Film phase:Production
SYNOPSIS
Through the eyes of Sierra Leonean filmmakers, Survivors presents a portrait of their country during the Ebola outbreak, exposing the complexity of the epidemic and the socio-political turmoil that lies in its wake. The film chronicles the remarkable stories of Sierra Leonean heroes during what is now widely regarded as the most acute public health crisis of the modern era.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Survivors is co-directed by Anna Fitch, Banker White, and Arthur Pratt.
Anna Fitch is an Emmy award-winning director. Her natural history and science documentaries have aired on the National Geographic Channel, Channel 4 UK, and PBS. Awards, nominations and festivals include: BugWorld: War of Two Worlds (2003), Emmy Award in Best Documentary Directing, Delegates Choice Award – Wildscreen, and Best Science, and Natural History Program finalist – Banff Television Festival. She co-directed the feature documentary The Genius of Marian (2013), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast on POV in September 2014. Her work has been supported by Sundance, the NEA, Tribeca, Britdoc, Catapult and the Pacific Pioneer fund.
Banker White is the director/producer of The Genius of Marian, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival & was broadcast on PBS’s series POV in September 2014. The documentary received support from Sundance, the NEA, the Tribeca Film Institute, Impact Partners, Britdoc, and Catapult, among others. Banker directed Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars (POV 2007). The film was nominated by the IDA for best feature in 2006 and won grand jury awards at AFI Fest. Banker founded WeOwnTV, a collaborative filmmaking and storytelling project in Sierra Leone, which is supported by Creative Capital, Freedom to Create, The Bertha Foundation, and BAVC.
Arthur Pratt is a filmmaker and community leader based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Arthur is a co-founder of the Sierra Leone Film Council, the country’s first media makers union. He is a co-founder and manager of the WeOwnTV Freetown Media Center. He has numerous credits and awards for the films and plays he has produced. Film credits include: Charity (2010), which received festival awards at the Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles, Cinema by the Bay San Francisco, Semana del Cine Experimental de Madrid, Spain; Black Sugar (2011); They Resisted (2011); Hustler (2011); Gift of My Eyes (2012); and M’Pora (2012).