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Culture Unplugged Film Festival

21/8/2023

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Screening of Fairytales of Growth & More Than Blood 

I feel honoured that my son Pierre’s film Fairytales of Growth and my film More Than Blood have been selected for this inspiring film festival, whose theme for 2023 is Global Feminine.
Culture Unplugged are committed to raising consciousness and bringing positive change to the world.

Through showcasing inspiring and stimulating films that embody some of the Global Feminine, the festival brings hope and awareness, when the world is out of equilibrium due the feminine and masculine energies being totally out of balance.
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To care for Earth and all of Life, we need a return of the Feminine which has been suppressed, oppressed  and dismissed for too long.  We are where we are now today due to this and our “separation” from Earth and each other.
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'More Than Blood' Wins New Award

27/7/2023

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Some good news to celebrate on a rainy day here in London!

More Than Blood has won an Impact DOCS Award for documentary short.
Thank you to my wonderful, talented teams in the UK and Africa who made this possible.

It has made me question the notion of impact, what does impact mean exactly?  How do we know whether our work has made any impact or not? Does impact mean leaving a mark on the viewer or for them to take action?

The objective when making More Than Blood, was to raise awareness of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and to make people care about women dying in childbirth due to PPH, the leading cause of maternal mortality. 

The positive interpretation of impact is for the film to produce: effect, influence, reverberations, results, action.
For the film to impact the viewer: for them to remember what they have seen, learnt, felt and keep it in their heads and hearts.

I am pleased that our film has been recognised as such, leaving some traces of impact along the way: highlighting the tragic reality of women dying in childbirth.  

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Podcast Interview & Blog

1/5/2023

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The Informed Pregnancy Project  is an organisation based in LA, which as its name suggests is all about  pregnancy and giving birth.  They have acquired More Than Blood for their new multi platform streaming channel dedicated to pregnancy, postpartum and parenting.

Dr. Elliot Berlin is the host of the Informed Pregnancy Podcast and here is a link to my first podcast interview with him. He is an award winning pregnancy focused chiropractor, childbirth educator, and labor doula.

It was extremely useful for me to talk to him about my work as a filmmaker and   birth doula as  I had never been asked to do this before… In the process, I was able to reflect and connect some of the dots that led me to where I am now.


To complement the interview, I wrote an article for their blog: Birth Doula - Film Doula: Birthing a film as a doula.


You can find the podcast interview for "More Than Blood"  here and the article I wrote on blog post here.

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News From Colombia

1/2/2023

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 We have the Land to  build NikumaKunzama...

2023 began with the joyful celebration of my beautiful, most precious grand-daughter Sol Aruna’s first birthday, with her wonderful Colombian family.

And then came the successful purchase of land in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta for NIKUMAKUNZAMA, Alexander Rojas’s dream project, for which I have been appointed International Director. 

This was made possible with the generous support of my awesome friends Trupti Magecha, Ivana Koralek, Myrto Stylou, Marie Struthers, Shelley Hermon, Sue Anderson and Aaron Quinn. Together we raised half of the budget needed to buy the land.

NIKUMAKUNZAMA’s intention is to unify the 4 main indigenous tribes of the Sierra Nevada and to build a University of Ancestral Medicinal Plants, to learn directly from the Mamos (Spiritual leaders) for healing and for much more...

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Mamo Don Daniel Solis Torres with two of his grand-children, Nelde & Julie.

I continued my research for a documentary film about Arhuaco Mamo Don Daniel Solis Torres, who when I first met him last year had asked me to help him meet the Pope in Rome.

Yes it’s a long shot, how to meet the Pope, how to make a film about this and why?
This is what I have been exploring, thinking about, dreaming about, chewing food for thought, through each of my interactions, experiences and discoveries in the Sierra Nevada and with Don Daniel.

Many journeys followed up and down the stunning mountains of the Sierra Nevada, covered in luscious tropical  vegetation, by foot, by mule, by motorbike, under the scorching heat, invaded by mosquitos. At times coming across the loud roar of red howler monkeys - a primal and eerie sound filling up the dense jungle - eagles flying so close and far away, the snow covered mountain peaks glistening in the sun, radiating a divine light across this most beautiful, exceptional, unique ecosystem where mountains, sea, jungle and desert meet, and from which emanates a very special potent energy … casting a spell on those who feel it.

