Pocket cinema: The Children of Darfur by Camilla Nielsson

This week I’m going to be mostly concentrated on watching great documentary films at the festival ZagrebDox… Thus, this post is strongly connected with its programme… Camilla Nielsson will present within the programme her latest film ‘Cities on Speed – Mumbai Disconnected‘… and as an intro to moviecholic atmosphere here is her award winning documentary from 2007 ‘The Children of Darfur’…

Photo above: Excerpt from the film The Children of Darfur
Photo bellow: Georgina Cranston (c) taken from UNICEF

Synopsis:
‘The Children of Darfur’ is a youth documentary film that will tell the children’s version of what is happening in Darfur. Some of the strongest testimonies are told by the children and etched in drawings made in the support centres that have opened throughout Darfur.

For the last five years, Sudan has been a country in crisis. Its region of Darfur has been subjected to tremendous violence. Set off by a rebel raid on the Sudanese military in 2003, the ongoing conflict that has spread across Darfur has affected over four million people. Thousands have been killed. Over one million children have lost their homes and are currently living in refugee camps in Sudan and Chad. The situation in Darfur has been called one of the worst humanitarian crises in history. (Synopsis taken from unesco)

Camilla Nielsson and Frederik Jacobi while making
‘Cities on Speed – Mumbai Disconnected’

Camilla Nielsson is born 1970, Denmark. Got her MA in visual anthropology and Certificate in Culture and Media from New York University (NYU). Her film ‘The Children of Darfur’ (2006) won many international awards.

Camilla Nielsson is an anthropologist, whose research interests have centered on visual anthropology, third world media and communication practices in developing countries, primarily in a South Asian context. She has produced various communication materials concerning children’s rights, developed guidelines for visual representation of children’s rights issues and produced public service announcements on children’s rights, health and education. Her last film is ‘Cities on Speed – Mumbai Disconnected’ co-directed with Frederik Jacobi. (Nielsson’s bio taken from unesco & zagrebdox)

The Children of Darfur, Part 1