One Image, Three Perspectives

Critical Conversations: Reporting the plight of refugees in France, Germany & Kenya, Apr. 26 2016 @ Goethe-Institut Auditorium

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One Image, Three Perspectives
Date and time: Tuesday 26th April 2016, 6.30 pm
Venue: Goethe-Institut, Auditorium
Admission: free

About
Journalists from France, Germany and Kenya will discuss the following questions. How is the refugee crisis presented by the media in France, Germany and Kenya? Who reports on which aspects and topics of the refugee crisis? Whose stories are told? What is the difference between the journalistic coverage in the three countries? Why is migration in many reports connected to questions of internal security and national defense?

The panel will be moderated by the Kenyan journalist and actor John Sibi-Okumu. The Kenyan participant will be Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan-Somalian journalist who is writing for Al Jazeera. The German contribution will be Katrin Lindner who is working for the German public-service television broadcaster ZDF. The French participant will be Andrea Palasciano who works for the French news agency AFP including the sector AFP Africa.

Mo and Me

Film Screening and Discussion: Mo & Me, Nov. 26 2014 @ Pawa 254 Hub

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Mo and Me
Date: Wednesday, 26th November 2014
Venue: PAWA254, Mageuzi
Time: 5pm – 8pm
Entrance: FREE

About
Salim Amin, son and only child of Mohamed “Mo” Amin, undertakes a journey of recollection and reflection into the life of the frequently absent, globe-trotting father he loved, revered and feared. In his late teens, Mohamed Amin abandons his studies to pursue a career in photography which, over the course of thirty years, will turn him into a front-line cameraman extraordinaire – and, arguably, the most renowned photojournalist of his era. Training his candid lens across continents, Mo Amin’s thirst for breaking news puts him repeatedly in harm’s way – enduring weeks of torture, automatic arms fire, explosives and, ultimately, the amputation of his left arm – to become one of the most decorated news camera-man of all time. The documentary depicts Mo as an unbending, unforgiving and unapologetically rambunctious paterfamilias whose hunger for “the story” propels him to ever greater professional heights – often at the expense of those he cherishes. The 96-minute film is underpinned by extraordinary images from the vast Amin archive – currently available at World Picture Network in New York. The stills mark and frame Mo’s life as it unfolds in a vivid and, at times, grisly tableau of international politics. Fuelled by a potent mixture of talent and ambition, Mo’s stubborn courage, innate resilience and wily perseverance loom large as he encounters horror and brutality in the course of his indefatigable quest to inform, alert and chronicle.

Donkey Island

Premiere: Donkey Island – Award-winning Kenyan documentary, Jun. 15 2014 on Al Jazeera English

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Donkey Island

“My biggest dream is to have a donkey of my own.” 14-year-old Shee Famao, resident on Donkey Island

This Sunday, Al Jazeera journeys to Lamu, off the coast of Mombasa, to meet the residents of the fascinating place known as Donkey Island.

Lamu is populated by 24,000 people, 6,000 donkeys and just two cars. Nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lamu is called ‘the donkey capital of Africa.’

Shee Famao is 14 and preparing to win his third donkey racing championship. His dream is to buy his own donkey. If he loses, however, the consequences will be dire. “I won’t be happy if I lose, because I won’t have money for food.”

The odds are stacked against Shee. As the only breadwinner for his family, he must juggle training for the race on a borrowed donkey with working to provide for his family and trying not to fall further behind at school, where he’s already in the third grade instead of the seventh.

Complicating things even more, Shee has a three-year probation hanging over his head for marijuana possession and his parole officer warns that he will be arrested if he competes, as donkey racers are being used to smuggle drugs.

Donkey Island won The Special Prize at Saratov Sufferings International Film Festival in Russia and Best Documentary Film at Golden Apricot International Film Festival.

The documentary premieres Sunday, 15 June 2014 at 23h30 East African Time on Witness, Al Jazeera’s flagship documentary strand.

For more information, visit this link