Witness Project International | Author Archives

Screening at Queen’s College, Georgetown

Posted on June 24, 2014 by witness1

By: Teriq Mohammed, Nicholas Peters (volunteer) and Rosheni Takechandra

Team WITNESS was welcomed by the Queen’s College Admin and students to facilitate the screening of Rebecca’s Story. This was followed by an engaging discussion about the role of witnesses of violence and abuse. Students were eager to ask questions:
1. What do we do if our friend is being abused but she is not empowered to leave the relationship? How much support can we possible give? What would this support look like?
2. What do we do when we report it and the Police do not act?
3. If our neighbour is being abused, should we tell our parents and let them deal with it and fix it? These questions generated a lot of discussion among the students. Because the auditorium was so huge, their voices would echo.

This challenge was well received as the students had to exert more effort to make sure they could hear their colleagues and participate in the discussion.

When give then opportunity some of the quieter students made the following remarks:
A young girl: we have to speak out, this is wrong.
A young boy: we have to break the cycle.

By the end of the session about sixty students registered to volunteer with the WITNESS Project.

Screening at Queen’s College, Georgetown, 5th June, 2014 from WITNESS Project International on Vimeo.

Rebecca’s Story to Be Screened at the Belize International Film Festival July 16-21, 2014

Posted on June 3, 2014 by witness1

We’re so excited as we see our film Rebecca’s Story making the film festival rounds. We’ve just been informed that it has been officially selected to screen during this year’s Belize International Film Festival which will be held July 16-21, 2014.

If you happen to be in Belize and want to cheek it out, you can find more information on the festival website at http://belizefilmfestival.com/

CAFA Film Nights, Guyanese edition

Posted on March 21, 2014 by witness1

A trip to Guyana on assignment as a private investigator led New Yorker Margaret Clemons to the country’s culture of violence, and the youth she would later inspire to tell their tale through photography in “Rebecca’s Story,” a short film which premiered to rave reviews at the recent CAFA Film Nights, Guyanese edition in Brooklyn.

Clemons, who started Witness Project International — a foundation to engage youth communities in arts-based programs, spoke passionately about using this medium to address violence because of the way art appeals to people.

“We are affected by what we see, and awareness makes us want to do, and change things,” Clemons said.

The gripping narrative about violence at the hands of Rebecca’s grandmother, and how the youth escapes the brutality by dreaming of the jungle — raises a serious issue about the epidemic that continues to threaten the lives Guyanese youth.

Rebecca’s new life comes through a literacy program from a neighbor who was a ‘witness’ to violence in the yard of the family’s home.

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NYC screening of Rebecca’s Story

Posted on February 22, 2014 by witness1

NYC Screening Recently, we submitted our film, Rebecca’s Story, to the Caribbean Film Academy in Brooklyn and our film was shown on Friday night last week. This was a very interesting event and it reminded me of how I imagine the “beatnik” era here in the NYC underground in the 1950’s and 60’s. The theatre was set up in a storefront. There were 30 or 35 people in attendance, mostly Guyanese and they were interested, vocal and plugged into Guyana and what’s happening there. There was a journalist attending as well. She conducted interviews and tape recorded them.

A number of films were presented, short films and one music video. The longest film was “Tin City”, an expose about life in Tiger Bay. After each film was shown discussions ensued about the films.

The response to Rebecca’s Story was quite warm. Everyone loved it! I noticed something while the film was showing…people warmed with the jungle river scenes and also the street scenes. Some smiled and nodded as they recognized the familiar sites, the streets and houses on the block. They seemed to be interested in the scene where Rebecca is in the kitchen spreading margarine on the bread…there were smiles and some heads nodding there.

I spoke with a number of people after the films were done showing. They were really amazed that the film was adapted by our group of young people, from a story written by one of them, filmed by them, sound, lights, make up, costumes and the whole bit by our youth. They were surprised that we could have made such a beautiful meaningful little film.

This was our first film showing here in NYC. We are in the process of entering, and we have already submitted the film at a number of film festivals including the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival which is the largest one in the region. But we are submitting to a number of festivals including here in the state and others in the Caribbean. We are in discussions with the Education Channel in Guyana and we do expect to be shown on that channel.

Guyana Chronicle: “12 Minute Film Has Desired Impact”

Posted on January 23, 2014 by witness1

guyana_chronicle

TWO young children who have been dropped off at their grandmother’s say goodbye to their parents, and with the touching exchange of ‘I love yous’ tinged by a tangible level of apprehension, you know something is about to go tragically wrong.

This is how the 12-minute film, Rebecca’s Story, began as it premiered last evening at Cara Lodge.

Set in a Georgetown suburb, the story of bravery – standing up for change to fight gender and child violence – made its mark on the many stakeholders gathered to view the most recent advocacy tool. The tale that unfolds tells of the struggle of a teenage girl and her young brother, two orphans, now permanent guests of their grandmother, who is an alcoholic with a violent streak.

The children endure physical and verbal abuse at her hands until a neighbour, a young boy, takes notice. Bravely, he uses an educational opportunity, an invitation to a reading class, as a means to bring some change to the children’s lives.

First Screening of Rebecca’s Story Film

Posted on January 18, 2014 by witness1

There was a lot of anticipation for the film showing but honestly nobody knew what to expect. As people were arriving we had the screen set to a powerpoint showing different pictures from all of our various programs…the poster program and on and on…then when we began the program we showed the Indiegogo film followed by opening statements by Minister Priya Manickchand. She gave a wonderful speech and spoke glowingly of MCF’s programs and of WITNESS Project in particular.

