African queens

Call it serendipitous. Call it fortuitous. Call it whatever you like, but the meeting of Audrey Emerson and Anne Wells produced more than a friendship. It led to the production of a film, specifically “The Pamoja Project,” a 30-minute documentary profiling three women community leaders in Tanzania, East Africa.

Emerson, of Hopkinton, and Wells, of Darien, Connecticut, met in Little Compton, Rhode Island, where their families spend their summer months. At 14, Emerson began working as a nanny for Wells, who at that time was launching Unite The World With Africa LLC, a nonprofit social organization created to provide connections, resources and expertise to advance women’s health and education in select communities throughout Tanzania. Through the years, Emerson interned at the organization.

“I developed this connection to Tanzania and the work this woman and organization are doing,” says Emerson, who graduated from Natick’s Walnut Hill School for the Arts in 2013.

Now 20 and a film student at the University of Southern California, Emerson decided to get more involved. “This summer I was planning to go to Tanzania with this organization so I thought wouldn’t it be nice to do something with film. Maybe I’ll take a friend who has a nice camera and shoot something or create a couple videos. It was very low key.”

Time for some more serendipity, which by now was looking more like destiny. “At the time, I was working for a production company, Devlo Media, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and one of the partners, John Lavall, was out in LA for a conference,” says Emerson. “I met him for dinner and I was talking to him about the idea about going to Tanzania and shooting something with a friend. I asked, ‘Do you want to be involved in any way?’ I just threw it out on the table, thinking it might be interesting to hear what his thoughts were. He basically said, ‘If you make a film, we will edit it pro bono,” which is a huge amount of work and a huge donation of time and money. I walked away from the conversation thinking, ‘If they’re going to edit this film pro bono, then I need to give them something that’s worth editing. I really need to take it to the next level because their services are so professional, so skilled, they’re an Emmy Award-winning company, I have to give them something that’s worth they’re time.’ It snowballed from there. I started looking for a crew. I started fund-raising and getting people involved who I thought would be interested in the project, and it grew so rapidly. It was really incredible.”

Emerson and company raised $30,000 to make the independent film. This money, compiled from individual donors, grants and crowdfunding, went to pay for flights, expenses and equipment rentals. However, if one tallies up the total cost of services donated, such as the Devlo Media assistance, the sum would exceed $200,000, according to Emerson. The film also formed a partnership with the Boston Children’s Chorus.

Emerson, the film’s director and producer, and crew – Brandon Somerhalder, director of photography, Kasey Henderson, production adviser, and Richard Carlos, production sound mixer and boom operator – arrived in Tanzania in June after a lengthy journey – a 7 hour and 30 minute flight from Boston to Amsterdam followed by a 9 hour and 30 minute flight from Amsterdam to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city.

“The Pamoja Project” - “pamoja” is the Swahili word for “together” - “tells the story of three Tanzanian women who are working incredibly hard to change the lives of those in their communities,” says Emerson. “Sister Crispina runs an orphanage and primary school, Margaret works to employ the women of the rural Maasai tribe and Astridah is an educator dedicated to teaching and empowering at-risk girls. They are all very different but together they are faces of real, tangible change. ... The film will share with the world the amazing work that these women are doing to better their communities and their lives. We hope to tell a different story of Africa, one that goes against the stereotypes.”

Connections provided the interview subjects. “Unite had worked with or are friends with and been in contact with them,” says Emerson. “Anne and I sat down and thought about what the story we wanted to tell was.” That story has multiple facets. “Along with promoting cross-cultural understanding, the film illuminates what these women can teach us about development, leadership and improving one’s community,” says Emerson. “There is so much research now proving women are the solution to global poverty, so it’s time to hear from them.”

Though the “Pamoja Project” marks Emerson’s debut as a film director, she says she avoided many rookie mistakes thanks to Devlo Media’s assistance. “They provided advice and input and prepared me well,” she says, noting there were a few minor slip-ups.

“It can go badly so quickly or it can be really tough if you don’t have the right people in place or the right access or approach,” Emerson says. “I was so pleased about how the whole trip went, and that’s really due to my crew and Anne Wells and the Unite With Africa team that organized the trip for us and helped make the introductions that we needed. They facilitated the entire three weeks. Our international crew – all volunteers – totaled around 15. They were so dedicated and passionate. They believe in what we’re trying to do.”

