTV projects were selected to receive additional support from the Generations Africa project. Generation Africa is an initiative aimed at stimulating a new narrative on migration through the stories made by African filmmakers, and particularly young filmmakers. In this report we want to profile WeOwnTV Fellow Fatimah and her project that was selected to receive additional support from G.A..

Her short film is entitled Fati’s Sweets and profiles Fati, a young Ghanaian woman you voluntarily returned home to to Ghana from Italy. Here is a short synopsis: As young woman, Fatima left everything behind, including her business and four young children to join her husband in Libya. From there they made the journey to Italy. It was a brutal time in her life and she experienced Fati sexual exploitation, human trafficking and physical abuse during her perilous journey through the Sahara. All in the name of reaching europe, but when she arrived all she met was hardship and her dream of good life was shattered.

Fati returns home, but the hardship continues as she experiences stigma from her community. things change for her as she discovers a passion for making local sweets. We see exemplary perseverance of Fati, which takes us through her journey of self-actualization.

This story will explore the issue of stigma associated with returned migrants especially females and how they struggle to integrate back into society. It will also inspire debate on gender roles in the traditional African communities and how society contributes to irregular migration by looking at how returnees are perceived.

Fatimah on her motivation to tell this story:  "I’ve always wanted to do a story on migration, but through research I realized that most stories told were about men and their travels through the Sahara. But when I came across Fati’s story, it was so unique and revealing. And as an eye opener, I also found it inspiring to tell such stories from a female perspective."

Fatimah is a content production and communications expert, whose love for storytelling enables her to craft cutting edge campaign messages. She has over 10 years of professional experience, in video and radio production, advertising & new media marketing. Fatimah holds a BFA in Film and TV Production (Animation) from the National Film and Television Institute and a Masters Degree in Communications, Media and Public Relations from the University of Leicester UK. She is currently a 2019 WeOwnTV Filmmaker’s Fellow.

The WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship is a film fund and professional development program supporting the production of independent documentaries directed by West African filmmakers. The program provides filmmakers with funding for their project, filmmaking (creative labs) labs, one-on-one mentoring, professional development workshops and networking opportunities. The Fellowship is made possible through generous support from the Bertha Foundation and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.

Links:

• WeOwnTv Filmmaker Fellowship Homepage