Have you refocused your lens?
What comes to mind when you envision a group of divers exploring the southern tips kelp forests, restoring East Africa’s coral reefs or filming wildlife in warm and wild forest and plains across the continent? What do filmmakers, scientists, innovators and conservation heroes look like, sound like, and dress like?
Africa Refocused is built on a bold theory of change:
When talented and diverse African storytellers receive the training, mentorship, connections, and access they need to advance their skills and careers, they become leaders in wildlife and natural history storytelling. Their voices add vital perspectives to the global conservation narrative, helping to protect Africa’s wildlife for generations to come.
Our Story Arc is a collection of stories that amplify, and powerfully celebrate just a fraction of the trailblazing, compelling, complex, funny, hopeful, nuanced, inspiring, passionate and hard-fought journeys of African storytellers, conservationists and scientists in the NEWF community - on and off continent.
Through these stories, we celebrate our collective agency, and seek to share the value of community-centric impact through warm, thought-provoking narratives that highlight the richly diverse cultures, multidisciplinary talent and Indigenous knowledge systems that play a significant role in the preservation of our wild spaces, species and the communities that coexist with them.
wambui waweru on finding a new stride and story
Kenyan writer, voice artist and mother, Wambui Waweru’s place with NEWF is not always easily defined. A tangle of creativity moving swiftly and slowly as at once, she works closely with cohorts to deepen their storytelling, and contributes to redefining the lens through which Africa is seen.
How many African photographers and cinematographers have the opportunity to film wildlife off the continent?
While diversity in the wildlife film industry is growing, foreign talent still dominates production on the African continent. Kenyan Peter Ndung’u had the timely opportunity to join Gulo Film’s crew in Finland for 4 weeks.