Film as Nourishment

Need another reason to take the film industry seriously? Well...not only does the film industry employ lots of people in skilled positions, stimulate tourism, and generate an economic ripple effect to other related industries, but the products that the film industry creates--that is, films--can also be considered nourishment and medicine for the mind and heart.

Still sound too fluffy for you? Then check out FilmAid International, which brings the power of film to war-torn and poverty-stricken countries to help "heal mental scars, improve self-esteem, and provide critical information, inspiring refugees to imagine and to create a better future." The non-profit organization's programs reach nearly 900,000 people a year in the refugee camps of Kenya and Tanzania, serving those that had fled persecution, genocide, and other violent conflagrations in Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. FilmAid has also reached out to Kosovo, Macedonia, and Afghanistan. Among the films that have been screened by FilmAid are "Children of Heaven" (Iran), "Mandela" (South Africa), Charlie Chaplin films, silent films, cartoons, and "The Wizard of Oz."

>> FilmAid International