POV (US television’s longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films on PBS) recently hosted IDA’s Doc U on the Road to examine the question “Can Your Doc Really Change the World?” with a panel of documentary heavyweights and the conversation continued afterwards with a Q&A and reception.

The panel included Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence), Rachel Libert (Semper Fi: Always Faithful, Boomtown), Diana Barrett, founder of the Fledgling Fund, and Cynthia López, Executive Vice President and Co-Executive Producer of POV.

“When I was tackling the big issue, I could have gotten lost in it. But I realized I have to tell the most compelling, engaging story I can to get people to watch. It has to be about the story first.”

    - Roger Ross Williams, director of Music by Prudence

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams took to the microphone first to set the stage for a clip of his 2010 short film Music by Prudence.

“I didn’t set out to make a film that would change the world,” said Williams. But that’s exactly what ended up happening when the film was picked up by HBO and then shortlisted and nominated for an Academy Award.

When people who had watched the Academy Awards began contacting him wanting to know how they could engage more with the issues, Williams realized he needed an actual campaign. Fledgling Fund made this possible. Williams partnered with Human Rights Watch to bring the subject of his film to the US and give her media training to become an effective advocate for the issues that were important to her. The UN, the World Bank, and UNICEF signed on as partners.

Williams believes the biggest impact the film and its campaign had was in Zimbabwe. When Prudence arrived back in her country, hundreds of journalists were on hand for her return. Her father was there, crying and apologizing for abandoning her. She made a speech about the wasted potential of disabled children strengthened by her media training. The two major newspapers in the country had editorials taking the position that Zimbabwe had to change the way disabled people were treated.

Read the full report on the event at documentary.org

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Can Your Doc Really Change the World?

Last night Music by Prudence screened at the Gala opening of the first annual International Disability Film Festival, Abära, organized by Arts & Disability Ireland.

Darren Mooney, winner of “best pop-culture blog” Irish Blog Awards, gave the film a raving review. Here are some highlights:

“Music by Prudence is an absolutely fascinating documentary from director Roger Ross Williams, looking at the band Liyana, fronted by Prudence Mabhena. The thirty-three minute documentary does a wonderfully effective job giving us a snapshot into the Zimbabwean band, composed of faculty and students from the King George VI Centre and School for Children with Physical Disabilities. The runtime is remarkably short, but Williams compensates by giving us a whirlwind introduction to the band’s lead singer, who has enough charm and wit to carry a far longer documentary. The band themselves provide a beautiful soundtrack, and there’s talk of them releasing two albums off the back of the film’s success.”

“Prudence herself attended the screening and announced her presence, before she’d even come in the door, with a stirring version of Amazing Grace. It was really something, and she has an undeniable talent. Similarly, there’s a wonderful sense of affection shared between Prudence and her band mates, with Prudence herself serving as something of a den mother – at one point, confiscating a phone off a band mate who is distracted from driving his wheelchair. Thirty minutes is an incredibly brief amount of time to spend with somebody, and it takes considerable effort to give us such a complete sketch in so short a time – the film is remarkably structured and well-handled.”

“Prudence explains that most births in Zimbabwe are cause for celebration, and that the only exception is for those children born with disabilities. It feels like Prudence Mabhena finally got her well-earned celebration.”

Read the full review here.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Raving Irish Review

Music by Prudence will be the opening film at Abära – the International Disability Film Festival in Dublin, on Thursday October 20th! And the best news of all: Prudence is traveling to Ireland to attend the festival!

Abära is Ireland’s first ever International Disability Film Festival. The aim of the festival is to celebrate progress made by people with disabilities while increasing awareness and understanding of the many challenges still faced by people with disabilities around the world.

During the gala opening night, Prudence will be interviewed by RTÉ’s Arts & Media Correspondent, Sinéad Crowley. Limited tickets are available.

And if you can’t make it to the opening night, no worries: preceding the screening on Friday evening, Prudence will be present again, interviewed by Rod Stoneman, Director of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media, NUI Galway.

The festival runs from Thursday October 20th until Sunday October 23rd.

