'Film is unrivalled in creating empathy and understanding'
In conversation with Global Health Film's Gerri McHugh + new opportunities 🌐
WorldWise readers—
Last time I wrote about sharing opinions.
But we’re not short of that in media spaces these days. Opinion abounds.
What we’re missing, and are much in need of, is shared understanding.
Getting there starts with something simple but perhaps increasingly hard to find: an openness to engage with experience and points of view other than our own.
Opinion often creates or reinforces a fortress around beliefs or knowledge that we hold, built in spaces already familiar to us. It creates an illusion of orthodoxy within its walls.
Breaking through those walls to expose ourselves to difference takes courage. It’s often difficult and uncomfortable. It may not even lead to one shared point of view. But shared understanding doesn’t have to be that. It can also be about adding more angles, layers, colour, richness to our experience of the world, and of each other.
Anita
PS: I’d put down these thoughts before hearing them resonate in the conversation coming up—because yes, film is a medium with the power to help us get there.
MEDIA EDITION | opportunities and support to grow in communication
INSIDER | views & experience
It ends the year on a high note.
The Global Health Film festival is one reason I look forward to December.
It’s not always easy to do, but I let it force me to carve out the time to sit and take in a series of films that are carefully curated and *always* open the doors of my perception, even on issues already familiar.
Global Health Film director Gerri McHugh is busy putting together the final touches to this year’s event (full disclosure: I serve on the GHF advisory board). In this conversation—edited for length and clarity as usual—she shares highlights from the festival’s programme, with a few words on how and why the organisation supports global health film, and how you can tap into that work.
I wanted to talk about this year's festival—but before we get to that, perhaps you could give us a little recap of what Global Health Film is about?
Of course. So Global Health Film is a micro charity. We've been around for about 12 years in one form or another. And we exist really to promote the power of storytelling and in particular film, to make the world a better place. We're really excited about that transformative power of film to take you on a journey through a difficult or complex subject. And we feel very much that film is unrivalled in terms of being able to create empathy and understanding of an issue—because when you follow a protagonist, you walk in their shoes, you see the world through their eyes.
The UK Festival is our flagship event. We're making a slow but steady return to in-person later this month. But we also programme film around the world through the year.
What can we expect from this year's festival?
As always, there's a range of themes emerging. So we've got a fantastic planetary health film this year on regenerative farming; three great films on refugee and migrant health; three wonderful short films on dementia; the international premiere of a really excellent film on access to insulin. In the US, we've got the world premiere of a wonderful film on noise pollution as a public health issue. What else … maternal mental health in South Africa; short films on disability … we've got this amazing, short Dutch film on the relatively unknown world of the industry behind creating false eyes, for example—it's a window into a world that we wouldn't know very much about in the mainstream, but that is obviously transformative for those patients.
So as usual, you're defining global health quite broadly—over the years we've seen films covering issues from environment to human rights to development. Is there any particular theme running through the programme this year?
As with all of our work, the common denominator is equity, or lack thereof. So equal choice, equal power, equal agency, equal chances to thrive. That is the theme that runs through all our work, shining the spotlight on the world that we live in—that it is increasingly inequitable. If you cut Global Health Film through the middle, that's what you'd see. And that's also why I'm always at pains to take [into the] programme lots of stories from the developed world—because of course, there's as much inequity in the so-called developed world as there is in the developing world. And it's often hidden in plain sight.
Some of the films haven't been an easy watch. Is there anything this year that could be uncomfortable or a bit of a point of tension, let's say, for viewers?
Possibly less than in previous years, because we don't have any conflict and health films—so for example, we had For Sama in 2019, which is the most brilliant film about Syria, but is an extremely difficult watch in places. But there [are] certainly a couple.
We have a film about suicide in school children in the UK [Our Kids Our Lives], which obviously, is a very difficult and emotive subject. [The charity] Papyrus have recently estimated that 200 school children take their lives in the UK every year. And we need to start talking about this.
As always, the stories around refugee and migrant health are difficult. One is called The Mind Game, about an unaccompanied minor navigating the asylum system in Belgium, and everything that goes with that—that stuckness, that limbo, that precarious future.
And then we've got The Swedish-Speaking Migrants of Paris. About 5000 migrants live in Paris, in quite horrendous conditions, having come from Sweden where they have spent maybe 10 or 15 years in the system, working, studying, etc. They cannot be sent back to Afghanistan, because of the current regime, but they've had to leave Sweden and so they're ending up sleeping under bridges in in Paris. It's such an interesting but horrific story. That whole issue of not having a home, not having a future—who are we without a home, you know, where's our identity?
