Hi All, I am seeking some generous souls to help in my endeavor to bring analog filmmaking equipment to Congo! I've been invited to lead a film workshop at this year's Ishango Encounter <https://africalia.be/en/19th-edition-dishango-encounter/>, a significant film and cultural gathering that happens in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.
As you may know, much of Congo and especially Eastern Congo has been in a state of upheaval and violent extraction for years since the Belgian colonial rule and the ongoing destabilizing forces of western capital and colonialism, with much regional conflict (including the current M23 Rwandan backed forces taking over Eastern Congo) driven by the insatiable thirst for cobalt and the many precious rare minerals held in Congolese earth. Amidst all of this, Yole!Africa <https://yoleafrica.org/> has been doing amazing regenerative work in Goma and Eastern Congo, including offering film classes and more for locals for 25 years and putting on the annual Ishango Encounter. If you know the filmmaker Petna Ndaliko Katondolo <https://www.redcat.org/events/films-petna-ndaliko-katondolo>, he has been a pivotal figure in the ongoing efforts of Yole!Africa and his films and the filmmakers he's been fostering in Goma are wildly inventive and inspiring - I've had the privilege of working with him and curating some of his work and his students' work in Los Angeles in my role as Film Curator at LACMA and elsewhere in LA. As part of my workshop in Goma for Ishango Encounter, I am planning to bring Super8 and 16mm cameras as well as film for my class to work with as most of them have never had access to analog film equipment or labs to process their film. It is in this effort that I am reaching out to the folks here on Frameworks (and hopefully wider as well) to see if anybody is willing to loan or donate their S8 or 16mm cameras to the filmmakers of Congo. I have my own small arsenal of analog film equipment, but unfortunately all of my Super8 and 16mm cameras have recently fallen into disrepair due to creative and educational use in LA. I would greatly appreciate any donations or loaners (also open to low-cost purchases) of Super8 and 16mm cameras in working condition - ideally Canon/Nizo/Bolex but really open to anything that might work. If you are willing, I would then donate the cameras to Yole!Africa for their continued use or bring them back to Los Angeles to return them to the loaner. I'll be leaving from Los Angeles the first week of December, so I would be looking to be able to pick up or receive them (I can pay for shipping) before then. Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information. I'd be very appreciative if you can also spread the word amongst other analog film lovers so that we can work together to help the filmmakers of Goma and Congo at large be able to imprint their visions onto celluloid. Thanks, Matazi Weathers (they/them) ✿❀✿❀✿❀✿
-- Frameworks mailing list [email protected] https://mail.film-gallery.org/mailman/listinfo/frameworks_film-gallery.org