For ticket information, click here.

To download the full festival program (PDF), click here.

And even more right here.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Dublin, here we come!

Prudence was appointed Unicef’s national Goodwill ambassador last Tuesday. She will be working closely with Unicef on advocacy to protect children from all forms of violence, particularly children with disabilities.

Unicef’s Dr Peter Salama said: “This appointment is in recognition of Prudence’s bold endeavors to use her vocal talent to speak on behalf of millions of Zimbabwean children.

“Her voice has provoked positive actions for children and has helped move Unicef’s work in Zimbabwe,” he said.

In a Press release, Unicef said Prudence has been given the befitting appointment in recognition of her genuine commitment to communicating strong and clear messages advocating for the rights of children with different forms of disability.

“In being appointed as a national goodwill ambassador, she joins local singer legend Oliver Mtukudzi, appointed three months ago as regional goodwill ambassador for Unicef, in using music to highlight issues affecting children in Zimbabwe and in the region,” reads the release.

“Her music reflects on the neglect she experienced by her parents because of her condition and encourages love and protection of all children regardless of their physical condition.

“In the Oscar-winning documentary film, ‘Music by Prudence’, Prudence relieves her many hardships in life to encourage and empower young people living with disabilities,” reads the press release.

Read more on Zimdiaspora.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Prudence gets Unicef position!

So much has happened for Prudence, ever since Music by Prudence stole the hearts of so many people, and certainly after winning the Academy Award for best Documentary Short. After the media frenzy surrounding Kanye Gate whirled down, the focus was on Prudence, where it belonged. Soon after the Oscars, Prudence came back to the US for a whirlwind tour; Human Rights Watch teamed up, and with their generous help and support the film has become the cornerstone of an advocacy campaign, and Prudence a role model for many.

Prudence visited the White House, and overnight became a star in her home country, Zimbabwe, as well.

The most amazing thing that happened to Prudence, however, happened earlier this year. It had become harder for her to breath as a collapsing spine wore on her lungs, and she received spinal surgery in Denver, straightening her back!

Recently, the Denver Post portrayed Prudence and her amazing story, as she’s been in Denver for a number of months, rehabilitating from the major operation. Read her interview right here.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Prudence’s amazing journey

Last month, Prudence and the film were featured on Spotlight Radio. Spotlight Radio is a great source for people who want to learn English. It’s is a daily 15 minute radio program that uses a special English method of broadcasting. They use fewer words, slower speed, and shorter sentences.

People can listen to Spotlight Radio online, on public radio stations, and in school classes.

Listen to the Spotlight broadcast on Music by Prudence right here.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Spotlight on Prudence

Music by Prudence has been nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Music and Sound! Congratulations to sound mixer Chris Bertolotti, music producer Ted Mason, and music engineer Joseph Colmenero, and of course to the musical geniuses of the band Liyana, and to their star singer, Prudence Mabhena.

The 32nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Ceremony will be held at September 26, 2011.

Click here to see all the nominations.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Nominated for an Emmy!

“Music by Prudence” and “Mugabe and the White African” will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, March 30, at 7 PM at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series continues through June 1, showcasing feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 PM. Doors open at 6 PM. All seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Docs Series travels to Zimbabwe

Prudence Mabhena has had spine surgery in the United States to save her singing career!

In the past, Prudence could sing for one to two hours during a show without a break. But recently, she’s had to do shorter shows and take breaks in the middle and come back.

It became harder for her to breathe as a collapsing spine wore on her lungs. “I was getting tired. After doing anything, I was so tired,” Prudence, now 23, said from the Denver Children’s Hospital on Thursday.

On Jan. 24, she had a surgery there in which doctors put rods into her spine and were able to straighten it. And Mountainfilm, in large part, made that happen. Here’s how.

Dr. Rick Hodes knows spines. He appeared at Mountainfilm in 2009 with the movie “Making the Crooked Straight,” a documentary that focused on Hodes’ endeavors in Ethiopia, where he helps facilitate spinal surgeries for children with crooked backs. Hodes also adopts as many kids there as he can to put them on his health insurance. He’s a bit of a saint, to say the least.

