GODFREY
The land is infertile. Jobs have run out. A humanitarian crisis is at the front door. The one thing standing between this Ugandan refugee camp and the brink of destruction is the dedication of one unlikely local hero: Pastor Godfrey Byaruhanga.
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Client:
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Director: Brenten Brandenburg
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Producers: Tom Nazario, Jennifer Zahgkuni - The Forgotten International, Brenten Brandenburg - Bad Atlas Media
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Currently in Film Festival Run
Case Study
1. Context
Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, Uganda. Home to 150,000
refugees of war. With virtually no access to other income, they survive solely off the $3 USD they are given once a month by the UNHCR.
The cheapest bowl of rice at Kyaka II: $1.20.
To combat mass starvation and poverty, San Francisco based non-profit, The Forgotten International (TFI), puts financial and infrastructural support behind local community leader: Pastor Godfrey Byaruhanga.
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With the help of the TFI, Godfrey establishes Angels Care Medical Clinic in 2020. COVID hits, and Godfrey faces a dilemma: charge refugees for the medical assistance to pay the bills, or offer life-saving care for free.
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He chooses the latter.
2. Pre-Production
TFI and Bad Atlas team up. The plan: craft a documentary on Godfrey, with the goal of using the film to raise funds to sustain Angels Care Medical Clinic in the wake of the pandemic, and support the future ventures of Pastor Godfrey.
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Bad Atlas production crew travels to Kyaka II Refugee Settlement.
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3. Production
Bad Atlas crew lives in Kyaka II for two weeks, following Pastor Godfrey as he spends every waking moment listening to and caring for the needs of his community.
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Bad Atlas interviews Godfrey, his family, refugees, medical care workers, government officials in the settlement and in the Ugandan capital, and many more.
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In one of the interviews, the crew interviews a refugee named Javier. Javier reveals that the day prior, the UNHCR had cut his and his family's rations completely. He and his 21 children and grandchildren are weeks away from starvation.
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4. Post / Fundraising
The crew returns to Los Angeles.
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Within weeks, Bad Atlas personally raises necessary funding for Javier and his family, purchasing them a new home, land to farm on, and cattle to raise.
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A few months later, the fundraiser cut of "Godfrey" premieres. Over $100,000 is raised for Godfrey and the refugees of Kyaka II within a week of its premiere.
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Godfrey is able to keep Angels Care running, and has even begun construction on his next project: a granary to harvest food for the community and create a source of sustainable income for years to come.
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Finally, Pastor Godfrey visits the United States for the first time. Bad Atlas and Godfrey reunite, sharing laughs, stories, and plans for future projects.
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