2 Comments// Posted in blog by admin on 11.23.09.
It has been an eventful few months. What began merely as a document of the Basua people has become a tale involving corruption, incompetence and seemingly gross negligence. It tells of how an impoverished, marginalised and potentially endangered people were being exploited in order to siphon development funding, and how the funders themselves failed to notice.
In 1997, amid great anticipation, the Basua were finally to be resettled through a project funded by the European Commission (EC) in Uganda. Here was a significant donor that seemingly had the wherewithal to oversee and manage such a sensitive project. It now appears that the organisation brought in by the EC to carry out the work, RWIDE, was not merely incompetent but also largely corrupt. RWIDE’s Director, Vincent Mubiru is now being investigated by police and an audit is been launched. Yet the question remains over how this organisation was chosen, and how they managed to secure funding for so long.
Continue reading The Exploitation of the Basua
2 Comments// Posted in blog by admin on 09.25.09.
We’re now back in Europe having completed the second phase of filming with the Basua in Uganda. It’s now time to begin piecing their story together, pulling aspects from the thirty or so hours of footage we shot, including numerous interviews, and developing a narrative.
It’s a daunting task. Their situation is complex and undoubtedly fragile. While we were there, a number of events transpired that have made this a hugely important time in their history. This next year will be critical in how their future as a people will be shaped.
Continue reading Back Home
No Comments// Posted in blog by admin on 08.18.09.
We’re in North America at the moment, finalising plans for the second round of filming in Uganda. We’ve secured travel costs and are now fundraising for equipment rental, accommodation and post-production.
We’ll be flying into Kampala on the 6th of September and will spend the first week with the Basua in Western Uganda, near Bundibugyo in the Semliki valley, before returning to the capital to conduct interviews.
Continue reading Final Preperations
No Comments// Posted in blog by admin on 07.25.09.
1. pygmy - A member of any of various peoples, especially of equatorial Africa and parts of southeast Asia, having an average height less than 5 feet.
2. An individual of unusually small size.
3. An individual considered to be of little or no importance.
Pygmy is a portrait of a group of people who are considered the marginalised of the marginalised. It is also a story about tourism and aid, a study of attitudes and perceptions, and an examination of the myths that continue to shape our understanding of indigenous people.
Continue reading The Basua Pygmies
