Photofilm – The race to help refugees in South Sudan
Written by duckrabbit‘Most of the patients we see do the thing that everyone does around the world: make themselves look nice for the Dr. And it’s only when a child comes in who has had diarrhea for one month, and they’ve arrived the previous night and they’ve had nothing to eat or drink in the last two days, and they’ve had five seizures in that day, that you suddenly remember where you are.’ Dr Kirrily De Polnay
We have to accept that a lot of people just don’t want to see these pictures and don’t want to hear these stories.
When I say ‘accept’ I don’t mean acceptance that slides into a form of cynicism that the stories aren’t worth telling, but acceptance that leads to resolve to tell the stories better. And by better I mean reaching more people, in a more impactful way, with more thought.
A few years back I trained amateur photographer and fulltime MSF press officer Robin Meldrum in making photofilms (on our 3 day photofilm workshop) and it’s great to see him still putting those skills into practice. I’ve rarely had the privledge of working with someone so committed. The last time we worked together was in the DR Congo where he’d lost so much weight (through hard work) that I was worried the wind would blow him away.
My only comment for this film is that I wish they’d cut the baby crying out the opening. The voice of the young doctor draws me right in. What she says is surprising, which makes me keep listening, but by the time we hear her I think many people will have turned off, which would be a shame because she has important things to share.
Author — duckrabbit
duckrabbit is a production company formed by radio producer/journalist Benjamin Chesterton and photographer David White. We specialize in digital storytelling.
Discussion (1 Comment)
Enjoyed the film very much. “When a child starts to annoy you, you know that things are going well” a particularly good bit of audio.