Here’s a great movie to add to your Netflix queue: “OKA!” It follows the story of Larry, a young American ethnomusicologist who spends much of his career documenting the music of the Bayaka pygmies of Yandombe, deep in the lush rainforests of the Central African Republic. On a fund raising trip to the States, Larry discovers that he is ill and cannot go back to Yandombe. Despite the doctor’s orders, he decides to go back — he has a feeling that the Bayaka people need him.
And they do. When Larry arrives, he finds out that a timber corporation is threatening to drive out the Bayaka people from their homes, changing their traditional way of life. Despite Larry’s illness, he helps the Bayaka figure out a way to keep their culture, music and dignity — and learns a lot about life along the way.
With its colorful visuals, powerful soundtrack and moving storyline, “OKA!” offers a rare glimpse into the daily life of one of the most remote peoples on the planet. Read more about the film here.
Imagine using trash to fight poverty. Well, that’s exactly what Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist based in Brooklyn, accomplished when he traveled to Jardim Gramacho, one of the largest garbage dumps in Brazil, and made art using the waste he found. His creations tell the remarkable story of turning nothing into something and, in this case, that “something” helped a huge group of people. Muniz ended up selling his creations for a whopping $50,000 and donated the proceeds back to the amazing people he met at the garbage dump.
Right now, Human Rights Watch (HRW) — a leading organization that defends the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — is hosting their annual International Film Festival in New York City. Although their films span across all genres, they have one thing in common: they all tell the story of the global struggle for human, political and social rights.
Visit CNN.com today? Well if you haven’t, stop, drop and click because that’s right -– ONE’s brand new original documentary, “Voodoo and Vaccines in Benin, Africa” is featured on the CNN.com homepage! Yes, homepage. With placement on the website’s most trafficked page and within the Opinion section of the CNN.com, ONE couldn’t be more proud to share our new documentary, accompanied by a gripping article crafted by Michael Gerson, ONE fellow, nationally syndicated columnist and former head of speech writing for President George W. Bush.
By now, I’m sure most of you are aware that ONE members around the globe are raising their voices to help save four million children’s lives in the next five years, in part by vaccinating against the top two disease killers of children in poor countries: diarrhea and pneumonia. Each year, more children die from these two diseases than from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. But together as ONE we’re doing something about it.
Recently, I wrote a piece about Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming movie industry that has become the 2nd largest in the world. If that piqued your interest, then you’ve got to watch the 2008 documentary “Nollywood Babylon.” This quirky little film, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, gives an insider’s glimpse into how and why the Nigerian movie-making business has boomed.
The documentary focuses mainly on celebrity filmmaker Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen’s techniques as he films yet another Nigerian hit. Lancelot’s intensity, pride and charisma come through and make “Nollywood Bablyon” a fun watch.
The way Nollywood operates is certainly interesting — most filmmakers in the biz depend heavily on their faith to encourage and foster productivity. In the trailer, Lancelot preps his actor by invoking Jesus Christ and asserting that they will “function above capacity.” This inside look at how Lancelot encourages his actor teaches the audience about Nollywood and its importance to the Nigerian people. After all, this industry has become the No. 1 employer of native people after the government.
Cancel your plans tomorrow night, because ONE is hosting a great event and we want you to be there. We’re premiering our new short documentary, “Voodoo and Vaccines in Benin, Africa,” on Facebook, Thursday, June 2 at 9PM ET.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
