The New Boats

Dear GlobalGiving Supporters,

I am very proud to announce that The New Boats will be broadcast on ARTE this June. We will make sure to follow up with the exact broadcast date when it becomes public, but we could not be more proud that our film has such a great distribution partner. this is just the beginning of a new phase of the project and we are ready to start spreading the word.

While making The New Boats we witnessed firsthand the daily struggle of local fisherman and their families. They are fighting to keep this new influx of International companies accountable for their actions and preserve not just an important cultural symbol for my country Sierra Leone, but a critical food source that all of us in the region depend upon. My people have proved their resiliency, time and time again through the civil conflict of the 90’s, surviving Ebola and the horrendous climate disasters of 2017 and I am confident that we will be able to come together to ensure the long term health of our people. The Sierra Leonean flag in Green, white and Blue; Green for the land, White for justice and Blue represents our bountiful ocean. It is time to think long-term and time for our community to organize and become the proud steward of land and sea. 

Presently, we dedicating ourselves to our outreach efforts for the project, which include both local screening and advocacy we are planning together with the Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishing Union, and a more globally focussed information campaign that aims to raise awareness about illegal and bad methods of fishing practices.

We are continuing to work with Wudie, the Public Relations Officer for the Artisanal Fishermen’s Union and together we plan to add a stronger media component to these community surveillance efforts and data collection activities. I hope you will support us in our continued effort.

With Gratitude,

Barmmy Boy

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

it is with great pride that I am writing to tell you that The New Boats documentary film has moved on to the post-production phase footage. We have a great team assembled with experience and knowledge and we are on the way to telling the story we want to tell. Lead by Ibrahim S. Kamara (Miles), it is time for us to now make sense of the over 100 hours worth of great material. Using Adobe Premeire Pro 2021, the editing has started, we are excited and as a team we look forward to this new journey that will help bring some light to the plight of artisanal fishing communities in West Africa. 

Our film specifically looks at the Tombo community in my mother country Sierra Leone and their attempt to protect their livelihood and way of life. We witness their daily struggle and attempt to keep a new influx of International companies accountable for their actions and preserve not just an important cultural symbol of Sierra Leone, but a critical food source that the country and region depend upon.

Thank you so much for your generous support of this project.

with Gratitude

BarmmyBoy