What
a great start to the Year! The last 6 weeks have been a blitz of
production. Traveling to 4 different cities in Cote d'Ivoire where I was
able to shoot for 6 different projects. The project is well underway
and it's fantastic to be able to start sharing these amazing stories.
One
new story I'm very excited to share, is a little of mine. For 3 months
this past year, I lived in Brobo. A little city of about 2000 people
located about 24 miles east of Bouake. The people there welcomed me into
their homes and their lives. While living there we worked together to
produce this short film so that everyone can learn what I did. Brobo is
the Best!
Problems
Right
now there are 20 projects at differing stages of production, from
preliminary requests to videos waiting for their internet debut. Each of
those projects has their own problems. In pre-production it often is
scheduling and figuring out where I need to be when and how to get me
there. While in production the barrier of language and trying to get to
understand what is need to capture the story can be exhausting. When
it's all done I have to try and find a strong enough internet connection
so that the final video can be uploaded. A strong connection is
anything over 20 kbps.
As I said in the
last newsletter, this project is bigger than me. It's that perspective
that keeps me moving forward. Problems come quickly, but the solutions
are never far behind. Exhaustion and fatigue are as constant as the
heat. But each time I start to feel week, encouragement comes like a
fresh breeze in the shade. In the little moments between all the
business, someone gives an encouraging word, reminds me why this is so
important, lifts my head to realize, “I live in Africa. I make movies in
Africa. My life is awesome!”
Plans
I'm
learning that making plans in Africa, especially concerning travel, is
an on going and continuous process. If the plan hasn't changed 5 times
yet, then you probably don't have plan. After getting lots of feedback
and advice from colleagues, locals, and experts this is what the next
couple of months might look like for me.
March 1-10 Mali
March 11 – April 6 Guinea
April 6 – May 10 Senegal
May 10 – May 31 USA
June 1 – 27 Cote d'Ivoire
Many
of the details are still up in the air but that is part of the process.
I'm very excited about the opportunities to travel to new countries
such as Mali and Senegal and start telling the stories in those
locations. For those of you watching the news, I will only be traveling
in the south of Mali where things are stable and secure.
I'm
extremely excited to be able to travel back to the US of A for a good
friends wedding and while I'm there want to see as many friends and
family as possible. So if you want to try and make something happen
during those weeks send me an email and we'll make something happen.
This is just the begging of this project and already we are seeing great results as people view and share these stories. I can't wait to see what else happens as we continue to work together. Thank you for your continued support and involvement with me and this project.
Your Fellow Servant,
Drew
This is just the begging of this project and already we are seeing great results as people view and share these stories. I can't wait to see what else happens as we continue to work together. Thank you for your continued support and involvement with me and this project.
Your Fellow Servant,
Drew
No comments:
Post a Comment