Telling stories the world
has yet to hear
I
S t o r y a n d P h o t o s B y J a c o b W is e
t all began when I heard a story
about a tree so large you could
wrap 15 people around its base. Not
only was there one tree like this,
but entire forests of gigantic trees.
Unfortunately, I also discovered
that they were being cut down, one-
by-one, and that what remained on
earth was only the smallest fraction
of what used to be. It was because I
had not known of these things before
that I was moved to make a documen-
tary film about them.
Documentary filmmaking is an
extremely effective medium for creat-
ing awareness and instigating change
and peace throughout the world. Due
to its versatility and basis in reality, it
can be used to shed light on serious
issues and quickly spread messages
that can bring some measure of hope
and new possibilities to marginalized
people or groups.
Another reason documentary
is so effective is the availability and
minimal amount of equipment
needed today. With just a camera and
basic editing system, the power of
film can be placed into the hands of
almost anyone. This allows people to
create stories that break away from
mainstream media and narratives
to tell stories from a multiplicity of
viewpoints.
As I write this article I am sitting
in a refugee camp in Southern Uganda
called Nakivale where I’m working on
20 IMAGINE l FALL 2018
a film about the displaced people here.
Nakivale is one of the Africa’s oldest
refugee camps and houses more than
155,000 people from over a dozen
nations. They live in different neigh-
borhoods separated by mud roads, but
walk freely between them. People
have arrived here through a myriad
of often traumatic situations and have
chosen just as many ways to deal
with the repercussions of the horrors
they have faced. Many have suffered
atrocities of war and genocide that are
unimaginable.
The particular place we are stay-
ing within Nakivale is a section called
Opportunigee (opportunity + refugee)
in New Congo. This area is run by a
man named Patrick, who is to me a
true bodhisattva* in the flesh. He has
lived in the camp for seven years and
has long had the money to leave, but
chooses not to. He created Opportuni-
gee as a means to help refugees over-
come their trauma through exploring
and developing their passions and
creativity. There are dancers, poets,
painters and even a few filmmak-
ers in Opportunigee. Many use their
art as a means to break down racial
boundaries within the camp in an
attempt to redefine what it means to
be a refugee.
* A bodisattva is a person who is able to reach
nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion
in order to save suffering beings.
My filmmak-
ing team came here
to collect stories
from some of these
refugees in order
to share them with
audiences through-
out the United States
and the world. As
soon as we brought
out our camera
equipment we were
surrounded. People started request-
ing to be interviewed and asked if we
could film them performing their art.
Having professional-looking docu-
mentary footage of their lives adds
a degree of legitimacy to their work
that they would otherwise not have
access to.
This is the first refugee camp
I’ve ever been to, and it is not what
I expected. Yes, there are scenes of
children playing in dirty water and
people crowded into mud huts, but
there is also so much life! I could
choose to only film elements of pov-
erty and filth that played into precon-
ceived notions of these places, but it
wouldn’t be the whole truth. There is
such a light and vitality in so many of
the people we meet, something I feel
is rare to come by in America.
As a documentary filmmaker,
there is always a choice about what
to film and how to film it. The power
of documentary filmmaking allows