"I am African"
In times of uncertainty and divide people often question each other’s right to call themselves African. We aim to create a powerful series capturing Africans from all different walks of life, specifically those Africans who live their life uplifting people in their communities and making a difference in the lives of others! Those who spend every day following the true ‘ubuntu’ way; ‘compassion and humanity to others’ and most importantly ‘I am what I am because of who we are’.
With audience and investor participation we too can make a difference to help these true African heroes thrive, by producing a documentary, a book and a video series to get the people of Africa to work together. By offering back fifty percent of the profits we too can help these people and their communities make a difference, especially the ones featured in the documentary. The more money we raise, the more we will be able to give back and together help Africa flourish.
We aim to start this project in Africa and then take it into the world helping spread awareness of the need in every country to work together! To form communities where we can feel a part of something much greater then ourselves. Join us now to take a stand for the world.
"The Images in this section are from a personal project by Malcolm Dare called Africa Beautiful."
What sparked the Idea:
Malcolm: "The idea for "I am African" was born about 6 years ago when my 7-year old daughter Shaunagh, had to go to school dressed as an African. I came into her room with some "traditional African clothing" for her to wear for the day. Shaunagh refused to wear any of the clothes and after much discussion my 7-year old girl, pointing at her own clothes, said: "I am an African and this is what I wear". I could not argue with this and she went to school dressed as she wanted to. This drove me to want to tell the story of who we are as Africans and how we as Africans can make a change. We do not need to wait for people of power to instrument change; if we start now and if we do it together, we truly can be the change that we want to see in this world. This is a story that needs to be told to help understand that we are one people with many different cultures; we need to respect our differences but work together. This story is told from an African perspective but rings true to all communities across the world."
Sean: " A poem by Barbara Botha, that has always meant so much to me, has been the inspiration to get this project off the ground."
How do I know that I'm African?
Is it the colour of skin?
Is it the language that I speak?
Or is it the believes of my ancestors?
I know this...
The first breath I took,
was of African air.
The first word I spoke,
Africa heard.
The first step I took,
was on African soil.
Every time my heart beats,
it beats for Africa.
I am African!
Barbara Botha
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The Plan
After many long discussions on how to bring the idea to the world, Sean and Malcolm realized that creating a social media presence was essential to make a difference. With an already established channel & social media pages, The Capture Guru, they decided that developing a channel solely around “I am African” on YouTube, Facebook, Facebook Groups, Twitter & Instagram was essential. This to ensure that their message is holistic and they offer a place where the community can come together, making this the ideal platform to launch the documentary and book from.
I Am African will be a Youtube channel which is marketed through all the different social media channels. It will feature Malcolm as the host and the film will be edited by Sean. This is an ideal mechanism to promote the project throughout the making of "I am African" so that when it hits the shelves there will already be an invested community. Investors and viewers will be able to keep up with the progress and be involved, as I Am African will be an interactive platform accompanied by a private group for investors to keep up to date with the project.
By investing in this project, you will be contributing to the making of a documentary and a beautiful coffee table book that will help spread a message of tolerance, understanding, and acceptance of one another. The funding will take care of the production of the entire documentary, the publication of the book and the distribution of the content. It is an opportunity to invest in a project that will make a positive difference in the lives of African people.
Fifty percent of the profits will go towards those people or communities that are trying to make a difference, especially the ones featured in the documentary. So, the more money we raise, the more funds we can put back to support those that are doing great work in our communities. A complete breakdown of expenses and funds raised will be available to all investors, to monitor how the funds have been spent and who will be sponsored. Investors will receive great deals on the book, the documentary, and the beautiful artworks from the project, as well as having their name mentioned in the titles and contributor’s sections of the documentary and book. Together we can make a difference!
People behind the Project
The project is the brainchild of Malcolm Dare and Sean Ackermann.
Malcolm Dare - Co-Host and Photographer
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Malcolm has been a photographer for the past 33 years and has worked in South Africa and the Netherlands. He has shot many high profile campaigns for local and international clients and has always been at the forefront of the latest developments in the industry.
Malcolm has also produced two books, one in collaboration with the late, well-renowned food author, Lannice Snyman. His personal work has also been exhibited and it is this work that drives his passion for photography and telling stories.
Sean Ackermann - Director
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Sean has worked in the film industry for the past 20 years and has been involved in many campaigns from across the globe. Sean has a tremendous passion for telling stories using film as his medium. He works as a Director/DOP and also performs the post-production role as offline/online editor. This enables him to shoot with the edit in mind and is a very efficient way of producing documentaries.
Samira Ako-Manieson - Co Host
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Samira is an accomplished model who has worked in the industry for 5 years and has represented many popular brands.
She also has a degree in Early Childhood Education and is an advocate for the importance of providing education and support to children and families.
