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CLIENT Gelila Bekele, Private Commission
STATUS Work in progress
TIME FRAME Fall 2011
PRODUCTS Photos, Video, Public Awareness Campaign, Book, Gallery Exhibit, Limited Edition Prints
PROJECT
I was honored and thrilled when Ethiopian born supermodel and humanitarian Gelila Bekele asked me to help accomplish her dream – to create a collection of still images about Ethiopia and produce a video to raise awareness about the lack of clean drinking water. I've been wanting to return to Africa and this was a dream opportunity for me as well! But what did I know about Ethiopia besides delicious food served on top of spongy bread? Ethiopia conjured up images of malnourished children, drought, civil war, poverty and hardship. What I didn’t realize was the incredible beauty of the people, the mosaic of unique cultures and languages (84 languages) and the diversity of the land – from the hottest place on earth to lush lands filled with mangos. The people were extremely welcoming to Gelila as one of their own, and to me- a ferenji (foreigner).
PHOTOS
We travelled to rural villages in multiple regions across Ethiopia to capture the diversity of the people and the place. In order to make candid and intimate images of people in such a limited time we stayed with families sharing meals and sleeping on animal skins. Gelila speaks the language of most places we went (and I made a whole-hearted attempt) which helped us establish relationships in a shorter timeframe. Photos will be used in a public awareness campaign, limited edition prints, gallery exhibits and ultimately be made into a book. Proceeds go towards building wells in Ethiopia.
VIDEO
We focused on a young girl, Hembar, to raise awareness about the lack of access to clean drinking water and how it effects girls. Girls walk an average of four hours a day to collect water and carry it home on their back in jugs weighing over 40lbs. Often the water comes from polluted sources. Walking for water is the number one reason girls in Ethiopia miss school. We accompanied Hembar as she walked for water, sat with her at night as she studied by candlelight under a mosquito net, danced with her and her girlfriends as they turned plastic bottles into musical instruments and interviewed her family members, neighbors and teacher. The video will be edited and distributed at film festivals & on-line to raise money to build wells in Ethiopia.
CHALLENGES
There was a limited amount of time to traverse a large country and little time actually spent with our subjects so we had to quickly gain access and trust in order to document those candid moments of true life. Rough terrain meant 12 hour driving days and at times we were working only hours from the hottest place on earth!
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CLIENT
Gelila Bekele is a supermodel and humanitarian. Born in Ethiopia, she left to live with relatives in Italy at the age of eight but Gelila never forgot her roots and recently reconnected with her homeland. Her mother’s family comes from the northern region near the city of Axum where the women are known to be as powerful as they are beautiful. No surprise there! But it’s also one of the most forgotten and arid regions in the country. Gelila’s mission is to raise awareness about the lack of drinking water in her country. She is a generous donor to Charity:Water building wells in many villages throughout the country. www.gelilabekele.com
CREDITS
Photography & Video: Dana Romanoff
Director: Gelila Bekele
Video Producer: Mo Scarpelli, Charity:Water
Audio & Additional Video: Allie Bombach, Red Reel Video