Keystones
Some of our most impactful films
OUR TOP FIVE FILMS
African Voices for Africa's Forests - African Climate Reality Project
African Voices for Africa’s Forests explores land ownership issues, women and Indigenous rights and participation in forest protection. For the local communities, the relationship with the forest and the land has always been one of respect and care. These communities have been affected by deforestation because land is owned by the government, who in turn sells it to big corporations, making it privatised and inaccessible.
Ewi Stephanie Lamma, the main character of the film, is a trained Climate Reality Leader and Coordinator at Forests, Resources and People, in Limbe, Cameroon. She works with local communities, women, and youth, encouraging them to use their voices and take part in local decision-making processes to protect and restore their local forests.
Ewi works with these communities not only to address deforestation, but also to reframe how we think about governance of the commons (e.g land, water, soil, etc.) and issues of rights, ownership, and identity.
They are amplifying the call for local people to be involved in decision making processes, and consulted before development projects take place through free, prior, and informed consent processes.
Google Trekker - South Africa
We’re feeling a little nostalgic and maybe you are too. It all began in 2017, when the likes of a few wanderers decided to carry a 20kg backpack named ‘Gary the Google Trekker’ around the meandering trails of South Africa. But why? Gary had the ability to capture an image with every step you took, turning the undocumented trails of our country into a virtual wonderland.
We can now plot and plan the routes we wish to traverse on foot, eye out any key sundowner spots, or even just dream of taking these steps while surfing on the web late at night.
The goal here was to showcase South Africa’s best hiking trails to the world, to encourage visitors to these wild spaces. This video encapsulates the feeling that this project gave to many South Africans.
Restoring the Wild (Protectors Of - Upemba) TRAILER
ReWild Africa has produced a trailer film based in the heart of the Congo, Upemba National Park is a forgotten landscape that was once rich in megafauna. However in recent years due to illegal mining and poaching, much of its biodiversity has plummeted. However in recent years due to illegal mining and poaching, much of its biodiversity has plummeted. Elephants, zebras, and impala that once roamed in the tens of thousands have declined to just a few hundred. But the story doesn’t end here.
Today, a small team of rangers, led by Major Fils, are fighting to restore what has been lost. Today, a small team of rangers, led by Major Fils, are fighting to restore what has been lost.
This film, created last year while on assignment in Upemba, is the beginning of our journey to tell the story of restoring one of Earth’s most threatened and biodiverse places. Watch this space…
The Scientists saving Malawi's crops - BBC Storyworks | OWSD
A short film featuring 2018 OWSD Early Career fellow Elizabeth Bandason is part of the film series Unlocking Science, a project presented by the International Science Council and produced by BBC Storyworks.
The series shines the spotlight on several scientists who are finding solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing issues. It looks at how the global collaborative effort by international science is rising to the challenge of finding pathways to living within planetary boundaries.
Elizabeth’s work fits perfectly into this theme. An entomologist from Malawi, she is studying how insects’ brains respond to scent in order to explore alternative methods to heavy pesticide application on crops, which is harmful to both human health and the environment. Her story is also a personal one, having been motivated to go into science after losing her father due to harmful effects of chemical exposure.
OECM’s - Other Effective Area Based Conservation Measures
There are many different ways to contribute towards conservation, and it isn’t restricted to only protected areas.
A film collaboration with BirdLife SA, IUCN, Kruger to Canyons, Future Law and more.
OECMs (Other Effective Area Based Conservation Measures)
“A geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values (CBD, 2018).’
