About
The Film
© 2011 Moja Moja Pictures Ltd.
From the beginning Susan and I both knew that this was going to be a “suck it and see” project due to a few key aspects. To start with, this was Susan’s first business venture and a unique idea at that. From the beginning we weren’t even sure if the initial package of cameras to start the business would arrive in Kenya intact. Packages are frequently intercepted, never arriving at their final destination.
In addition, this was my first time shooting a longer format film. There were so many foreseeable and unforeseeable problems and eventualities; the odds were not stacked in our favour. We were basically making it up as we went along and hoped it would work since the concept was so beautifully strong and we believed completely at what was the heart of the business – the many children at the S.H.E.R.P. orphanage in Africa who reciprocally believed in what we were doing for them.
As a first time documentarian faced with a project that was unfolding in front of me day by day, it was impossible to develop a story line until we had completed our task, which was to prove that this business works. I had a few ideas of how I visualized the film taking shape but these were just guidelines and were probably not going to result in the final look of the film.
Preconceived notions, such as the dire, harsh, sad lives of these children were shattered when we actually met them. All of them have been outcast from their families because they are physically or mentally disabled. Some had been locked up with animals, some buried alive, while others were raped repeatedly. Two of the little girls were tied to a tree and left for dead because they were blind and considered an evil spirit by their families.
Despite all their hardships, we found them to be happy and excited at the prospects that lay ahead. More often than not we found them running around with huge smiles on their cheeky faces laughing and cajoling with their fellow orphans. Their joie de vivre and their ability to bounce back from such atrocities changed the whole direction of the film for me.
I wanted to ensure that the film wasn’t all doom and gloom; there is hope and together people can form a strong driving force capable of creating change for the betterment of lives.
