MFD films:

Consequences
Rita is 16 years old, living in a high-density area of Africa. She has a lot going for her- she is bright, talented, and has a steady boyfriend. She is soon to graduate from secondary school with plans to go on to university. For Rita, life is at its peak… until the day she discovers that she is pregnant. The consequences are staggering. This popular ‘mini-feature with a message’ was designed for an African adolescent audience, and continues to be one of the most popular films in Africa today. (Zimbabwe, 54 minutes, 1988)
Producer: John Riber
Production House: Media for Development Trust
Director: Olley Maruma
Available in: English, French, Ndebele, Shona, Setswana, Swahili VHS / PAL

Everyone’s Child
The story about 2 children’s abrupt journey into the world of adult responsibility. It is a story of love and of the triumph of human spirit in the face of tragedy. Tamari and Itai are devastated following the tragic death of both their parents. As family and neighbours turn their heads, the children are left with nothing. Frustrated and despairing, Itai tries his luck in the big city, leaving Tamari at home to fend for herself and their younger brother and sister. For the children this is a time of fear and survival. For the people around them it must become a question of compassion. In the end it is tragedy that can bridge the gulf of denial between their two worlds and make the community realise that these are everyone’s children. (Zimbabwe, 85 minutes, 1996)
A 20-minute support video and workbook is available in Shona, Ndebele, English, KiSwahili, Tonga, Bemba, Nyanja & French
Production House: Media for Development Trust
Director: Tsitsi Dangarembga
Available in: English, Shona, Ndebele, kiSwahili and French
Soundtrack on CD/tape VHS / PAL / 16mm / 35mm

Shanda
The exuberant, life-affirming music of Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi flows through this fascinating documentary portrait of a man, his times and his music. Tuku’s music talks to audiences everywhere, in Africa and beyond. Through the film, his personal choice of 10 favourite songs takes us on a musical journey spanning three decades.
At it’s heart is one man’s intimate relationship with his beloved homeland, Zimbabwe. From the days of the liberation struggle, war and unemployment, through the sunburst of independence, and along the often-bumpy road since, Tuku renders the joy, anger and heartache of the human experience with legendary wisdom and compassion. The musical anthology reveals Tuku’s rich voice and beautiful compositions, like never before, from the early days of his first band, The Wagon Wheels, to his internationally acclaimed Black Spirits.
Filmmakers John and Louise Riber capture the story and spirit of this incredible musician, live in township clubs and beer halls across Zimbabwe, among his endearing fans.
“SHANDA is a wonderfully engaging look at the life and music of one of Africa’s most important and legendary stars. Oliver is inspirational a person as he is mesmerizing as an artist. I love this film!” –Bonnie Raitt
(2002)

Neria
Patrick and Neria through shared hard work and resourcefulness, have built a comfortable home, good life and family in the city. But when their loving and equal partnership ends with the tragic death of Patrick, Neria’s nightmare begins. Patrick’s brother, Phineas, helps himself to their car, bank book, furniture and house. He takes advantage of tradition to suit his own needs, making no effort o take care of his late brother’s family. Yet Phineas claims that tradition and law are on his side. Neria watches helplessly at first but later decides she must fight back. In desperation she seeks justice and intelligently fights for her rights. (Zimbabwe, 103 minutes, 1992)
Producer: John & Louise Riber
Director: Godwin Mawuru
Available in: English, Swahili, Shona & Ndebele VHS /PAL

Mwanasikana
Mwanasikana is the story of young Tariro, whose education is under threat because she is a girl. Tariro’s father is deep in debt with the local storekeeper and in order to keep him satisfied, her father promises Tariro as his bride. Tariro’s older sister overhears their sinister plan and confronts her father. The mother is shocked at her husband’s plan and together the women convince Tariro’s father that she is too young to be married off and rather must finish her education. (Zimbabwe, 40 minutes, 1995).
Producer: John Riber
Director: Ben Zulu
Production House: Media For Development Trust
Available in: Shona with English subtitles and Shona with Portuguese s/t VHS/PAL

It’s Not Easy
Career, family and a nice girlfriend are all going well for Suna, a young African business executive. But everything changes when his newborn son is found to be infected with HIV – the deadly AIDS virus. It’s not easy, but neighbours and co-workers learn to become allies, instead of enemies, in the battle for life. The movie is an anthem in Africa’s struggle against the AIDS plague (Uganda, 48 minutes) VHS / PAL

Yellow Card
The focus here is firmly on the issue of male sexuality and responsibility. The schoolboy hero, Tiyane, is also a rising young soccer star. He finds himself caught between the conflicts of school, peer group pressures, his sport, his family, falling in love and the consequences of a one-night stand. (85 minutes, 2000)
Produced & Directed by: John & Louise Riber
Available in English, Shona, Ndebele, Swahili and French VHS / PAL

