Freetown Youth ~ Coming of Age Documentary...

Cry Freetown ~ Samura on Sierra Leone Civil War

Earlier today I posted promo videos emphasizing the emerging and promising future possibilities for Sierra Leone and its peoples. But we should never forget that just over a decade ago this beautiful country was being hacked apart by rebels and defenders alike in a brutal civil war. Photojournalist Sorious Samura was caught in the middle of it all and captured some truly horrifying footage. His Cry Freetown documentary pulls no punches and demands your attention...

Venture Sierra Leone ~ Investment & Tourism++

Just thought I'd assemble several promo videos about Sierra Leone business perspective, investment climate, tourism possibilities, starting with this World Bank piece on Rebuilding Business and Investment in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone... Next, SLIEPA -- the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency -- made a general promo video in 2009... And here's the fairly recent SLIEPA promo piece on SL as Africa's New Investment Destination... Highlights of Investors Conference held on Nov 16th, 2011... Here's a tourism promo piece... The intro to the multi-part Road to Change... Concluding here... And finally, some pro-development but cautionary comments on Salone as we head on...

Shooting Freetown ~ Sierra Leone Media Makers

Thanks to Boima Tucker on Africa is a Country for spotting short ethnographic docu film Shooting Freetown by Kieran Hanson...

"Inspired by Jean Rouch's ‘shared anthropology’ and ‘ethno-fiction’, Shooting Freetown follows three people forging their way in film and music in the nation's capital, facing the constant struggles with vision and resourcefulness. By incorporating collaborative video projects, their stories give a fresh image of post-war Freetown -- presented [...] through their own lens."

Also check out FSK Happy Birthday by Alfred Kpana... And Banana Dem Want by Paps...

Lost Freetown ~ Sierra Leone's Capital Boomcity

Reading about Sierra Leone infrastructure and Mercy Ships got me thinking about the West African region generally, ports and cities especially, and wondering about their growth. So it's very timely that Journeyman has published this Lost Freetown video by Bright Star about the tremendous in-migration to the city, the downstream slums, and the deforestation upstream. In short, it's unplanned and unsustainable. Viable Better Pathways are urgently needed...