His film won the Moving Mountains Prize that year, which donated money to his cause — money Hodes used for another life-saving surgery — and Festival Director David Holbrooke brought him back as a judge in 2010.

He crossed paths with Mabhena, who was here with Music by Prudence, the film about her struggles and triumphs, and Hodes examined her while his son stood guard at the door.

“My whole life is bad backs,” Hodes said Wednesday. He took photos and notes, and arranged for a surgery in Ghana. That fell through, but he worked out another surgery in Denver at the Children’s Hospital, performed by Dr. Mark Erickson.

If she hadn’t have gotten the surgery, her back could have pushed into her lungs further. Because she sits in a wheelchair, her problem is worsened.

“She would have, at some point, had to stop singing. Her work would be in breathing, not singing,” Hodes said. “We’re not going to somehow cure her. On the other hand, she’s going to have a much more quality and quantity of life.”

All this, because of Music by Prudence playing at a film festival in a tiny mountain town. A festival that got its start with roots climbing films and van-dwelling mountaineers.

“It was Mountainfilm Festival that brought us all together. … It’s sort of funny how life works,” Hodes said. “Somehow, Mountainfilm is making the world a better place.”

That’s not lost on Holbrooke.

“It’s wild — two people from Africa in this world of broken spines, and we’re able to connect them. We’re able to help them,” Holbrooke said. “I love that. This is what the heart of our festival is — making people’s lives better if we can.”

On Thursday afternoon, Prudence felt well enough to wheel around the hospital and take a phone call.

“I’m good,” she said. “The doctors are surprised by my recovery.” She was expected to spend three to four days in intensive care recovering from the surgery. She spent a night and was out, that spirit of hers pushing her along. If everything goes to plan, she’ll have another surgery on Monday, this one to straighten out her hip so she can sit upright in her wheelchair instead of twisted.

“I feel straighter,” she said. “Now, I can lie on my back, and even sideways without any pain.”

And that seemed impossible at a time for the impossibly contorted Prudence, who was called an ant in her home country, where disabled people are looked upon like a curse. Prudence, whose smile beams like streetlights in perfect dark, was abandoned by her mother, looked after by her grandmother and then lived with her father and stepmother, where she was neglected and left alone to wallow. She ended up at a school for the disabled, where she found her calling in music.

She’s far from alone these days. She’s just recorded a gospel album, and her hope is to return home and belt out an enormous set supporting its release.

“My hope is to go back and launch the show,” she said. “I’m hoping to make it a very, very big launch.”

When Prudence is waiting to feel better, she sings a song. It’s called “My Hope.”

“I start singing it in my heart, and it gets me going,” she said. “I still have that hope that everything will be fine.”

And for now, it seems, it will.

Source: NewsDze-Zimbabwe

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Prudence has spine surgery in America

We’ve launched our Outreach site, to help people organize their own screening event of Music by Prudence, with extensive, downloadable screening and outreach tools. We’ve created five different screening licenses, offering a series of screening options.

If your school, faith group, community center, youth group, library or organization is interested, we invite you to set up an event screening. We also encourage you to host a screening for smaller groups – maybe even in your home. No venue is too small or too large!
 
We offer a seven-step plan to help you get started with your screening event. These seven steps offer some clear guidelines to community organizations, non-profits, and individuals who do not typically host film screenings.

We’ve also created a set of tools that will come in handy while organizing your screening event. The most important tool is the Screening Guide which helps you organize your screening event by defining your goals, planning your program, promoting your screening, finding the right venue and equipment.   We also provide you with a Conversation Guide which helps you prepare for your introduction of the film, and with an informal discussion after your screening. The outreach site has many other tools to help you get the news out about your event, such as the film info kit, an invitation template, poster in different sizes and resolutions, and a press release template. All files are easily downloaded and can be personalized by you.
 
Visit the Outreach site for Music by Prudence right here

Music by Prudence > Oscar winning documentary by Roger Ross Williams, Screening and Outreach Site Launched