The parents were completely stunned by the performance and they were amazed and they absolutely could not believe it! They were beaming from ear to ear over the work of their kids. They were all just amazed by the whole night but particularly by the quality of the film. Everyone was amazed by that! When I was speaking in the run up to the showing of the film I made mention that the script is an adaptation from Verney Henry’s story and Verney’s sister and mom were beaming ear to ear.

There was a hearty round of applause after the film and we moved into the awards ceremony part which went smoothly with all of the people beaming upon getting their award!

We knew at the end of that night that it was a hit and that everyone unanimously agreed that it was very very professionally filmed and a winner!

The next day (Sunday) we had a group meeting to discuss future business but to get the kids reactions and more detail from their families….this was very interesting to me because first of all our kids have developed into rather poised, articulate young people, no longer shy like when we first met them. There was unanimous agreement that the film was VERY PROFESSIONALLY done and that they LOVED, LOVED LOVED IT! But I took notes and here are some specifics

I was excited..like I could watch it over and over again

I was speechless. It was truly amazing. My father saw it and said that it was touching, but it was touching to me too.

It was so professional. It shows our point of view. I loved it.

I was surprised to see two weeks in 12 minutes and my mom said “you didn’t say this was so professional”

It made me so proud and it made me feel great that I could do something like that.

Congratulations … I can’t believe we did this, we did this to help the world, I can’t believe it.

I loved the movie and the quality of the movie. I loved how parents got to see how we see things.

I loved the movie and I didn’t expect such high quality. I was impressed with everyone because they were impressed by what we made.

I loved this experience and I hope to do this again. It was the memories of all of the tricks. The hard work payed off. The quality was astonishing…it was spot on!

I had no idea. It was amazing and my family was amazed by it. They said “this is big”. Its a nice feeling to be a part of something making changes everywhere.

The movie is amazing. I can’t wait to see it again. My family was speechless.

The film was brilliant, special, and I’m looking forward to the next film. I had flashbacks everywhere. It was awesome.

I never thought the film would be so professionally done!

Those are some of the highlights that the kids spoke of but of course there was unanimous LOVE for this film and how professional it is. It was their very proud moment and they deserved every accolade they received. We were all of us so proud of them and grateful for all of you. There was universal agreement that the score was super and they were surprised that it’s original and was done by a professional for their film.

[THENUBLK] ALYSIA CHRISTIANI: Project Manager For Guyanese Arts-Based Initiative WITNESS Project International

Posted on December 2, 2013 by witness1

NUBLK article Introduce yourself
My name is Alysia S. Christiani. I’m a Brooklyn born Guyanese-American gyal who, by day, manages designers in corporate America and, by night, freelances as a writer, designer & project manager under the banner Christiani Creative. Through it all I parent two amazing teen boys determined to drive me insane but who are failing miserably at it.

Due to the economic downturn, I was laid off from my job as Studio Manager for Sesame Workshop in late June. But by the end of the summer I was hired as Creative Services Manager for the New York Road Runners, one of the premier community running organizations in the country. There I manage a team of designers as they develop art and materials for our weekly races, youth programs and community events.

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Capitol News GY: Witness project seeks to raise domestic violence awareness in Guyana

Posted on February 5, 2013 by witness1

The art of reducing violence against women, children… five counsellors trained

Posted on September 10, 2012 by witness1

A counsellor from the Help and Shelter Centre is one of five persons who recently participated in a five-day training session sponsored by the Margaret Clemmons Foundation, aimed at using the arts to reduce violence against women and children.

Help and Shelter Counsellor Tessa Green along with Oslyn Crawford, Yogetta Rampersaud, Davin Munroe and Leslie Albert who are attached to the Ministry of Human Services, attended the workshop at the Peaceable School’s summer programme at the Lesley University in Cambridge Massachusetts.

At a press conference on Wednesday at the NGO’s Homestretch Avenue office Green said the Centre was privileged to have benefited from the workshop. “It’s a programme I think will work in Guyana but needs the support of all,” she said.

According to a news story from the University’s website located at web.lesley.edu/news: the programme was held under the theme “I=WE Practicing and Supporting Leadership for Peaceable Schools and Communities.” The “Institute provides both a theoretical framework and practical solutions for educators and community members struggling to find alternatives to the culture of violence and create environments where teaching and learning can flourish,” it said. The article also said the programme creates a “network of graduates…for ongoing support in applying newly learned skills and tools to current issues.”

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Sesame Street Guyana

Posted on September 10, 2012 by witness1

Sesame Street Guyana In spring 2011, negotiations occurred between Sesame Workshop and the nation of Guyana to develop a local co-production of Sesame Street. In April 2011, Guyana’s Permanent Ambassador to the United States Bayney Karran and Guyana Minister of Human Services Priya Manickchand met with senior executives at Sesame Workshop in New York. The series would be aired on the Education Broadcasting Television Service channel.

Gender equality and gender-based violence would be among the show’s focuses; the Margaret Clemons Foundation facilitated the meeting between Guyana and Sesame Workshop.

Other planned topics were HIV/AIDS, nutrition, the importance of exercise, public safety themes (wear your seatbelt, look both ways before crossing, don’t litter), ethnic tolerance and understanding and appreciating differences, and respect for seniors.

Attending the meeting were Sesame Workshop staff: