incef

Summary

This is a fourteen minute film devoted to the personal testimonies of five people whose lives have been touched directly by Ebola epidemics in the Cuvette Ouest Region of the Republic of Congo. They have compelling stories to tell of the disease’s devastating effects as they address issues regarding prevention, transmission, social repercussions and the widespread notion in certain areas that Ebola is caused by sorcery or black magic.

Participants in the film include the tracker from Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary who first discovered animals dying of Ebola in 2002; a community elder whose son succumbed to the disease and has also found himself being regarded as a sorcerer; the research chief from Odzala National Park who lost a wife and son to the disease in 2002; a village elder who maintains that white people have brought the disease; and a young man who has had to assume responsibility for the care of fifteen nieces and nephews orphaned by the deaths of his seven siblings.

The footage includes original INCEF material and World Health Organization footage shot during the epidemics in 2002 and 2003.