INCEF Honored at International Wildlife Film Festival (IWFF)
Videos produced as part of INCEF's Forest Elephant Public Awareness Project (FEPAP) are made for rural people in the Republic of Congo, but we are thrilled to be honored at the 29th Annual IWFF in Missoula, Montana. Our short film Le Prix d'Ivoire ("The Price of Ivory") was nominated as a finalist in the non-broadcast category, and also received the Merit Award for Effective Message. INCEF Executive Director Cynthia Moses participated in the festival, and accepted the Merit Award on behalf of Congolese filmmakers Anatole Mafoula, Bonne Annee Matoumona and Jéhu Olivier Bikoumou.
While there, Cynthia gave presentations about INCEF's use of video to raise awareness and build capacity in Africa. We are overwhelmed by the favorable response received from our filmmaking and conservation colleagues! Cynthia was also on a panel to discuss ethics and filmmaking, an issue we are very mindful of in our work with diverse cultures and threatened wildlife.
INCEF thanks the IWFF judges and participants for recognizing the quality and value of our work to raise awareness about conservation and health issues in Central Africa.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Cameraman/Producer Anatole Mafoula was trained in the Soviet Union as a video cameraman and has been working for the Congolese National Broadcaster (TeleCongo) for more than two decades. In the early 1990’s, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists were so impressed with his abilities that they supplied him with a DV camera and tape and asked him to focus more of his work on conservation issues. As a result, he has produced documentaries about the risk of the commercial trade in bushmeat, the threats to great apes and the plight of forest elephants from ivory poaching. His expertise at capturing images and conducting interviews have made him an invaluable member of the INCEF team.
Journalist Bonne Annee Matoumona is the Director of Environmental Programming for TeleCongo. His skills as a journalist have been recognized throughout Africa where he was elected to the board of the African Network of Environmental Journalists. His skills as a journalist and translator made an excellent contribution to our work.
Editor/Producer Olivier Jehu Bikoumou came to INCEF from the World Health Organization. Besides public health films, he has produced music videos and fiction features. Mr. Bikoumou is not only a skilled video editor, but also a graphic artist and music composer. And all of these talents round out the INCEF team in Congo.
ABOUT IWFF
The International Wildlife Film Festival is the premiere North American annual event for showcasing wildlife films produced around the world. The 2006 Festival was held May 13-20, and featured the theme " People & Nature: Living in Harmony." For more information, visit www.wildlifefilms.org.