As for shooting in Tanzania, Emerson says adjustments had to be made. “On the East Coast, everything is on time. You’re punctual. We do things fast,” she says. “In LA, it relaxes a little bit. The pace is a little bit slower.” In Tanzania, that pace is glacial. “Everything is on everybody’s own watch,” she continues. “There’s no such thing as a 3 p.m. meeting. ‘Maybe we’ll swing by.’ You can’t plan anything, but it’s also great because it means that everything is happening in the moment. Everything is organic. It’s always new. It’s always interesting. It was really fun to shoot that way. We knew we would be spending a day with one of the women. We just didn’t know what that day would hold, and that was really exciting.”

Time spent with Astridah provided a case in point. “She has worked in education for such a long time,” says Emerson. “She’s been a teacher, a headmistress, an administrator. She’s on the board of director of schools. She’s founded two private schools. She really understands education in Tanzania and she herself is such a brilliant, passionate woman. She knows the issues. Her entire life is about giving these children an opportunity to go to school within her community. If you walk around with her, every single person in that community runs up to her and says, ‘Hi, mama, how are you, mama?’ She is this unbelievable figure in her community. She always has kids in her house. She’s raised six children of her own. They’re now grown, but she still has six or seven children living with her. She constantly takes them in, pays for them to go to school or helps them go to school, whatever they need. The experience of just walking around her small community with her and seeing how connected she is was amazing. Every single person they know her, they love her. They’re so appreciative of everything she does. I will never forget the days spent walking around with her and being introduced to these people and seeing the level of connection.”

The filmmakers had “unprecedented access” to the three women, according to Emerson. “It was just about listening, listening to their stories to create a personal connection and a relationship that was built on honesty and grounded in truth,” she says. “By really, really listening and also filming we wanted to get a deeper level of connection to these women and the country.”

After three weeks of shooting and staying in eight hotels, Emerson and crew returned to the states where the editing about 40 hours of film into 30 minutes has begun. Once that is completed, Emerson plans to have the film ready for the festival circuit next year when she hopes it will be picked up for distribution. The film will also be test-screened in the spring in a few East Coast cities. Time and budget constraints kept the film at its half-hour running time. A cash infusion from a generous source could be used to finance a second trip and produce a longer film.

“It’s becoming more and more common that documentary films that touch on a social justice issue (or something along those lines) also develop a campaign or platform for audience members to take action and get involved,” says Emerson. “Given that our film is about women’s empowerment and local change, we have decided in conjunction with Unite to create a Warriors for Change program that will identify, vet, and empower individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership abilities and who are addressing in an innovative way an endemic challenge or problem in their community. Those selected will be awarded funds and ongoing professional development, education and support. ‘The Pamoja Project’ will get involved by creating a Pamoja Project Fellowship within the Warriors for Change fund. Money from film festivals or distribution will go into the Pamoja Project Fellowship Fund (through Unite) and each year three women or girls will be chosen.”

That Emerson not only pursued this project but completed it is no surprise to Wells. “If we had a Warriors for Change program here, Audrey would be chosen,” says Unite’s founder and director. “She’s unique. She has an unbelievable work ethic. She’s so positive, so smart. She has a commitment to excellence and great integrity and honesty. She’s beautiful inside and out. She’s extraordinary. It’s no wonder she pulled this off. This is hard to do. It can be frustrating. It requires tenacity and vision and she has both. I’ve never seen anyone like her at her age.”

As for what the future holds, Emerson, who will be a junior at USC in the fall, says, “I have no idea. I am a very project-to-project person. I love to learn and push myself and challenge myself, I love documentary work. I think documentaries are really interesting to make and also interesting to watch… I love the film industry, too. I love the business side of things, I consider myself a creative problem solver. I definitely want to stay in the film industry, but I also think it’s really important for me to give back and be connected to a larger nonprofit social justice cause.”

For more information on “The Pamoja Project,” visit www.thepamojaproject.org.

Bob Tremblay can be reached at 508-626-4409 or rtremblay@wickedlocal.com.