Grandmother to Grandmother: New York to Tanzania
56' (Tanzania)
Directors/Producers:  Anne Macksoud, John Ankele

Description:

In sub Saharan Africa, AIDS is wiping out a generation of parents, leaving thirteen million orphans behind. Many of the grandmothers, impoverished by the epidemic, have rescued these children from the streets and are struggling to raise them. A similar thing is happening in cities all across America. AIDS, drugs, and violence are wiping out a generations of parents, leaving millions of children behind. Determined to keep these children out of foster care, their grandmothers are stepping in to raise them. Their task is made more difficult because many are poor women living in sub-standard housing and gang-ridden neighborhoods. This film introduces two outstanding projects—one in the Bronx, one in Tanzania. This film will inspire ordinary people to become visionaries, creating their own solution in their own communities, helping to lift the heavy burden carried by millions of grandmothers.

Biography:

Anne Macksoud spent seventeen years as a teacher (English, photography and music) before transitioning to film. Once she discovered the “eye-opening” power of the documentary medium, she brought documentaries into her classroom on a regular basis. Eventually, she began helping her students make their own films and slide shows on the issues of the day (civil rights, the Vietnam War, and global poverty, to name a few). She approaches filmmaking from the perspective of an artist as well as an educator. 

John Ankele started out as program director for the NYC Council of Churches, doing public affairs programs for WABC radio, WNBC-TV and WCBS-TV. He then spent six years teaching at the Communications Center of the All-Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya. Back in the U.S., he developed curriculum videos for schools and institutions and promotional videos for nonprofit organizations. Lately, he has led workshops exploring “the common ground between contemplative practice and the experience of visual perception, from the point of view of both filmmaker and watcher.” 

Contact Information:

Old Dog Documentaries
Anne Macksoud
16 Church Street
Woodstock, VT 05091
E-mail: info@olddogdocumentaries.com
Web site: www.olddogdocumentaries.com