Film Makers

“If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed.” Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999).

“We, as film-makers, are privileged. We can make people cry or laugh. We can make them think and feel. It is a great privilege and a great responsibility”. Haskell Wexler, Daily Variety, 1995

We have a collective responsibility to ensure that recent developments in media technology is not limited to the entertainment of the public in developed countries but that it can also help education and teaching programs in developing countries. We need your help to produce teaching material in the format of features films (link to VIA film),documentaries and animations to raise awareness for important health issues in the general population and to support the continuous education of health care professionals (essentially nurses and midwives) and other groups directly or indirectly involved in health care and public health activities (traditional birth attendants, school teachers and social workers) SIGN UP.

In the western world, general enthusiasm for mass media health education programs, including television and radio episodes and inserts in key newspapers, has often been tempered by a combination of high production costs and uncertainty as to the effectiveness of films and documentaries as education tools. With the recent development of cheaper high resolution video cameras and low-budget editing systems and low-cost distribution via the internet and/or mobile phone it is now possible to provide even the most remote places in the world with quality multimedia educational programs.

The multimedia program “Soul City” now in its fourteenth year has become South Africa's most popular TV soap opera, watched today by more than 34 million people, over 70% of the population (www.soulcity.org.za). It is built around the life of a medical clinic in a black South African township. It regularly features storylines to tackle stigma, encourage condom use and overcome ignorance of how to care for those who are ill. Initially run by public health activists for a South African audience it is now being screened across eight neighbouring countries. It has been effective in tackling a range of gritty health and social issues, from HIV and AIDS to rape.

Increasing numbers of medical schools in North America and Europe are providing videos of lectures to their students via DVDs or the internet. There is no doubt that complex medical stories can be described with short films or slide shows. Considering the fact that the vast majority of people, including those involved in health care at the intermediate and lowest level can not read a western language, images and film will be more influential than a substantial amount of text. The creation of new methods and partnerships in learning, rather than using the traditional western hierarchy of education, must be developed to meet the needs of health care education in developing countries. We want to engage all those in the media industry throughout the world to work with those involved in health care in the developing world to produce teaching/education material that can help deliver a sustained difference in health care to the poorest citizens on our planet Join us.