Help us make the film 'Forest Song'

'Forest Song' is a film about the relationship between a Ugandan town and its natural treasure, told through the eyes and experiences of the local children its ongoing changes will most affect, but who know least about it. Joined by Hattie, an ambassador for a British school, all of these children will finally get to experience a wonder they have thus far only heard about.

 

This October, a plan over two years in the making will finally come to fruition. A plan to take over 100 local Ugandan children from their hometown of Masindi into the local Budgono forest, a mere 45-60 minutes' drive away, for the very first time in their lives. A plan for a cross-generational and cross-cultural experience, learning about this forest and its vital importance, to create long-lasting change in local communities. A plan to change the lives and futures of over 100 children.

 

In May 2020, I was not long out of film school when I met Karen. The founder and trustee of the charity Children of Masindi, Karen told me all about the schoolchildren she has worked with in Uganda, and what amazing work her charity has achieved there. Karen has long held the dream of being able to travel with these children to the local forest, which they have never visited, and explore the paths and trails that she has been so fortunate to wander many times, and after much planning she is finally on the brink of achieving this.

 

Masindi is a town in western Uganda, with a population just under 100,000 people. As the crow flies, the town is only a few kilometres from the edge of the Budongo forest reserve, a rich and diverse habitat that supports a thriving ecological network of countless species. It is a site of local and global significance, and home to a chimp population supported by the Jane Goodall Institute. And between the forest and Masindi, you will find a mosaic of farmland - land that once housed leopards, servals, chimps, and more under an ancient canopy - felled and burned to rear livestock and grow crops.

 

Deforestation is a complex and sensitive topic around the world, not least in Masindi, where a large portion of the local community and economy relies on land that results directly from this practice. Indeed, some of the children who will be travelling to the forest will come from families that fall directly into this bracket. With income depending on the exact issue they are learning about at school, but with no tangible experience of the forest, it can be very difficult for them to imagine any other approach. That is the crux of this journey: to inspire long-reaching change through education and experience, without shame or force, displacement or removal of land, and allowing for positive community growth and attitude shifts.

 

Of course, in order to ensure this incredible moment will be experienced as widely as possible and can continue to be shared and inspire others for generations to come, we will be making a film about it. And that is where your support comes in. In order to transport myself and one crew member to Masindi, afford accommodation and sustenance, obtain visas and filming permits, and allow us access to the camera equipment needed to make it all worthwhile, we need outside support. This experience is a real passion project for so many people and has immense opportunity to inspire real change, but without this film it won't be able to make nearly as much of a difference.

 

Please consider donating what you can, if you can, or sharing this page so that others might also. It would mean the world to me, to Karen, to the countless others involved in making this happen, and most importantly to the schoolchildren in Masindi who deserve this so much.

 

Thank you.

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About the filmmaker: Molly is a Natural History Documentary researcher living and working in Bristol, UK. With a background in Zoology and having completed the prestigious Wildlife Filmmaking MA at the University of the West of England, she has worked across multiple companies, channels, and Natural History formats, including presenter-led, magazine, blue-chip, and most recently children’s. Her student film about the U.S. tiger trade, The Housecats, was featured in numerous film festivals worldwide and won several awards, including 'Best Wildlife Crime/Trade Film' at the 2020 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.

 

Please note the journey to the Budongo forest has already been fully funded and any donations to this page are to the film project only. Any amount raised above the cost of the film will be donated to Children of Masindi.