Former Secretary-General, United Nations
Sudandese Refugee, Kenya
Open Air Foundation Partners
For several years, the Open Air Foundation has assisted organizations in bringing informative media and indigenous cultural productions to marginalized African regions. Non-profit organizations such as Film Aid and the Rwanda Cinema Center have used mobile outdoor cinema equipment from Open Air Cinema to better the quality of life of those in impoverished nations through the power of film, as well as giving them the resources and opportunities to tell their own stories with film.
These efforts have proved extremely successful within villages and refugee camps in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, & Tanzania. Open Air's inflatable screen technology has been used to educate hundreds of thousands in refugee camps on current issues like women's rights and AIDS prevention. The systems are simple enough to set up and use for small events with a few people, yet large enough to accommodate gatherings of several thousand people.
The following are several projects that Open Air has partnered with. Through these experiences we have demonstrated the power of film as a catalyst for social change:
Rwanda Cinema Center
The Rwanda Cinema Center was created to facilitate film and video production; to deliver informative, entertaining, and educational content; and to explore a wide spectrum of issues and raise awareness on local and global development agendas, community outreaches, and socio-cultural, political and economic development. Film is one of the most popular forms of entertainment, but it also represents an industry that is growing- thus creating trades, foreign investments and job opportunities. Rwanda is now a growing nation and the cultural diversity and creative energy is finding the space to flourish.
In addition, the Rwanda Cinema Center is putting up Rwanda's first independent movie theater. This will be the scene of workforce training and include a sound stage that can be used by public and private entities. The main hall will be built to the same standards used for Los Angeles and Hollywood facilities. There, filming of major motion pictures, television documentaries, commercials and independent films will take place. It is hoped the complex will meet every aspect of a production company's needs. This investment will mean more jobs and opportunities for the Rwandan people, and will facilitate the growth of Rwandan cinema.
FilmAid International
FilmAid International has many goals using the power of film. Inflatable screen technology is helping to reach those goals in impoverished nations. Film Aid strives to:
- Educate and inform refugees through potentially life-saving messages on health care, prevention of HIV and AIDS and other infectious diseases, gender-based violence and post-conflict reconciliation.
- Entertain refugees, helping to alleviate problems of psychosocial trauma and despair.
- Empower refugee youth through participatory video activities that develop confidence and self-esteem by giving them the opportunity to be creative and tell their story.
- Present screening sessions in community centers, schools, and health centers throughout the camp followed by facilitated discussions on vital topics of concern to the participants. These screenings present a forum where refugees can feel comfortable discussing otherwise taboo subjects.
- Address the frequently neglected problems of refugee despair and psychological trauma. FilmAid uses the power of film to break monotony and isolation, as well as to convey essential information. Movies help to restore dignity, quality of life, and hope which have been missing in the lives of refugees who often remain in camps for years.
Wardance Outdoor Screening in Northern Uganda
We are traveling way too fast on a dirt road heading north. For purposes of safety, we are grouped in a convoy of four Toyota Landcruisers and we've just managed to escape the city. For at least an hour now I have been bouncing around in the back seat. Everything rattles. Not only are we dealing with hundreds of potholes the size of kettle drums, but also an endless array of speed bumps. I have counted over 74 in the last one-mile stretch.
I am traveling with an American film crew to the war-zones of Northern Uganda to screen a documentary film to thousands of refugees. Somewhere between here and the Sudan is a truck full of equipment imported from the United States: a 25 foot inflatable movie screen, a mixing board, two DVD decks and hundreds of feet of tightly coiled power cords. The projector I hold tightly on my lap, hoping that somehow my bones will absorb any shock that might damage the fragile bulb. But its useless really.
Read about how our partners have used the CineBox Global to take media to millions around the world:
FilmAid International
Rwanda Cinema Center
Shine Global and Fine Films
Learn how other organizations around the world are using outdoor cinema technologies in their communities:
Government Projects
Non-Governmental Organizations
Outdoor Film Festivals
Churches & Youth Groups
Global Events