Voices of Future History
(A collection of six documentaries of various lengths)
1) Voices of Future History
When the Europeans came to Africa they discovered to their surprise magnificent monuments in the middle of nowhere. They could not in their wildest fantasies believe that Africans could have created these monuments. The myth that it must have been other civilizations dominated throughout the centuries, and the colonial powers used archaeology for their own political purposes.
Now a group of young African archaeologists are challenging this. Through rigorous research they are rewriting history. The old myths are crumbling, and a new history is being written.
Travel from the hill-kingdoms of Botswana via the Stone Enclosures of Mozambique to the Swahili coastal settlements. See how the kingdoms have traded with each other and with the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean long before Europeans set foot on the continent.
Follow on a fascinating journey to the future of African history! (Africa, 29 minutes, 2002)
2)Voice of the Unspoken: A Portrait of Paul Msemwa
Paul Msemwa leads us into the mangroves with shellfish-collecting women, into a village where the legacy of the slave-trade lives on, and through a living museum where Tanzanian traditions are showcased and preserved. (Tanzania, 18 Minutes, 2002)
3) Queen of the Hill: A Portrait of Alinah Segobye
Alinah Segobye guides us up the spectacular Toutswemogala hill in Botswana, the home of past kingdoms. Amongst the pottery and ostrich eggshell-beads she reveals extensive trading networks within southern Africa and beyond. (Botswana, 16 minutes, 2002)
4) I Hear Voices: A Portrait of George Abungu
George Abungu leads us through spectacular Swahili towns of the past and present, and tells us the challenges facing archaeology in Kenya today. (Kenya, 33 minutes, 2002)
5) The Girl who Bought her Own Doll: A Portrait of Solange Macamo
Solange Macamo takes us on a journey from Mozambique’s capital Maputo to the early trading empires of Manyikeni and Chibuene. It becomes a journey through her own history as well as the war-torn history of her country. (Mozambique, 32 minutes, 2002)
6) Echo of Capitals: A Portrait of Abdurahman Juma
Abdurahman Juma tells the history of the capitals of Zanzibar. We follow the shifts of capitals from the fourth century Unjuga Ukuu to the charming Stone Town of today. (Zanzibar, 13 minutes, 2002)
Produced by: Elizabeth Watson & Brynn Settels
Production house: SAVE Production/ Haiku 5-7-5
Available in English VHS / PAL

Up in Smoke (Life series)
In the southern African country of Malawi, tobacco is the major export crop – responsible for 70 per cent of all export earnings. Agriculture is the mainstay of Malawi’s economy, accounting for over 90 per cent of GDP. Out of a total population of 11 million, the majority of Malawians are farmers – and seven million owe their livelihoods to the tobacco industry. But economic dependency on tobacco has not brought the country wealth. According to the World Bank, over 60 per cent of Malawians live below the poverty line – with limited access to land, little education and poor health. Yet, despite the poor returns from tobacco growing, the government has actually increased the land under cultivation. Now, as this Life episode shows, Malawians are beginning to question if the wealth promised from growing tobacco is really an illusion. (UK, 27 minutes, 2003)
Director: Martin Otanez & Christopher Walker
Available in: English VHS / PAL

The Trade Trap (Life series)
Augustine Adongo is the chief executive of the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters. His job is to help Ghana’s manufacturers gain a bigger share of the international trade market, but the cards appear to be stacked against him. The globalisation lobby insists that trade is now the way for poor countries to work their way out of poverty – they must open their markets to other people’s goods, deregulate, and ensure openness and good ‘governance’. Anti-globalisation protesters argue that trade isn’t actually working for the poorest of the poor. They say the rules are rigged in the rich world’s favour, by subsidies, regulations and penalties intended to keep out goods from poor countries. And besides, what’s the point of making things for export when they can’t even feed themselves? Life looks at the arguments for and against. (UK, 27 minutes, 2003)
Director: Steven Bradshaw
Available in: English VHS / PAL

The Perfect Famine (Life series)
Malawi is at the epicentre of what may become a major famine in southern Africa. Families are resorting to traditional famine strategies, such as abandoning villages, stealing crops, and eating next year’s seed corn – yet Malawi is a green land that should be able to feed itself. Critics say that much of the problem derives from poor governance, the suppression of critical voices and the sale of last year’s maize reserves in allegedly dishonest circumstances. In 1992, most people thought foreign aid would lift the world’s poor out of absolute poverty, but there is now a growing consensus that the policies of poor countries themselves can stand in the way of development and that bureaucracy, inefficiency and plain dishonesty are the main obstacles to sustainable development. Life looks at the role of governance through one African example, and discusses the global issues with development experts and economists. (UK, 27 minutes, 2003)
Director: Steve Bradshaw
Available in: English VHS / PAL

Sowing Seeds of Hunger (Life series)
Barnabas and Mary Chalaba were once among the more prosperous farmers of their village in northern Zambia. Today, they’re destitute – too sick to farm their own land, and dependent on their children and neighbours for food to survive. Like 30 million others in sub-Saharan Africa, Barnabas and Mary are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. The highest rates of HIV infection in southern Africa are among young adults – the same 15-49 year old age group who, as agricultural workers and small farmers, are responsible for feeding families, villages, and so effectively entire countries. Since 1985, more than seven million farmers have died from AIDS in the worst hit regions, striking at the heart of agricultural production. But as Sowing Seeds of Hunger shows, the fallout from the pandemic isn’t limited to agriculture and food security. It’s endangering the lives of rapidly growing numbers of widows and AIDS orphans, and so undermining development across the entire region. (UK, 27 minutes, 2003)
Producer/Director: James Heer
Available in: English VHS / PAL

