The Good Pitch² Johannesburg
The Good Pitch² Johannesburg takes place today at the People to People documentary conference in South Africa. Seven projects will be pitching at the inaugural Good Pitch², the first to take place on the African continent.
The Good Pitch² satellite programme, functions same mission as the flagship events - to connect good films to good people - Good Pitch² enables regional organisations all over the world to put on their own Good Pitch events. Once selected, the local host will receive training and access to the Good Pitch model, brand and web tools.
Good Pitch² has been made possible with the generous support of the Ford Foundation.
The seven projects presented today will be:
Dawn of a New Day
Three West Africans, including a ten-year-old boy with a disfigured leg, are in need of specialized surgery but are without access to health-care. Meanwhile, a South African plastic surgeon leaves his successful private practice to volunteer on a hospital ship. On the flipside of his altruism lies a great price – he risks losing the woman he has always loved.
PUMA.Creative Catalyst Awardee Devil’s Lair
More than 3000 prisoners are released back into society every month. Many become the bone and marrow of the illicit drug trade, the main?source of income for gangs on the Cape Flats.This film explores the stark contrasting realities of a communties’ struggle?againts crime and the life choices of previously convicted prisoners?surviving in the criminal underworld.
Dirty Money
A compelling and unique perspective on the world, work and environmental value of informal street recyclers in Johannesburg emerges through the response of visual artist Jacki McInnes and the voices and lives of the recyclers themselves - their experiences and their dreams.
The Dream of Shahrazad
Exploring the legacy of the 1001 Nights amidst huge political changes sweeping the Maghreb and Middle East, we meet a Turkish conductor performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Shehrezade suite, a Lebanese actress speaking out against injustice, an Egyptian artist finding inspiration from a younger storyteller, and a Cairo theatre troupe creating a performance from the testimonies of martyrs of the Revolution.
Guardian’s of Uganda’s Gentle Giants
Following the tradition of Dian Fossey, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (vet) has for the past 15 years, been the guardian of half the world’s gorilla population. Her passion for these gentle giants is evenly matched by her commitment to the well being of the people of Uganda. This film tells her story and looks at innovative models for sustainable conservation.
Men from Atlantis
Determined to shift their reputation as a community of rapists, drug dealers and lost causes, twelve ordinary guys from Atlantis, near Cape Town, decide to take a stand.
We follow them as they ‘carry a woman in their hands’ in an unprecedented attempt to change hearts and minds in the fight against abuse.
Will their efforts change anything at all?
Ntsika
In Grahamstown, South Africa, people are talking - is a white principal going to cope in a township school? This documentary follows Madeleine Schoeman’s first year running Ntsika Secondary. Through her outsider eyes we bring her struggles and her dreams into focus, showing what it takes for a township school to function.
There are no easy answers, except teamwork.
Read more about these projects and the event here.