World Mourns Passing of Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai, the first environmentalist and African woman to win the Nobel Prize, passed away while having treatment for ovarian cancer on Monday.

Wangari Maathai, the first environmentalist and African woman to win the Nobel Prize, passed away on Monday while having treatment for ovarian cancer. Maathai was the founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization encouraging women and families to plant trees.

She was recently the focus of the Independent Lens documentary Taking Root: The Story of Wangari Maathai and was featured in DIRT! The Movie. Maathai will be remembered for her work in women’s rights, democracy, and the environment.

Watch the trailer for Taking Root: The Story of Wangari Maathai >>
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Tags: activism, Africa, environment, international, Kenya, women's empowerment, women's rights

Now on Indies Showcase: Lost Boys of Sudan

Emmy Award-nominated documentary from  Jon Shenk and Megan Mylan follows two young refugees of Sudan’s civil war through their first year in America. Lost Boys of Sudan streams free until Sept. 7th on ITVS’s Indies Showcase.

Orphaned as boys by Sudan’s civil war, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and gunfire to reach a Kenyan refugee camp with thousands of other children. After a decade in the camp, they come to America. Lost Boys of Sudan  follows them from Africa through their first year in the United States as they are confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary America.

Watch Lost Boys of Sudan now on ITVS’s Indies Showcase >>

Tags: Africa, america, civil war, documentary, Emmy, Free, immigration, Kenya, refugees, streaming, sudan, USA

Inside a Soccer Soap Opera in Africa

Patrick Reed, Director of The Team

With World Cup fever upon us, Patrick Reed, director of the upcoming ITVS International production The Team, describes filming the making of a soap opera about soccer in Kenya. The fictional program was intended to unite and distract Kenyans in the aftermath of violence following the 2007 elections. The film is still in production.

With the 2010 World Cup in full swing, the eyes of the world are on Africa.

Each morning — before rushing off to the edit suite in Toronto, Canada, where I live — starts with a guilty pleasure: eating breakfast in front of the TV and watching the early morning World Cup match with my 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.

For my kids, the novelty of watching TV in the morning compensates for their difficulty following the action. Lots of questions, of course, such as: “Why do the players keep falling down?” And, “What’s happening?” when the referee brandishes a red card and sends a player off (something my kids keenly appreciate, as they are very familiar with the concept of being penalized for bad behavior).

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Tags: Africa, Kenya, soccer, The Team, world cup