High-Tech Harvest (Earth Report series)
World-wide food production has to double by 2020 to feed an estimated global population of up to eight billion. Nowhere is that pressure felt more keenly than Africa – a continent where for every five people, four are farmers – and yet where famine still occurs. Africa is a continent overlooked by the Green Revolution and where ancient fragile soils are particularly vulnerable to erosion. It’s not surprising therefore that the benefits which enthusiasts say are offered by biotechnology – improved quality and yield from genetically-modified crops – are viewed with more favour and far less scepticism in Africa than in the well-fed West. High-Tech Harvest examines the arguments in support of biotechnology set against the concerns of those who claim it’s too early days to know what the long-term effects of GMOs will be on Africa’s environment. (UK, 27 minutes, 2001)
Director: Richard Vaughan
Production House: TVE
Available in: English VHS / PAL

Hands On 5 – From the Farm (Earth Report series)
Huge increases in global food production since the 1960s have depended on chemicals and industrial-style intensive farming. In the wake of cancer scares and Mad Cow Disease, consumers are going organic. And so does this episode of ‘Hands On’. In Malawi the ‘Freedom Farm’ draws on traditional and new chemical-free methods to boost production and in India the demand for cotton grown without pesticides creates new challenges. While in Spain and the UK we focus on the successful marketing of organic products. ‘From the Farm’ is accompanied by an information service accessible by fax, post, e-mail or the TVE website. (UK, 24 minutes, 2000)
Producer: Janet Boston
Available in: English VHS / PAL

Everyone’s Child
The story about two children’s abrupt journey into the world of adult responsibility. It is a story of love and of the triumph of human spirit in the face of tragedy. Tamari and Itai are devastated following the tragic death of both their parents. As family and neighbours turn their heads, the children are left with nothing. Frustrated and despairing, Itai tries his luck in the big city, leaving Tamari at home to fend for herself and their younger brother and sister. For the children this is a time of fear and survival. For the people around them it must become a question of compassion. In the end it is tragedy that can bridge the gulf of denial between their two worlds and make the community realise that these are everyone’s children. (Zimbabwe, 85 minutes, 1996)
A 20-minute support video and workbook is available in Shona, Ndebele, English, KiSwahili, Tonga, Bemba, Nyanja & French
Production House: Media for Development Trust
Director: Tsitsi Dangarembga
Available in: English, Shona, Ndebele, kiSwahili and French
Soundtrack on CD/tape VHS / PAL / 16mm / 35mm

Educating Lucia (Life series)
Twelve-year old Lucia’s dream is to be able to graduate to secondary school, and stay there – to finish sixth form and go on to train as a pilot. Her older sister Barita wants to do computer studies. And Portia, the youngest in the family, wants to be a dressmaker. But tragically for these three sisters from one of Zimbabwe’s large-scale commercial farms, in tobacco country 50 miles outside Harare, they’re more likely to end up – as their mothers before them – with no formal education, working as seasonal labourers on the farm. The three sisters are AIDS orphans being brought up by their grandmother. She can only afford school fees for one girl, Lucia, to attend primary school. Across Africa, the odds are dramatically against girls getting an education. And even if they do attend primary school, they’re often withdrawn before they finish – to work as unpaid labourers for their extended family, to be married off or to have children. Only one in four school age girls in Burkina Faso ever attends school. Across the continent only 24 per cent of girls actually complete primary school, compared to 65-70 per cent for boys. As Harry Sawyer, Minister for Education in Ghana, wrote in a recent Unicef report, the obstacles to girls’ education are the same as those that undermine economic and social development everywhere “but in the end, all the reasons add up to one: insufficient will.” (UK, 24 minutes, 2000)
Director: Charlotte Metcalf
Available in: English VHS / PAL

Consequences
Rita is 16 years old, living in a high-density area of Africa. She has a lot going for her- she is bright, talented, and has a steady boyfriend. She is soon to graduate from secondary school with plans to go on to university. For Rita, life is at its peak… until the day she discovers that she is pregnant. The consequences are staggering. This popular ‘mini-feature with a message’ was designed for an African adolescent audience, and continues to be one of the most popular films in Africa today. (Zimbabwe, 54 minutes, 1988)
Producer: John Riber
Production House: Media for Development Trust
Director: Olley Maruma
Available in: English, French, Ndebele, Shona, Setswana, Swahili VHS / PAL

Building with Stones
This practical video encourages rural communities to make use of local resources by showing them how to build with stone. There is a simple, step by step guide on how to build: a stone causeway in areas that become flooded and cut off in the rainy season, stone terraces that prevent soil erosion and increase water retention on hilly ground, and a stone hut. In each case very few tools are needed and the projects are built by local communities at little or no cost. An excellent video for those working in rural development programs. (Swaziland, 27 minutes, 1995)
Produced by: Eye to Eye TV
Director: David Max Brown
Available in: English VHS / PAL