If Only

One of the liberties we enjoy as filmmakers is the ability to address issues of social import in creative and non confrontational ways. Our chosen art form affords us leeways to harness our craft’s tools towards cultural strategies that serve purposes of social relevance. This is my primary attraction to the social justice sub genre of documentary filmmaking and, as is the case here, why I lead my team to produce this piece that speaks to the injustice in question.
I am of the opinion that though stories are creative constructs that may be attempted by any storyteller, those immersed in an experience represent it more authentically. So in rewriting this story for screen (having lived in a rural subsistent community) I deliberately weave in themes relevant to livelihood and relationships in such settings; enterprise, survival, promiscuity, love - but more importantly, this threat that infringes on a fundamental human right.
My hope is that this work will not only draw attention to the value of storytelling and how this art can be harnessed to transform conditions that perpetuate the injustice in question but also expand opportunities for civic engagement against entrenched cultural narratives that undermine our personhood as humans. No activity, irrespective of it’s contribution to livelihood in a community, should be allowed to infringe on fundamental human rights.