By Michelle Betton | Communications Specialist
Here is a great article that was published about our upcoming film, that puts the whole project in context, showing how "The Lucky Specials" can really impact millions of people potentially affected by tuberculosis.
A MUSICAL MESSAGE: Delivering Lifesaving TB Information Through Music & Film
Photos and Story by Holly Powers of USAID/Southern Africa
“MUSIC EXPRESSES THAT WHICH CANNOT BE PUT INTO WORDS AND THAT WHICH CANNOT REMAIN SILENT” - VICTOR HUGO
It is not a new concept for people to use music to share information. Throughout history, music has been used to discuss love, war, famine, disease, violence, and many other issues that affect the globe. Music breaks down barriers, brings people together and allows issues to be discussed in an informal way.
Music often gets through to people in a way that words alone cannot; it tells a story while its rhythm touches your soul.
TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES
Playing on our human interest in music, film, soccer, and dance is not new. In every part of the globe, these things can be used to engage communities, but in the developing world, where day-to-day struggles often out-weigh fun and enjoyment, leveraging these human passions can employ change in a powerful way.
THE INSIDE STORY
In 2012, Discovery Learning Alliance partnered with USAID, PEFPAR, Chevron, Access Bank, Quizzical Pictures and others to address the fight against HIV through a full-length, award-winning feature film, “Inside Story.” The story was about coming-of-age, romance, focused on football (soccer), and full of educational information about HIV/AIDS and how to protect oneself.
“It’s a fascinating marriage of fiction and non-fiction, a live action story and animated science coming together that in a way is almost a new film genre. It worked with ‘Inside Story,’ so we wanted to, with USAID’s leadership, take that approach and apply it to TB.”
- Aric Noboa (President & Executive Producer of Discovery Learning Alliance)
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Everyone knows the danger of HIV/AIDS and has for decades, but that common knowledge is not the same when it comes to tuberculosis (TB). It has often lived in the shadow of HIV, yet it kills more people and can be curable. It is an airborne respiratory illness that is contagious and can be passed from person to person without any physical contact.
TB is the number one killer in South Africa.
In 2014, 9.6 million people worldwide were infected with TB, with 1.5 million of them dying. What people don’t often realize is that it is treatable and curable.
EDUCATION CHANGES EVERYTHING
To this day, “Inside Story” is the most watched movie in Africa having been broadcast to more than 330 million people.
After the success of “Inside Story,” USAID felt it made sense to create a similar story that discusses TB. With the incredible reach of a feature film in mind, USAID and Discovery Learning Alliance partnered to create a new film project.
This latest film has been made through a partnership between USAID, PEPFAR, Discovery Learning Alliance, Quizzical Pictures, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Wellcome Trust, and Management Sciences for Health. Filming of “The Lucky Specials” recently wrapped in South Africa. It is expected to make its public debut before the end of the year.
“Film has immense power to convey messages in a compelling and memorable way, something that other media cannot replicate. ‘Inside Story’ was a groundbreaking concept, combining entertainment and science to help individuals make informed health decisions, and ‘The Lucky Specials’ is the next phase of that model.”
- Harriet Gavshon, producer of “The Lucky Specials”
SEEING IS BELIEVING
The “Lucky Specials” are a small-time cover band in a small mining town in the middle of nowhere, fronted by Maskandi guitarist Mandla, a young gold miner who aspires to make it big in the music business. But when Mandla contracts TB from his mentor, his impatience keeps him from completing the arduous course of medication. Focusing more on his music than his health, he contracts a frightening drug-resistant strain of the disease. Using the same technique of intercutting a live action story with animation showing what’s going on inside the protagonist’s body, the film makers demystify TB, which is devastating communities across Southern Africa.
HIGH HOPES
The Lucky Specials will be released later this year with great anticipation and tremendous ambitions. This film has everything it needs to be a success.
The goal for “The Lucky Specials” is to have even broader and quicker distribution than “Inside Story” and to surpass “Inside Story” as the most watched movie in Africa of all time. “Inside Story” surpassed Avatar, Spider Man 2 and Titanic in large part due to a distribution strategy which incorporated free-to-air networks with theatric, pay TV and DVD distribution.
If “Inside Story” is any indication of the reach and impact that is possible with film, then “The Lucky Specials” will impart lifesaving information to hundreds of millions throughout Africa.
To find out more about the upcoming film go to www.luckyspecials.com
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