Gaalli Haddha – A Camel is Like a Mother (10 mins, 2013)
A film about young Karrayyu boys as they embark on their annual 200 mile journey through Ethiopia with their camels.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Adanech Admassu, Beth Cullen and Tracy Pallant, the producers and researchers of this participatory community project.
Adanech Admassu is a Film Director with Gem TV. Founded in 1997. Gem TV is run by The Ethiopian Gemini Foundation an indigenous NGO which looks after poor families with twins in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The idea behind the creation of Gem TV was to train a group of young Ethiopian men and women to become community filmmakers, the intention was not only to develop their own lives, but also to give a voice to other dispossessed communities throughout the region by making films that address their issues. Adanech has won many awards for her groundbreaking films including Stolen Childhood about early marriage in Ethiopia Gem TV were the 2012 winners of the One World Media Awards. Gem TV has worked in collaboration on many films, with Valley and Vale Community Arts, based in Wales for 12 years, as part of our Wales/Africa Community Links Programme.
Beth Cullen is a Social Scientist working for the International Livestock Research Institute in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, she is also one of the founding members of Labata Fantalle, a Wales/Africa Community Link Project. Labata Fantalle is a non profit grassroots organisation that aims to facilitate participatory, community-led development. Their mission is to support Karrayyu pastoralists during a time of rapid change, using sustainable approaches that are friendly for both people and environment. Beth is the only non-indigenous member of Labata Fantalle. She has been living and working periodically in Ethiopia since 2005 conducting research on indigenous knowledge and participatory techniques for research and development. She has been working with the Karrayyu community since 2008. Her PhD research project involved training members of the community in Participatory Video, and prompted her to help establish Labata Fantalle.
Tracy Pallant is a freelance film for development worker with Valley and Vale Community Arts in Wales. Valley and Vale came into being during the miners’ strikes in South Wales in the early 1980’s. At that time the organisation was offering Community Arts as a way of helping people in the Garw Valley document their lives at a time of hardship and great change. Tracy is passionate about working with different groups and individuals to help them learn new skills in film production and to work with them to develop their self confidence, creative expression and communication skills and to get their voices and stories heard. Tracy trained as a film editor with BBC Wales. She has worked in Ethiopia as a volunteer with Gem TV on different film and training projects for the last 14 years.
The event is free but please get in touch if you are able to join us (we will have some cold drinks): film@therai.org.uk
