In a recent issue of the Italian magazine, D la Repubblica delle Donne, Open Air Cinema’s inflatable movie screens were featured in a special African spread. Open Air Cinema’s past work bringing outdoor movies to refugee camps in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda caught the magazine’s eye. As mentioned in the article, Open Air Cinema’s inflatable screens will be used in Rwanda’s Outdoor Film Festival, “Hillywood”. In rural regions of Africa, where a whole village shares one old TV, movies and Public Service media are rare. Open Air Cinema traveled to Africa to bring film entertainment and also educational media to these rural areas. You can read the blog post about Open Air Cinema’s outdoor movies in Africa here. The following is the article from the Italian magazine, D la Repubblica delle Donne.

Dopo i pop up store, i pop up cinema. La compagnia americana Open Air Cinema fornisce tutto l’occorrente nella formula dei “CineBox”: uno schermo gonfiabile da dodici metri, generatori, proiettori digitali, lettori dvd, altoparlanti e custodie per il trasporto. “E dal momento che possono essere installati ovunque, perché non cominciare dalle zone più remote dell’Africa, con l’aiuto delle Ong, per unire l’intrattenimento all’informazione su temi come l’Aids o i diritti delle donne”, ha pensato il presidente Stuart Farmer. “Già usati nei campi profughi di Kenya, Tanzania e Uganda, gli schermi gonfiabili saranno installati a giugno a “Hillywood”, il festival di cinema itinerante del Ruanda (openaircinema.us).

Photo of Outdoor Movies in Africa from Insert

After the pop up store, the movies pop up. The American company Open Air Cinema provides everything you need in the form of the  “CineBox”: an inflatable screen twelve meters in dimension, generators, digital projectors, DVD players, speakers and boxes for transport. “And since they can be installed anywhere, we can take them to the most remote areas of Africa, with the help of NGOs; joining entertainment with information on topics such as AIDS or the rights of women,” he thought President Stuart Farmer. “Already in use in the refugee camps of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, inflatable screens will be installed in June at “Hillywood”, the film festival touring Rwanda (openaircinema.us).

Source: “Life e Tendenze” by Stefania Medetti -D la Repubblica della Donne. Read full (Italian) article at: http://dweb.repubblica.it/dweb/2009/02/21/lifeetendenze/lifeetendenze/058lab63458.html.

In Africa, movies can be more than a night out; they can be a step up. Making and watching films can change lives and empower individuals with information and ideas.

Outdoor cinema is an ideal medium for people in many parts of Africa and is growing in its use.

To show a film, they don’t have to own the land or build a building-the screens can be set up in an open field.

A provider of large inflatable movie screens, Open Air Cinema is making it possible to provide this medium for NGOs and small business owners in Africa at a discounted rate.

With the inflatable screens, projectors, speakers, sound equipment and generators everything is completely transportable.

For example, in Rwanda, Open Air Cinema has partnered with the Rwanda Cinema Center which has a program to showcase the talent of the brilliant local filmmakers at several locations across the country.

Meanwhile, Open Air Cinema, the world leader in outdoor cinema equipment, is announcing a humanitarian effort that includes a subsidized program to provide Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and small business owners in Africa with its inflatable movie screens to show films in an outdoor environment.

The Open Air Cinema CineBox product comes equipped with everything needed to offer NGOs a portable, durable solution to distribute information, education and entertainment via outdoor movie screens.

The systems are simple enough to set up and use for small events with a few people, yet large enough to easily accommodate gatherings of several thousand people.

“With the infrastructure challenges that are common throughout Africa, we are offering NGOs an effective and enticing new medium to deliver critical information and needed entertainment,” said Stuart Farmer, president of Open Air Cinema.

“Our inflatable movie screens and systems can be made available anywhere, even in the bush, so NGOs can now deliver consistent messages-through training films about AIDS awareness or women’s rights or an entertaining movie to help elevate the morale of those in the audience.”

Inflatable movie screens from Open Air Cinema have been used by the United Nations and FilmAid in refugee camps in Kenya and Tanzania.

The screens are also used for “Hillywood,” the traveling Rwandan film festival. Movies featuring filmmakers from Rwanda and other African states are shown on the inflatable screens in seven locations over seven days.

Up to 10,000 people attend each showing. Each community has the opportunity to feature their own stories, in their own voice.

“We take our film festival to remote areas of Rwanda to bring the magic of cinema to a people who desperately need it,” said Eric Kabera, founder of the Rwanda Cinema Center.

“Many people in this region have never seen a film, and we are working to educate and inspire them and open their eyes to the world of achievable possibilities.”

“Outdoor cinema is an ideal medium for many parts of Africa,” Farmer said.