I must say that the migration films have consistently been challenging. So we'll brace ourselves. But let me flip the question and ask if there's anything that you're particularly excited about among the screenings.
There's lots that I'm excited about. I'm really delighted that we're hosting the world premiere of The Quietest Year, a film that we've supported over the past couple of years. It's a really fascinating film about noise pollution. The filmmaker has done a fantastic job to really explore all the angles around that—again, the lack of power, the lack of agency, the importance of community, the public health effects of noise.
In terms of panels and people coming by, excited as always to have the Global Burden of Disease students coming from Kings [College] this year, as they have done every year since the beginning of the festival. [We’ve] got some wonderful people moderating sessions—Professor Andy Haines, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is going to moderate Common Ground. And Professor Stevan Weine, director of the Global Health Center at the University of Illinois in Chicago, is coming over especially for the festival. We know that most of our American filmmakers are coming, and some of our European filmmakers are coming too so that's always wonderful.
In past festivals I’ve seen films that still pop to mind from time to time. For example Missing in Brooks County, Fire in the Blood, That Sugar Film… What kinds of conversations or impact have you seen follow the screenings over the years? Because if they come back to me, I'm sure that they have a lasting impact on others too.
Yes. I do know that on the back of seeing some of our films, people have gone on to change what they do, change some of their habits. So That Sugar Film—I know several people who have radically changed their diets after seeing that film with us back in 2015. Lots of people who've become vegan, having seen Eating Animals at the 2019 festival. So in terms of behaviour change on an individual level, there are lots of examples.
But more importantly, in some ways, for me, it's [about] sparking that curiosity about ‘how do I get involved with this’—how do I support that filmmaker, how do I get this film into our curriculum, or where can I send people to watch it? So we get lots of questions around people really wanting to stay engaged, which is fantastic.
From the filmmaker perspective as well, for me, the screening at the festival is the very beginning of our relationship with the filmmaker. We continue that conversation, sometimes for years to come—programming screenings for them wherever we see opportunities. It's really nice to be able to keep pushing certain issues forward and helping to maintain that momentum behind the film, and behind the stories that film is trying to expose.
Maybe we can wrap up with a little detail on what viewers can plug into—and when—this year, and also how they might be able to tap into global health film after this particular event.
As I said earlier, we are making a slow but steady return to in-person [screenings[, post-COVID. There will always be an online aspect to the festival, both in terms of ‘on demand’ and livestream, because we serve a global audience. So if you can't get to the London event on the 2nd of December, the VOD window and the livestream window will open on Monday, 27th of November, right through to Sunday 10th of December.
If people want to get involved [or] know more about what we do, the simplest easiest way is to sign up for our newsletter, [where] we offer a film every week from our archive. On our VOD, every weekend—the watch window is usually Friday evening through to Monday evening. That VOD screening is free for our members and a very small amount of money for non-members. The membership, it's relatively low cost and you get access to screenings, resource packs, member-only events. And we're just about to open a new networking space for our members.
And look out for screenings through the year! The plan for 2024 is to start offering in person events, every six to eight weeks, if we can. So hopefully we'll be able to bring global health film a little bit closer to people's homes, whether it's online or at a cinema in the locality.
