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Coming
Attractions |
| Every Monday and
Saturday 6:30 pm Baltimore County, Baltimore City 6 pm Washington DC |
Freedom Inside the Walls  Over one million people are detained in prisons in Africa. 99% are
poor and can not afford legal representation by a lawyer. With no
legal support, people overstay on remand or attract long jail terms,
contributing to serious and chronic prison overcrowding throughout
the continent. Shot in Benin, Kenya and Malawi, "Freedom inside the walls" provides disturbing footage of prison conditions in these countries, which are common to many other prisons in Africa. It highlights the challenges in accessing justice faced by poor people in conflict with the law.  The film moves on to present the work of paralegals working in the
criminal justice systems in these countries based on the Paralegal
Advisory Service (PAS) developed in Malawi. The film illustrates the
work of the Programme of Judicial Assistance to Detainees (PAJUDE)
in Benin and the Kenya Prisons Paralegal Project (KPPP) as well as
the PAS and demonstrates how paralegals working in prison, police
and at court can provide legal education, advice and assistance, in
ways that are both appropriate and effective.The PAS has won a Good Practice Award from UN-Habitat (2004) and features in a manual of good practices ('Protecting the rights of children') published by UNICEF and others in 2005. In addition to Malawi, Benin and Kenya, paralegal programmes based on the PAS are currently in Uganda and Tanzania. |
Cameroon, the Secret of Peace Cameroon is one of the few African countries enjoying true ethnic and religious harmony since its independence. 
It seems like a miracle when observing Cameroon's extreme diversity
of more than 200 ethnic groups and about fifty churches and religious
cults yet Christians, Muslims and Animists are respectful each other's
beliefs, and coexist peacefully. The neighbouring countries of Nigeria
and Congo have all been faced with civil wars or religious clashes.
What is the secret of such a stability and balance in Cameroon?From North to South, from small villages to big cities, this film lets us meet the people of Cameroon. Muslims or Christians, sorcerers, priests and homless kids tell us about their hopes and fears. Along the way, surprising characters reveal themselves. They wonder what the future holds for their country but keep faith in their beliefs and values. |
Destination Chad From North Cameroon to Chad, from the land of the old elephants to the dunes of Kanem, the film is a non-stop journey through a very diverse region, rarely visited and filmed. Through the traveler's eyes, sharing his reactions and emotion, we discover beautiful and surprising sights, we spot wild animals, and meet touching people.  The journey starts in mountain villages of a moon-like volcanic landscape. We move on to the great savannah, Waza national park, rich in elephants, antelopes, and giraffes. Then we reach N'Djamena on the banks of Chari river, the Capital of Chad. Heading further North, we finally reach Lake Chad, remarkable maze of marshes and papyrus islands. From the air, it offers the peculiar sight of wheat fields, polders and fishermen in the middle of the desert. The journey ends in the oasis of Kanem, surrounded by the first dunes of the Sahara. Each step is full of adventures and encounters. A witchdoctor using crab for predicting the future, an old man who tells stories of ancient invasions, a chief whose Christian community shares its space with hippopotami, a merchant who trades camels, a German traveler who crosses the Sahara: each enconter helps us unravel the mysteries and traditions of these wild and remote lands. By the time we reach our final destination, we can no longer associate Chad with the wars and conflicts that made headlines not so long ago. The traveler has developed a new and fresh perspective of this tough yet generous country. |