“To show a film, you don’t have to own the land, it can be in an open field.

“Everything can fit in a Land Rover including the screen, projector, speakers, a sound mixer and a generator for remote outdoor viewing.”

The Open Air Cinema subsidized program is for use by NGOs and other organizations that desire to use the cinema equipment for humanitarian efforts in Africa.

The program includes detailed training, technical support and reduced pricing for participating organizations.

To apply for the program and for more information, visit www.openaircinema.us/humanitarian.htm

Zanzibar International Film Festival is a non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit organization established in 1997 in Zanzibar. It is a unique initiative for the sustained preservation and development of the region’s rich cultural heritage and the work of contemporary artists. ZIFF’s main activity is the organisation of the annual Festival of the Dhow Countries that takes place around the first two weeks of July. International and indigenous films are presented in a variety of venues, including a special outdoor movie screening in an open air cinema.

Mission: To promote internationally and to develop film and other relevant cultural industries as tools for social and economic growth in the region, as exemplified in Zanzibar.

Vision: ZIFF aims to make Zanzibar the focal point for promoting Dhow culture through films and other media.

The festival centre is located in the beautiful stone town area in Zanzibar. The main location of the festival is an atmospheric open air cinema in an Amphitheatre located inside Old Fort. Other venues are Mambo Club, Forodhani Garden, House of Wonders, Old Customs House, Palace Museum, the Barge at the Old fort Waterfront, Aecrotanal, Chake Chake and Wete Cinema in Pemba.

Official Website: http://www.ziff.or.tz/

The largest outdoor cinema event ever held in Africa! Open Air Cinema in cooperation with Film Aid International staged the largest outdoor movie event ever held on the continent of Africa. An open air screening of George of the Jungle drew over 15,000 participants from a Sudanese refugee camp in Tanzania. The movie screening was followed by a short documentary film.

Open Air brings films to Refugees in Africa

Tanzania. The forest stillness is broken by squeals of laughter as African refugee children watch monkeys drive cars in the movie “George of the Jungle.”
The next film “Neria,” teaches them about human rights, with an emphasis on the rights of women.
For many of the 15,000 or more Tanzanian refugees watching tonight, these are the first movies they’ve ever seen.
“These kids are going to have to move back to their country and not have anything like this, (but) for a little while, it’s good,” said Stuart Farmer, president of California-based Open Air Cinema LLC, which provides outdoor movies on inflatable screens.
“With outdoor cinema in America, we’re here to entertain people and promote community involvement,” Farmer said. “But out in Africa, outdoor movies are much more than that.”
Farmer started Open Air Cinema in 2001 after winning a business competition at Brigham Young University. When he learned about FilmAid International, a nonprofit group that reaches out to refugees through film, Farmer knew they had to help.
So the company donated three screens, projectors and speaker systems, which all run on gas generators. Farmer just returned from three weeks in Africa where he saw the grateful reception.
“The inflatable screen represents a new technology for us that I believe is going to give us more flexibility,” said Andrew Heyduck, program director for FilmAid International. “We’re really, really happy. The inflatable screen has become a key part of what we do.”
Prior to the inflatable screens, films were shown on screens attached to stacked shipping crates.
Headquartered in New York City, FilmAid International brings educational videos and entertaining films to the nearly 33 million people who are forcibly displaced from their homes by war, natural disasters or political upheaval, according to the group’s Web site, www.filmaid.org. One of their biggest geographical focuses right now is Africa.
“We’re providing entertainment and education, but it’s also about giving them a voice,” Heyduck said.
Heyduck’s background is in delivering relief supplies to refugees. However, refugees need more than just food and first aid, he says.
“We’re … empowering them, giving them film production training,” he said. “We’re providing services that nobody else provides to refugees.”
FilmAid only goes into areas where basic life needs are already being addressed.
In response to education needs, the films address HIV/AIDS, domestic abuse, rape, sexual exploitation and land mines, as well as how to promote peace and reconciliation.
A refugee advisory committee screens each movie to check for cultural sensitivities and whether it would be relevant to that particular group.
Refugees also develop scripts, produce and shoot many of the films.
“Films that are shot on site have a real special impact,” Heyduck said. “They’re much more relevant.”
Tanzanian native Pius John was hired by FilmAid International in December 2002 as a technical assistant. He has moved up through the organization and is now a participatory video coordinator and helps to train others and repair equipment.
“Refugees love very much FilmAid,” John wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News from Tanzania. “It is the only program that can pass messages to the thousands of people at a time. FilmAid program also refresh refugees mind so as to forget the past!”
He said the program not only entertains and inspires refugees, but it provides them with skills and training that will help them find opportunities in their own countries.
Farmer said he was amazed at how respectful and gentle the crews were with the equipment that represented so much for them and the community.
“Refugees around the world need help,” Farmer said. “They have absolutely nothing. FilmAid is looking to educate them, also to entertain them and inspire them.”

