Feature film about and
for street children in Bangladesh, 3000 euro
Ekmattra
is a charity organisation in Bangladesh that was started by a group
of students form Dacca University. Ekmattra strives for a better
life for street children. In Bangladesh a great number of street
children live in dire circumstances. They are sexually abused, used
for drug running, prostitution and as household slaves. Ekmattra has
high ideals and not only works on the streets to try and give some
of these children a safe and healthy environment, but also strives
to make the people of Bangladesh aware of the situation in their
country and motivate them to change it.
One
of the means to create more awareness is the production of a
docu-feature film. Film is the best communication tool to reach a
great number of people. It is an emotional medium and moreover –
in a country where the literacy rate is not very high – the
message will be understood by both literate and illiterate people.
The film ‘Je Shohor Chorabali’ (A city of Quick Sand) shows the
lives of street children in Dacca. It is produced by professional
filmers - aided by volunteers - and will be shown all over the
country as well as participate in film festivals in Europe or the US.
The goal is to make people aware of the facts and to raise funds for
the establishment of a Permanent Rehabilitation Centre (PRC) for the
under privileged street children across the country.
A Permanent Rehabilitation Centre is the goal of EKMATTRA. It now
has a temporary shelter home and office in Dhaka. But from the very
beginning of the organization, its aim is to establish a permanent
rehabilitation centre. It will provide shelter, education, health
care and job training for traumatised street children.
Moments of Joy has seen the raw first edit of the film and was
impressed by the technical and artistic quality. This film certainly
promises to attract a lot of attention for the sad plight of street
children in Bangladesh.
The total costs of producing the low budget film is around 12.000
Euro. Moments of Joy wants to sponsor the post production phase (editing,
sound, special effects, marketing and première) for which Ekmattra
needs 3000 Euro.
