Americans can now see my documentary, The The Flying Stars, on kweli TV, a new streaming service offering the best in global black filmmaking. Even better, anyone in the States can try a free preview of kweli TV for seven days.
In this 65-minute theatrical cut, team captain Bornor (pictured in red above) of The Flying Stars amputee football club of Freetown, Sierra Leone is profiled along with his teammate, Census. As they pass and score on the soccer pitch, both Bornor and Census struggle to feed their families and come to grips with the post-traumatic stress (PTSD) they suffer from the decade-long civil war. That brutal conflict claimed 50,000 lives and left unknown thousands of children amputated, mostly by other children brainwashed by the rebel army.
The premiere of The Flying Stars on kweli TV brings the story of Census and Bornor to American screens after playing around the world, from Japan to the Middle East, at film festivals and TV networks including NHK and Al Jazeera. Co-directed by Ngardy Conteh George, The Flying Stars, enjoyed its world premiere at the 2014 Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM).
Since then, it has screened around at festivals and TV broadcasts, including Japan, the Middle East and Denmark. The Flying Stars was awarded Best Documentary at Atlanta's BronzeLens Film Festival in 2015. Domestically, The Flying Stars is currently playing on CBC's Documentary Channel.
The film was financed in part by the Sundance Documentary Fund. Both directors, Ngardy and I, are Sundance Documentary Fellows. In 2011, our film in development (then called Leone Stars) won the Telefilm Pitch This! competition at the Toronto International Film Festival and remains the only documentary to do so.
Learn more and follow the accomplishments of both the film and amputee football team at www.flyingstarsdoc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment