current projects
My Life Before Me is a documentary film about Afro-Cuban musician and Yoruba priest Carlos Lazaro Aldama Perez who has dedicated his life to his cultural music and religion. His life story illustrates the idea that culture is a living thing: free from geographical borders, living within people and thriving on social exchange. His work to keep his cultural traditions alive in California illuminates how African traditions survived slavery in the Caribbean and how they continue to flourish two centuries later both here in California and across the globe.
WeOwnTV is a collaborative media project that promotes self-expression as a way to explore our shared humanity and bridge cultural divides. Our first program uses community based media workshops to teach filmmaking techniques to a group of young Sierra Leonean ex-combatants and survivors of their country’s civil war. WeOwnTV will provide the technical support, encouragement and training that will allow these young adults to creatively produce their own media and share their experiences and ideas with the world. This project is supported by Creative Capital, Freedom to Create, the Bertha Foundation and the Bay Area Video Coalition.
This is the official website of the documentary film, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. The film tells the remarkable and uplifting story of a group of six Sierra Leonean musicians who came together to form a band while living as refugees in the Republic of Guinea. A brutal civil war (1991-2002) forced them from their homes in Sierra Leone. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved through their music. Through music they find a place of refuge, a sense of purpose and a source of power. The film follows the band over the course of three years as they make the difficult decision to return to their war-torn country and realize their dream of recording an album of their original music.
past projects
The Genius of Marian is a documentary film that confronts the silent void surrounding issues of aging and death by telling the very personal story of one family’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease across four generations. The film begins following Pam White a few months after she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 61. The Genius of Marian explores the various ways our memories shape our identities and our legacies; it is both an intimate look at a much-feared illness and a loving portrait of the meaning of family. This project is supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, the San Francisco Film Society, the Catapult Film Fund, the LEF Foundation and the Fleishhacker Foundation.
African Ninja
African Ninja is a story about survival, hope, and the transformative role that creativity plays in the rehabilitation of war-affected individuals. The documentary follows a group of young filmmakers as they attempt to shoot their first feature film — a kung-fu comedy — in the squatter neighborhoods of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The groups strong belief in the premise of their film, that honorable men from any culture can prevail against greed and corruption, sets up a strong dramatic arc for the documentary as they as a group struggle with this conflict from every angle in their daily lives. For most participants, providing for their families is a constant struggle. Ultimately the film presents a refreshing and unexpected look at modern Africa - one that reflects the attitude of a people looking towards their future and not dwelling on their past.