Traveling on Alexander's motorbike, we reached Arhuaco pueblos hidden in the mountains that seemed to exist outside of time, with hardly any traces of the modern world…to participate in rituals connecting us to Mother Nature and meditate on what we could do to protect her. 

Don Daniel and his loving family welcomed me into their world, sharing so much with me, creating magical experiences, moments and memories.

I spent a lot of time hanging out in his home in Don Diego (off the main coastal road no 90), where he lives with his wife Maritza, one of their daughters and her family and four of their grand-children.

With my basic Spanish, I was still not able to communicate in the way I would have liked to, which at times was extremely frustrating and isolating. However, I bonded easily with the children through playing and sharing - universal language that all children understand - and became very attached to them all, especially to one of his grand-sons Esneider, who celebrated his 10th birthday whilst I was there. 

Esneide was very keen to learn from his grandfather and accompanied him wherever he went, as much as possible.  It was obvious that he was a natural disciple and possibly a Mamo in the making, following in his grandfather’s footsteps.

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Some Good Festival News...

12/12/2022

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More Than Blood has won a Humanitarian Award with Honourable Mention for Best Shorts Competition Film Festival and has been selected at the Women Directors Film Carnival, New Delhi India. 

Congratulations to my wonderful teams in the UK and Africa!!

​Starting in the UK for the stunning animation Riitta Hakkarainen created for the film, the beautiful original score by Vasilis Alevizos and Anibal Vidal Astroza and the special editing touches by Lisa Cazzato Vieyra. 

Thank you Nigeria:
Moji Makanjuola - Producer/Director - for the use of footage from her documentary productions.

Thank you Kenya: 
Filmmaker: Wanjeri Gakuru
DOP & Sound recordist - Mwakesi Mwakale
Transcription - Franklin Ogeto Kikuyu
Translation - Njeri Josto

Thank you Tanzania: 
Filmmaker: Sabrina Najib Zahor
Camera Man: Aman Justine Swai
Camera Man: Geofrey E. Mwangalika
Translation: Benazir Kurji

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Vocals: Victoria Iyabosola Olawoye & Bisi Olawoye

​Wonderful memory of recording of African proverbs with sister and brother team Victoria and Bisi from Nigeria, in Myrto's magical little home recording studio, ...leaving us with an unexpected gift, a beautiful song honouring mothers, which they sang their hearts to....so perfect for the film. Thank you all!!

Thank you for this magical exchange and all your help Myrto Stylou as our enigmatic sound engineer!

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'More Than Blood' winning awards in opposite parts of the world

22/11/2022

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I was over the moon to be able to attend The International Film Festival The Hague, the first festival I was attending post covid pandemic.  It was a great opportunity to meet passionate filmmakers, feel the film buzz, and see a diversity of films which I would never have seen otherwise. 

Even better was the wonderful surprise news of winning a Best Runner-up Documentary award  for More Than Blood.

Well done to the whole team in London, starting with the stunning animation Riitta Hakkarainen created for the film, the beautiful original score by Vasilis Alevizos and Anibal Vidal Astroza and the special editing touches by Lisa Cazzato Vieyra.

And very happy to have made two new filmmaker friends Tineke Vanveen and Brenda Malley ...all 3 of us sharing a special moment celebrating our awards and women power!!

PictureLeading a workshop at the festival Film Doula: Birthing a Film. Photo by Bastiaan Vogel
Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, More Than Blood reached Semi-finalist at the Pune Shorts Film Festival, in India.  

I have fond memories of Pune, of when I was making my first ever documentary Gay Bombay  in 1994, whilst in my second year studying film  in London (BA(Hons) Film & Video, UAL).

We were an all female crew, living for one month in one of Bombay’s suburbs, Andheri West, in a massive block of flats called Movie Tower, to be precise!

To escape from the madness of Mumbai, we took a train to Pune, to visit the famous Film and Television Institute of India, situated on beautiful grounds in a forest, alongside Prabhat Studio and to visit the equally famous ashram head-quarters for Osho. 

Some years later, I learnt that we had actually been the first to make a film about the gay community in Mumbai, as homosexuality was still a huge taboo and illegal in India.

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Addressing Midwives & Healthcare Professionals

1/9/2022

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I feel honoured to have the Maternity and Midwifery Forum showcasing More Than Blood and to have been asked to write an article about the making of the film for them.
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You can read the article here:
https://www.maternityandmidwifery.co.uk/more-than-blood-addressing-postpartum-haemorrhage/
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Some good news to share on the film festival circuit:
More Than Blood has been selected at the International Women’s Film Festival Denmark.

