In 2017, after the 4th of our trips to Simien in Ethiopia as part of the Sona school construction project, Jean-Philippe Rapp, then director of the Festival des Diablerets, encouraged us to present a film there. Having seen the videos of each of our trips, Jean-Philippe Rapp suggested that we compile them into a documentary and complete them with interviews with locals to focus the film on daily life in Simien. The prospect of presenting Simien and our nascent Foundation (it had only been in existence for a year) in the prestigious and important setting of the FIFAD (Festival International du Film Alpin des Diablerets) made us very excited.
The idea of making a film based on the lifestyle of the inhabitants of Simien was also a great challenge! We got down to it and in summer 2018 we were able to present the 24-minute film to the public in Les Diablerets. The thread we chose was the children, some of whom go to school but there aren't many of them... Echoing the nickname of the Simien massif, the "roof of Africa", we called the documentary "the children of the roof of Africa".
The documentary on the Simien has been shown many times at festivals, public screenings and Allibert Trekking's famous 'base camps'. You can watch it here.
Children on the roof of Africa
Please help us!
So much ground has been covered (see the video of our last trip ) since this documentary was made! A lot remains to be done, and if this film has aroused your sympathy for these people and our action, don't hesitate to make a (tax-free) donation!
Synopsis
The Simien massif in northern Ethiopia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its high plateaux at an altitude of over 4,000m, it is known as the "Roof of Africa". Despite the harsh living conditions and extreme isolation, many people live in its foothills.
Farmers in their immense majority, they live in quasi-autarchy and in the conditions of the European Middle Ages... But the beauty of the landscapes, the absence of tropical diseases thanks to the altitude and the favourable climatic conditions made Simien habitable in spite of the very high altitude. Hundreds of trekkers travel there happily every year, enjoying its incredible landscapes and the proud hospitality of its people.
But for two of them, the discovery turned into a vocation: to help these populations among the most isolated and deprived of the world by building a school.
The genesis of the documentary on Ethiopia
Extract from the story " Seyssinet-Pariset/Addis-Abeba - November 2015- July 2020 - Small chaotic chronicles of various commitments " by Hervé Doulat.
Trip after trip, about two per year, I accumulate video rushes on Ethiopia in general and on Simien in particular. At each trip we make photos and videos that will allow us to present the school project of Sona.
In 2017 we met Jean-Philippe Rapp, a retired journalist and television presenter, who presides over the destiny of the famous Festival International du Film Alpin des Diablerets (FIFAD). Interested in our project and the setting in which it was taking place, he suggested that we make a video 'compilation' of all the images taken to make a documentary about the communities living in Simien.
It is not a question of making a film to promote the Foundation, but rather to present the way people live in the Ethiopian highlands, their difficulties and their hopes. The school project is of course mentioned but the watermark will be the children who attend it, or not as many of them have to work in the fields instead of studying. The message is all the stronger for the Foundation and this work seems to us completely justified.
In fact, as soon as the first versions became available, Allibert Trekking, which has supported us from the outset, offered to organise screenings in different towns. They call them "base camps", which are themed evenings where a destination is presented through a film, followed by a convivial discussion. Of course, these evenings have a commercial vocation, but the aim is to present content and offer a richer exchange than a simple commercial exchange. With Nicolas Manger from Allibert Trekking, we are therefore planning a series of 'base camps' in Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva, all of which will be a great success and a great time.
In short, from the Diablerets to the base camps, all good reasons to make this film, because we're in the early days of the Foundation and every opportunity to publicise it is important! But what a job... I'm going for a 26-minute documentary format because it's purely descriptive and doesn't contain any in-depth journalistic work or a very rich narrative. Most of the footage will have already been shot, and we'll only have one last trip, in May 2017, to complete the images before the Festival, which takes place in August.
So I have to complete the editing in June and July, which is the busiest period for me! In particular, I have to write the voice-over that will structure the film. It's a hell of a lot of writing, but it seems so insurmountable that I'm having trouble getting to grips with it! I asked a friend, Caroline Schlencker, an English teacher and amateur actress with a superb voice, to speak and record the voiceover. I found it so difficult to get the text to her, that she finally offered to write it for me after defining the broad lines of the message with me.
We will record it at Rémi Guirao's, a musician, guitarist and singer friend, who has the equipment and the skills to produce a good quality result. We will spend a long evening on a summer Monday, on the eve of the deadline to send the finished film to the FIFAD technical team...
Caroline and Rémi saved the film, or at least its all-important screening at the Festival des Diablerets! It's also where we'll be meeting Jean-François Labarthe, administrator of a major Geneva-based donor foundation, who will be the first major financial backer to put his faith in us!
It is so pleasant to discover, at every turn of the school project for Sona, that many people are ready to help you, to devote their energy and their talent without expecting anything in return. To participate in a humanitarian project is to find oneself in a positive collective dynamic, guided by empathy and bringing out the best in everyone.
Thereafter, Rémi and Caroline will remain my best supports for the realization of the videos of the Foundation. Caroline will write and tell me many voice-overs for the different videos we will produce, in French and in English.
After the recording of the voice-over, Rémi proposed to compose and record a custom music for the next version of the documentary, with his fellow musician Sandro Di Bartolomeo, instead of the standard music I had initially chosen. A few weeks later, it's done.
We now have a magnificent video medium with which to begin our tour of Base Camp evenings with Allibert Trekking. From Paris to Geneva, these evenings have been a great success in terms of attendance and exchanges. The image of Ethiopia is distorted by the humanitarian crisis of the 1980s, and to discover that 80% of the country is at an altitude of over 2000 m and green is generally a surprise!
The documentary has always been well received, with the farmers and landscapes of Simien beautifully enhanced by the music and voiceover!
Data sheet
Director: Hervé Doulat (SCAM no. 338681) & Eric Collet
Production: 1628films / Castors Films
Music: L'Oiseau (Rémi Guirao / Sandro Di Bartolomeo)
Off voice: Caroline Schlencker
Running time: 24 mn 22
Format: HD 1080p
SCAM NUMBER: 780096
See the Foundation's other achievements in the The project in videos.
More information on FIFAD.