She has traveled around the globe and has a great passion for learning different cultures, which has greatly inspired her.
Justin Healy - Cinematographer
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Justin is a dedicated professional who likes to achieve results. His passion for living life is transferred into everything he does, which is why he loves being around creative people and projects.
Justin has been involved in a tremendous amount of international projects in the role of Camera operator/ Director of photography.
A film industry professional since 1991 and still going strong.
Samantha Haskell - Marketing
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Sam is our marketing expert: she eats, breathes and sleeps branding and digital marketing and is passionate about giving back to the community. It is because of these two passions, that she jumped on board as soon as she heard the possibilities of this project and understood the potential that I Am African has to really make a difference globally.
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What We Need & What You Get
To produce a project of this size funding needs to be obtained. The funding will go towards the research, production, cinematography, editing, photography, design, copywriters, travel, marketing, printing, and distribution.
Research: employ a team to research the areas we wish to travel to; who we will be filming; what people have made a difference, and the content to make the story come to life.
Production: this includes the film crew, stills crew, producers, location crew, and equipment.
Cinematography and photography: the documentary will be directed by Sean and the photography will be done by Malcolm. As an interesting twist, we will be asking viewers of the Capture Guru to supply their own images of how they see themselves as Africans, for publication in the book.
Editing: employ a team of editors to edit the documentary, as well as the individual I Am African episodes.
Design: employ freelance designers and copywriters for the making of the book.
Travel: travel expenses to the different locations allow for flights, accommodation, vehicle hire, drivers, visas, insurance and meals for all crew.
Marketing: to make a success of this project and to make a difference in the lives of many Africans, we have to get a dynamic sales team on board to market the documentary, the Capture Guru episodes, and the book.
Printing: to cover the cost to print the book and any supporting marketing material. The book will be a hardcover coffee table book, printed on a beautiful paper in full color. We aim for an initial print run of 10,000 copies.
Distribution: this includes the distribution of the documentary as well as the books. We need to get the documentary to the right broadcasters, and the book into the right retail outlets and online sales.
Cost
These costs are based on 60 days of filming the documentary and one year to complete the project.
Research and production $ 62 000
Filming $ 130 000
Photography $ 70 000
Editing $ 38 000
Book $ 50 000
Travel (shooting on location) $ 70 000
Marketing $ 40 000
Contingency ( unexpected costs, currency fluctuation etc) $ 40 000
Total Cost $ 500 000
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The Impact
"I am an African" allows its audience to get an insight into how Africans feel; for individuals from all different walks of life to show that we are all African; for Africans to express their points of view and for Africans to be heard. Its ultimate goal is to help bring the people of Africa together and to show that it is okay to be different, as long we respect each other’s differences.
We would also like to give exposure to those individuals who are making a difference in their communities and to help them achieve these goals. Even though we are using Africa as the subject, the message applies to people across all communities on all continents. We hope to extend this project very soon across the world because no matter where we come from, we can only be better as a nation and achieve great things if we work together.
Both Sean and Malcolm have vast experience in working in the cinematography and photography industries and have worked on large campaigns that should stand them in good stead for this project. They also have access to the right people to put a project of this magnitude together. It is our aim to employ the citizens of Africa to assist with the making of "I am African", and to offer opportunities to prospective filmmakers and photographers of those countries in which we film.
Throughout the making of the documentary and the book, you will be kept up to date on how the project is shaping up. You can be involved in the highs and lows of going through this journey with us, and offer your advice and ideas. This will be done through regular "I Am African" episodes where you can write your comments and put forward your ideas. At the end of the project, you will have contributed toward the upliftment of enterprising Africans and receive a heartfelt and meaningful product, which is the result of your investment and encouragement.
Risks & Challenges
As with any project of this nature, there are risks and challenges that we need to overcome: traveling to areas that we are not familiar with; dealing with and working within different infrastructures; carrying of gear and working with changing crew around Africa. We will need to work through all the red tape of filming in different countries while ensuring that the crew and equipment are always safe. For the project to run efficiently, we need to make sure it is adequately financed, properly staffed and that the right suppliers are sourced.
After having been in the industry for many years, we are well aware of the risks involved and know what difficulties we may encounter, which makes us better prepared for the journey ahead. We are fortunate that we have the knowledge and contacts to employ the right personnel to take on the task of producing this great product.
To overcome the risks and challenges we propose taking the following steps:
- Employing a qualified production and research team;
- Hiring the right crew for the job;
- Making sure all documentation, gear and reservations are properly sorted out before leaving for any filming;
- Making sure we have the right support teams in place in the countries we are going to;
- Employing the services of reputable suppliers;
- Making sure the project is properly financed;
- Finding sponsors to supplement financial needs.
