The launch of a new FilmAid website www.filmaid.org marks the beginning of an aspiration to reach many more people suffering the effects of war, poverty, displacement and disaster.
Enniskillen, Northern Ireland -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2012 -- FilmAid is a non-profit organization that uses the power of film and media to transcend language and literacy, bringing life-saving information, psychological relief and much-needed hope to refugees and other communities in need around the globe.
In post-crisis emergencies and protracted situations alike, FilmAid produces and distributes community-based films on critical public health and safety issues such as maternal health, HIV, cholera, gender-based violence, conflict resolution, and more.
Using inflatable screens and other ‘Mobile Cinema’ units, FilmAid screenings provide psychological relief and healing to refugees and other communities ravaged by trauma and lacking traditional media and information sources.
About FilmAid
Communities in crisis need information and empowerment. FilmAid provides both, to millions of people suffering the effects of war, poverty, displacement and disaster. Films offer a way to reach many people at once, overcoming language and literacy boundaries, providing information where it is needed and inspiring hope where it is lacking.
FilmAid Origins
In 1999, as the war in Kosovo was raging, independent film producer Caroline Baron (Capote, Monsoon Wedding) tuned into a radio story covering the crisis. Key necessities — food, medicine, and shelter —were being handled by UNHCR and the large humanitarian aid agencies, the report said. But the biggest problem facing the hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees was boredom and relentless hopelessness. Coming from the film industry, this detail immediately sparked an idea for Caroline: she would bring movies to the camps and begin to address the grim emotional toll that the war was taking on these refugees.
“I had an idea; I would rally the entertainment industry to bring films to the camps. We would hold outdoor screenings - feed the imagination and the soul while providing life-saving messages on the big screen to people with little access to crucial information.”
Caroline Baron, Founder, FilmAid International
FilmAid website: http://www.filmaid.org
FilmAid International donation page: http://www.filmaid.org/donate
FilmAid UK donation page: http://www.filmaid.org/donateUK
For further information:
Contact: Paul Handley
Email: paul@orbitalmedianetwork.com