See the footage made by FilmAid Event Staff in Tanzania

Outdoor movies and inflatable movie screens have been appearing in locations all around the world. Over time we will be adding links to articles about outdoor movies and open air cinema events. These articles are listed according to the country where the inflatable movie screen has been set up or the country where the outdoor movie event takes place.

A

• Abkhazia – Republic of Abkhazia
• Afghanistan – Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia – Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK overseas territory)
• Åland – Åland Islands (Autonomous province of Finland)
• Albania – Republic of Albania
• Algeria – People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
• American Samoa – Territory of American Samoa (US territory)
• Andorra – Principality of Andorra
• Angola – Republic of Angola
• Anguilla (UK overseas territory)
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina – Argentine Republic
• Armenia – Republic of Armenia
• Aruba (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Ascension Island (Dependency of the UK overseas territory of Saint Helena)
• Australia – Commonwealth of Australia
• Austria – Republic of Austria
• Azerbaijan – Republic of Azerbaijan

B

• Bahamas, The – Commonwealth of The Bahamas
• Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain
• Bangladesh – People’s Republic of Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belarus – Republic of Belarus
• Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium
• Belize
• Benin – Republic of Benin
• Bermuda (UK overseas territory)
• Bhutan – Kingdom of Bhutan
• Bolivia – Republic of Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Botswana – Republic of Botswana
• Brazil – Federative Republic of Brazil
• Brunei – Negara Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burma – Union of Myanmar
• Burundi – Republic of Burundi

C

• Cambodia – Kingdom of Cambodia
• Cameroon – Republic of Cameroon
• Canada
• Cape Verde – Republic of Cape Verde
• Cayman Islands (UK overseas territory)
• Central African Republic
• Chad – Republic of Chad
• Chile – Republic of Chile
• China – People’s Republic of China
• For “China, Republic of”, see Taiwan
• Christmas Island – Territory of Christmas Island (Australian overseas territory)
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australian overseas territory)
• Colombia – Republic of Colombia
• Comoros – Union of the Comoros
• Congo – Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Congo – Republic of the Congo
• Cook Islands (Associated state of New Zealand)
• Costa Rica – Republic of Costa Rica
• Côte d’Ivoire – Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
• Croatia – Republic of Croatia
• Cuba – Republic of Cuba
• Cyprus – Republic of Cyprus
• Czech Republic

D

• Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark
• For “Dhekelia”, see Akrotiri and Dhekelia
• Djibouti – Republic of Djibouti
• Dominica – Commonwealth of Dominica
• Dominican Republic

E

• East Timor – Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
• Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador
• Egypt – Arab Republic of Egypt
• El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea – Republic of Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea – State of Eritrea
• Estonia – Republic of Estonia
• Ethiopia – Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

F

• Falkland Islands (UK overseas territory)
• Faroe Islands (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
• Fiji – Republic of the Fiji Islands
• Finland – Republic of Finland
• France – French Republic
• French Polynesia (French overseas collectivity)

G

• Gabon – Gabonese Republic
• Gambia, The – Republic of The Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany – Federal Republic of Germany
• Ghana – Republic of Ghana
• Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
• Greece – Hellenic Republic
• Greenland (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
• Grenada
• Guam – Territory of Guam (US organized territory)
• Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala
• Guernsey – Bailiwick of Guernsey (British Crown dependency)
• Guinea – Republic of Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau – Republic of Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana – Co-operative Republic of Guyana

H

• Haiti – Republic of Haiti
• Honduras – Republic of Honduras
• Hong Kong – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)
• Hungary – Republic of Hungary

I

• Iceland – Republic of Iceland
• India – Republic of India
• Indonesia – Republic of Indonesia
• Iran – Islamic Republic of Iran
• Iraq – Republic of Iraq
• Ireland – Ireland
• Isle of Man (British Crown dependency)
• Israel – State of Israel
• Italy – Italian Republic
• For “Ivory Coast”, see Côte d’Ivoire

J

• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jersey – Bailiwick of Jersey (British Crown dependency)
• Jordan – Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K

• Kazakhstan – Republic of Kazakhstan
• Kenya – Republic of Kenya
• Kiribati – Republic of Kiribati
• Korea, North – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
• Korea, South – Republic of Korea
• Kosovo – Republic of Kosovo
• Kuwait – State of Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyz Republic

L

• Laos – Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Latvia – Republic of Latvia
• Lebanon – Republic of Lebanon
• Lesotho – Kingdom of Lesotho
• Liberia – Republic of Liberia
• Libya – Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• Liechtenstein – Principality of Liechtenstein
• Lithuania – Republic of Lithuania
• Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

