Client: PCI Media
Location: Liberia
Project Overview: PCI Media hired Namuh during the height of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to film the stories of survivors in Liberia to share locally and internationally. The films were aired within Liberia to fight misconceptions and educate people on prevention and treatment. Internationally, the stories were shared through social media and news outlets including Mashable, Newsweek, CNN, and BBC.
Challenges: We lived in Liberia for a couple years before the outbreak exploded so it was personal to us. Everyone we knew was impacted in some way. We'd been covering the unfolding events and response for months, but when PCI Media contacted us to film stories of survivors we leaped at the opportunity. At the time not many positive stories were coming out of West Africa and people needed hope. Our first challenge was finding the right stories to film. We started by reaching out to our friends at UNICEF and the Ministry of Health. They connected us to survivors they were working with and let us speak at a meeting for Ebola survivors at the Ministry of Health where we explained our project and asked for volunteers who would like to be involved. After compiling a long list of names and phone numbers, we began the lengthy process of calling and conducting pre-interviews with all of them. We were looking for diverse stories that would show the range of people effected by the disease -- people with dynamic stories that were also comfortable in-front of a camera and ready to share their stories with the world. In the end, we selected 15 brave souls who shared some of the worst and terrifying moments of their life -- from a pastor who fled the Ebola treatment unit and eventually turned himself in to an ambulance driver who contracted the virus while trying to save the last boy alive in a family stricken by the disease.
Outcomes: We produced 11 videos and written stories featuring Ebola survivors from various walks of life in Liberia and a film on one organization's unique approach to burying the dead -- one of the most controversial issues during the outbreak.
Awards:
2015 Silver Davey Award
Six 2015 IndieFEST film awards:
- Award of Excellence: Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising
- Award of Excellence: Documentary Program / Series
- Award of Excellence: Public Service Programming / PSA
- Award of Excellence: Health / Medicine / Science
- Award of Excellence: Use of Film / Video for Social Change
- Award of Excellence: Dramatic Impact
SIMA 2016 HUMANITAS Award in the IMPACT VIDEO Category
About the Campaign: #ISurviedEbola is a global campaign that places Ebola survivor stories at the center of efforts to inform, protect, and inspire. Commissioned by campaign partners -- the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Vulcan Productions -- #ISurvivedEbola is being implemented by PCI Media Impact in collaboration with UNICEF. The campaign is part of Paul G. Allen’s broader #TackleEbola initiative, and is consistent with Mr. Allen’s overall efforts.
About the Client: PCI Media Impact empowers communities worldwide to inspire positive social and environmental change through storytelling and creative communications.