Film

KSCAPES

Sounds and images from the Keita valley, Niger: to stave off encroaching desertification, the local inhabitants, helped by international development agencies, plant trees and build irrigations systems. The result? 5000 sq. km of fertile cropland regained from a former dustbowl. Sam Cole documents how it was possible to restore life and hope to one of the world's poorest areas. This short was presented as part of a collective installation at the MLAC-Museum Laboratory of Contemporary Art, University of Rome, La Sapienza. The film also won special jury mention in the Corto DOC competitive category of the Bellaria Film Festival.

Il regista / The Director

Sam Cole (b. U.K., 1967) is a freelance filmmaker and has lived in Rome since 1990. After working for years as producer and cameraman with the Associated Press, for which he covered the Gulf war and the war in Afghanistan, and collaborated with the BBC and Al Jazeera, he currently works on reportage and documentaries about human rights and environmental issues for NGOs and for U.N.-associated development agencies. His documentary-style short White Gold – The True Cost of Cotton (2005) earned him acclaim at numerous international festivals.

Edizione 2009
Panorama - Ambient/azioni

videoarte
Italia/Italy, 2008, 10'

REGIA/DIRECTOR
Sam Cole

TAGS:
ACQUA - WATER / DESERTIFICAZIONE - DESERTIFICATION / DEFORESTAZIONE - DEFORESTATION / NIGER