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'More Than Blood' Release

3/1/2022

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​Finally More Than Blood is out in the world with French and Spanish subtitled versions.

I am deeply grateful for the amazing team I worked with who helped bring it to life.








Riitta Hakkarainen  for her stunning animation.
Lisa Cazzato for her outstanding editing skills and sharpness.
Vasilis Alevizos & Anibal Vidal for their beautiful and wonderful original music.
Victoria Iyabosola Olawoye & Bisi Olawoye, sister and brother voice-over team.
Vivek Rajkhowa as my assistant researcher.
Two of my wonderful MA (Film & TV) students: Ben Crawford for extra camera and Lucy Clark as production assistant.

The very long list of credits continues at the end of the film with the teams who helped in Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria.

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Creative Fellow in Filmmaking: University of Birmingham

28/9/2021

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At the end of 2020, I applied for the position of Creative Fellow in Filmmaking at the University of Birmingham because they were looking for someone to produce a documentary film about a major international research project, the EMOTIVE Study, over a 9 month period. The project led by professor Arri Coomarasamy, is based in Birmingham (Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research) but operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa and Sri Lanka. It addresses the treatment and prevention of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) - bleeding after childbirth - and women dying from PPH.



I felt I was made for this, as a filmmaker, mother and birth
doula and was deeply grateful to have been appointed
for the position.

​It has been challenging journey which is now soon
coming to an end....I am entering month 9....about
to give birth to the film that I have been carrying inside
me since January, with very little control over its
production in African countries,  encountering delays
due to Covid restrictions and other limitations....
and learning to let go of expectations as you would
in pregnancy.

​AND NOW FINALLY... 
​I am immersed in the editing process, joining the
dots together, the story and emotions, to make sense,
to give sense and it is difficult and exciting at the same
time just as being pregnant can be like in your last month.
​I have found a perfect use for my easel in
post-production, using storyboards created by
the wonderful animator I am working with 
Riitta Hakkarainen.


​

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'Amazons In Saris' Is Back

28/9/2019

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After nearly 20 years...

It means a lot to me that my first documentary Amazons in Saris was screened with a Q&A, as part of  - On the Edge of the Fold - at the Birkbeck Institute of the Moving Image, almost 20 years after releasing it in 2001.

At the same time it is very disturbing and sad to know that the situation for Dalits in India, who now number almost 200 million, has barely improved.  The caste system is still discriminatory and used to oppress Dalits.

- On the Edge of the Fold - is a programme of films made by independent voices, representing a diversity of approaches, topics and stories from Dalits in India, curated by Viknesh Kobinathan. 

A 2001 study shows that more than half of the 80 million Dalit women in India experienced violence and abuse in their daily lives, primarily from dominant caste males. When French-Indian filmmaker Rani Khanna came across an image of a group of Dalit women in Bihar, who had embarked on a armed struggle against their oppressors, she was struck by their resistance and embarked on a quest to find them. While, corruption, mistrust and lack of safety mar her attempts at gaining access at every step, Khanna goes on a personal journey, where she comes across remarkable individuals who embody the fighting spirit of the armed Dalit women whom she never gets to meet. The film’s strength lies in its sincerity as Khanna grapples with her position as an outsider to the communities she faces, and the need for truthful documentation.

Coined by the 19th century Indian social activist and thinker, Jyotiba Phule, the Marathi word Dalit (meaning crushed, broken) is a descriptor for people who were considered untouchables by the Hindu caste system. This term then took on a more progressive and political term from the early 20th century with social reformer Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, at the height of the Indian nationalist movement, as a form of solidarity against caste oppression and colonialism. In India today, discrimination against Dalits is still a very pertinent issue, especially when observed in tandem with the rise of extreme right-wing Hinduism. Unequal opportunities in work and education, violence, abuse and denial of basic human rights plague these communities all through the country. Furthermore, Dalit experiences and narratives are generally either excluded or portrayed in an unfavorable light in mainstream media. However, the democratisation of digital technology and means of production in the past two decades have seen an increase and proliferation of literature and films that document Dalit experiences, opening up spaces for Dalit narratives to take root and thrive. On the Edge of the Fold is a programme of films made by independent voices, representing a diversity of approaches, topics and stories from Dalit India.
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