mission
project background
Around the world, the celebrated Afro-Brazilian region of Bahia is synonymous with cultural proliferation. This is the largest concentration of afro-descendants outside of Africa. Capoeira, Terreiros de candomblé, quilombos, afoxês, blocos afros - these are the cultural conventions through which Brazil's blacks have affirmed their African heritage and waged war on poverty, racism, and oppression over the last 4 centuries.
As communities called "quilombos" did during the time of slavery, today's Bahian cultural leaders are dismissing the racist, unbalanced power structures of modern Brazilian society by organizing their own microcosms - social institutions based on equality and African heritage that function as refuge for local youth. In contrast to larger Brazilian society, these groups empower and encourage their youth to become anything or anyone they want.
the mission
In collaboration with Kids with Cameras, the Oscar Award winning documentary Born into Brothels has garnered world-wide support for social development in India by bringing their tale to a global audience. Rhythmic Uprising aims to do the same for social development in Bahia with its own community-building partners.
CREATING A VOICE: A team of Bahian and US media professionals are producing a documentary feature that will tell the world the inspiring tale of how a powerful grassroots movement based in the arts is overcoming social and economic depression. We seek to explore and promote the "transforming power of performing arts in Bahia" by relaying portraits of creative social entrepreneurs and their young apprentices. Find out more about the featured four groups by clicking here.
SUSTAINING THE VOICE: So that the organizations featured in the film can continue to create their own media products for advocacy, promotion, and education, volunteer filmmakers will train them in the use of low-cost digital video production tools. We're utilizing the successful media training methods of Video Volunteers to achieve this second goal. We're also incorporating the production assitance of the newly launched Instituto de Mídia Étnica - a Bahian group of media activists that are puting video, print, web, and radio communications technologies into the hands of those people who normally don't have access to them. Finally,
recently made documentaries relevant to this project
- El Milagro de Candeal by Fernando Trueba
- Favela Rising by Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary
- Moro no Brasil by Mika Kaurismäki
- Girl Beat: Power Of The Drum by Suzanne Girot
- Bahia: Africa in the Americas by Geovanni and Michael Brewer
- Bahia de Todos os Ritmos by Paulo Cesar Soares
- A Resistencia Da Lua by Octavio Bezerra