Portrait of a place in becoming

In December 2023, a workshop on the production of animated films, sound recording, and photography took place at Afrika Mandela Ranch. The project was born thanks to the collaboration between Atelier Graphoui ASBL, based in Belgium, and the TERRA Cooperative of Afrika Mandela Ranch.

The workshop was led by Elen Sylla Grollimund, project coordinator and animator of the stop-motion and photography section, and Déborah Benarrosch from Smala Cinéma Cinédit ASBL, who presented the sound and photography part.

10 students from the Rao High School, aged between 15 and 19, 2 operators from AMR, and one audiovisual student from Dakar participated in the workshops.

The participatory workshops were conducted by stimulating illustrative and audiovisual formal research within Afrika Mandela Ranch, to create a portrait of it, not only naturalistic but with the intention of discovering the motivations, limits, dreams of those who live and work in this continuously evolving place.

The audiovisual product aims to highlight the ecological, political, and social challenge that a project as ambitious as this, which is based on the principle of protecting all living beings – humans, plants, and animals – encounters every day.

The material collected will be presented in a short film that is currently in production.”

Thanks to:
www.graphoui.org