sierraleone

A new film to look out for that’s in the works, from the creative team behind “Chameleon,” the critically-acclaimed 2015 featured ocumentary on Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the award-winning Ghanaian investigative journalist, famous for using his anonymity (he does not show his face in public, opting for masks and disguises) as he tackles human rights and anti-corruption issues across sub-Saharan Africa.

Titled “Sierra Leone: An Artist’s Journey,” the documentary tells the inspiring story of Charlie Haffner, Sierra Leone’s most beloved theatre director, who, after decades watching his country crumble and seeing his people leave in search of better lives, works to create a play unlike anything Sierra Leoneans have seen: a great work of art to inspire the next generation of leaders to stay and rebuild.

The film will follow Haffner as he stages the most ambitious play in his country’s history — a play to restore hope, re-awaken a lost culture and unite his people around a vision of a better future. A country without even a single dedicated theatre venue, Haffner, who has always used villages and town squares as sets and locals as actors, will embark on a journey of dogged determination, bitter frustrations and rich rewards, as he attempts to restore a nation’s pride, say the filmmakers.

The team behind the film includes producer Sorious Samura, is a multiple Emmy winner and native of Sierra Leone; Director Clive Patterson, a critically-acclaimed director and producer whose work has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera English; Executive Producer Nick Fraser, Commissioning Editor for the BBC’s Storyville strand and executive producer of “Man on Wire,” which won an Oscar for Best Documentary, the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the BAFTA Award; and Music Composer Daniel Platzman, a Grammy winning musician, producer, and drummer in the superstar rock band Imagine Dragons, who is creating an original score for “Sierra Leone: The Film” that will combine locally sourced and recorded music.

The film raised £20,778 (about $26,000) via a Kickstarter campaign over the summer, in completion funding, to add to the 75% of the production budget previously secured elsewhere.

“Sierra Leone: An Artist’s Journey” is expected some time in 2017.

For now, watch the crowdfunding pitch video for the film below:

Sierra Leone: An Artist's Journey

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