M

• Macao – Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)
• Macedonia – Republic of Macedonia
• Madagascar – Republic of Madagascar
• Malawi – Republic of Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives – Republic of Maldives
• Mali – Republic of Mali
• Malta – Republic of Malta
• Marshall Islands – Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Mauritania – Islamic Republic of Mauritania
• Mauritius – Republic of Mauritius
• Mayotte – Departmental Collectivity of Mayotte (French overseas collectivity)
• Mexico – United Mexican States
• Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia
• Moldova – Republic of Moldova
• Monaco – Principality of Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Montserrat (UK overseas territory)
• Morocco – Kingdom of Morocco
• Mozambique – Republic of Mozambique
• For “Myanmar”, see Burma

N

• Nagorno-Karabakh – Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh)
• Namibia – Republic of Namibia
• Nauru – Republic of Nauru
• Nepal – Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
• Netherlands – Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Netherlands Antilles (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• New Caledonia – Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies (French community sui generis)
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua – Republic of Nicaragua
• Niger – Republic of Niger
• Nigeria – Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Niue (Associated state of New Zealand)
• Norfolk Island – Territory of Norfolk Island (Australian overseas territory)
• Northern Cyprus – Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• Northern Mariana Islands – Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US commonwealth)
• For “North Korea”, see Korea, North
• Norway – Kingdom of Norway

O

• Oman – Sultanate of Oman

P

• Pakistan – Islamic Republic of Pakistan
• Palau – Republic of Palau
• Palestine – Palestinian Territories
• Panama – Republic of Panama
• Papua New Guinea – Independent State of Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay – Republic of Paraguay
• For “People’s Republic of China”, see China
• Peru – Republic of Peru
• Philippines – Republic of the Philippines
• Pitcairn Islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands (UK overseas territory)
• Poland – Republic of Poland
• Portugal – Portuguese Republic
• For “Pridnestrovie”, see Transnistria
• Puerto Rico – Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (US commonwealth)

Q

• Qatar – State of Qatar

R

• Romania
• Russia – Russian Federation
• Rwanda – Republic of Rwanda

S

• Saint Barthélemy – Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French overseas collectivity)
• Saint Helena (UK overseas territory)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis – Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin – Collectivity of Saint Martin (French overseas collectivity)
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon – Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French overseas collectivity)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa – Independent State of Samoa
• San Marino – Most Serene Republic of San Marino
• São Tomé and Príncipe – Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
• Saudi Arabia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Senegal – Republic of Senegal
• Serbia – Republic of Serbia
• Seychelles – Republic of Seychelles
• Sierra Leone – Republic of Sierra Leone
• Singapore – Republic of Singapore
• Slovakia – Slovak Republic
• Slovenia – Republic of Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia – Somali Republic
• Somaliland – Republic of Somaliland
• South Africa – Republic of South Africa
• For “South Korea”, see Korea, South
• South Ossetia – Republic of South Ossetia
• Spain – Kingdom of Spain
• Sri Lanka – Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
• Sudan – Republic of the Sudan
• Suriname – Republic of Suriname
• Svalbard (Territory of Norway)
• Swaziland – Kingdom of Swaziland
• Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden
• Switzerland – Swiss Confederation
• Syria – Syrian Arab Republic

T

• Taiwan – Republic of China
• Tajikistan – Republic of Tajikistan
• Tanzania – United Republic of Tanzania
• Thailand – Kingdom of Thailand
• For “Timor-Leste”, see East Timor
• Togo – Togolese Republic
• Tokelau (Overseas territory of New Zealand)
• Tonga – Kingdom of Tonga
• Transnistria – Transnistrian Moldovan Republic
• Trinidad and Tobago – Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
• Tristan da Cunha (Dependency of the UK overseas territory of Saint Helena)
• Tunisia – Tunisian Republic
• Turkey – Republic of Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Turks and Caicos Islands (UK overseas territory)
• Tuvalu

U

• Uganda – Republic of Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• United States – United States of America
• Uruguay – Eastern Republic of Uruguay
• Uzbekistan – Republic of Uzbekistan

V

• Vanuatu – Republic of Vanuatu
• Vatican City – State of the Vatican City
• Venezuela – Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
• Vietnam – Socialist Republic of Vietnam
• Virgin Islands, British – British Virgin Islands (UK overseas territory)
• Virgin Islands, United States – United States Virgin Islands (US organized territory)

W

• Wallis and Futuna – Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands (French overseas collectivity)
• Western Sahara – Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Y

• Yemen – Republic of Yemen

Z

• For “Zaire”, see Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Zambia – Republic of Zambia
• Zimbabwe – Republic of Zimbabwe