💡 Get tickets and learn more about the 2023 Global Health Film Festival
OPPORTUNITIES | working with the media
grants+funding
Journalism students are invited to apply for a grant from The Program on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University for an opportunity to highlight human stories behind major global issues—closing 30 November. [GLOBAL]
the Kim Wall Memorial Fund is open for applications by women and nonbinary journalists—closing 17 December. [GLOBAL]
fellowships+scholarships
The Earth Journalism Network is inviting applications from environmental reporters interested in a fellowship that provides training, mentorship, and funding to produce stories, where each fellow will focus on one of the following areas: on climate change, biodiversity, the ocean and One Health—closing 16 November. [GLOBAL]
Reporters Without Borders is inviting applications to two reporting fellowships from journalists whose work exposed them to danger, providing a safe space in Berlin to complete a journalistic project—closing 19 November. [GLOBAL]
Young journalists covering climate change and the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean can apply for the Climate Tracker’s online media mentorship fellowship—closing 19 November. [LAC]
The Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation is inviting reporters and other media professionals to apply for the Sabz Journalism Fellowship Program, which provides training to enhance environmental journalism in Pakistan—closing 20 November. [ASIA]
Working journalists with at least five years of experience covering migration caan apply for the Kiplinger Fellowship—closing 27 November. [GLOBAL]
Budding journalists from Burkina Faso can apply to PROFORM'ARTS, an incubator for young Burkinabe cultural media professionals—closing 30 November. [AFRICA]
training+events
Journalists from or based in Sri Lanka can apply for a training programme focusing on how to cover a crisis or disaster—closing 17 November. [ASIA]
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is offering an online course on how to protect stories from lawsuits—register for 20 November. [LAC]
Journalists in Latin America can attend a virtual workshop to learn about tools that can strengthen investigative practices for stories of public interest—closing 21 November. [LAC]
Code for Africa is inviting applications to an intensive online training programme designed to equip journalists with knowledge and skills to conduct in-depth social media investigations—register for 21-24 November. [AFRICA]
Young professionals from anywhere in the world who are interested in switching to journalism from law, economics, the sciences or technology/IT can apply for a training programme with an international broadcaster offered by DW—closing 27 November. [GLOBAL]
Indigenous journalists whose work focuses on public interest topics are invited to apply for Agência Pública’s Indigenous Reporters Training Program to hone their investigative journalism skills—closing 1 December. [LAC]
awards+competitions
Journalists based in Bangladesh can enter work originally published in established Bangladesh media, in English or Bangla, for the UNICEF Meena Media Awards, which promotes child rights in Bangladesh media—closing 30 November. [ASIA]
The BBC has an open call for writers whose work has strong potential to be developed and produced for broadcast—closing 5 December. [GLOBAL]
The AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism is inviting journalists to submit compelling stories that enhance the public’s understanding of cancer, cancer research or policy—closing 7 December. [GLOBAL]
Journalists and students whose reporting focuses on citizenship practices in Brazil can apply for the Instituto MOL’s Solidarity Reporting Prize—closing 9 December. [LAC]
audio+visual
Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is looking to boost video production and distribution of information about renewable energy in India, with a focus on selected states, and is inviting journalists to apply for grant funding and mentorship—closing 17 November. [ASIA]
The Democracy Story Lab is looking for audiovisual storytellers interested in coming together with top thought leaders in Rio de Janeiro to explore new democratic models of governance—closing 17 November. [GLOBAL]
The Platform for Agricultural Risk Management is inviting journalists and media professionals to enter a video work that highlights the stories of rural farmers innovating to manage agricultural risks and enhance their resilience—closing 18 November. [GLOBAL]
Filmmakers from 22 countries across the Arab world can apply for the virtual event Aflamuna Connection, which will focus on projects that grapple with social and environmental issues—closing 30 November. [MENA]
The Sony World Photography Awards are open for submissions—closing 30 November. [GLOBAL]
The 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is open for entries by photographers anywhere, and the entry fee can be waived for those based in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America—closing 7 December. [GLOBAL]
pitches+positions
Thomson Reuters is looking for a Desk Editor in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India—apply now. [ASIA]
The Economist is hiring an Africa-based correspondent who is willing to travel a lot and has ideally has some knowledge of geopolitics and economics—closing 20 November. [AFRICA]
The Associated Press is looking for reporter, to be based in Colombia or Peru, who will focus on covering climate change, deforestation and related angles in the Amazon basin—closing 20 November. [LAC]
Mongabay is inviting applications for a partially paid internship to write and publish environmental news stories—closing 28 November. [GLOBAL]
ProPublica is inviting freelance journalists to send in pitches for ambitious accountability stories or projects—apply now. [GLOBAL]
CNET is looking for a freelance copy editor who will be responsible for quality control work on various pieces of content—apply now. [GLOBAL]
Mongabay is looking for a full-time Editor to manage its new French language fellowship programme and help with editing content from the site’s African news bureau—apply now. [GLOBAL]
resources+tools
Roundtable: A writer’s guide to being edited - The Open Notebook
Separating fact from fiction on social media in times of conflict - bellingcat
5 reasons news stories about research need source diversity - The Journalist’s Resource
What to know about AI and journalism today - IJNET
How they did it: Investigating organized crime networks in the Amazon Rainforest – Global Investigative Journalism Network
VIEW | insight & global news
ICYMI—our latest VIEW post delved into China’s growing role in global development, picking up on analyses of its future direction prompted by the Belt and Road Initiative’s 10-year anniversary.
“More members of the press have died in the first weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than any other conflict since at least 1992”—Committee to Protect Journalists
Many thanks for this great piece, Anita! It was great to speak with you about this year's festival! Looking forward to seeing you there!