Charcoal Traffic shown again in Beijing China

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC and another short video, filmed by Hot Sun Films in Somalia, ME AND MY SOLAR COOKER, were featured at the environmental Greening the Beige Festival, 8 July 2008 held at the Stoneboat bar in Beijing, China . The venue was jammed with over 70 people present. James Lindsay, co-producer of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC answered many questions about the film, Somalia, and solar cookers as an alternative to using charcoal for household cooking.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC selected for Environmental Film Fest in Paris France!

We are delighted and honoured to announce the selection of your film Charcoal Traffic in the Short Film Official Competition of the Festival International du Film d'Environnement 2008, which will take place in November 2008 (19 until 25) at the Cinema La Pagode in Paris. We were touched and deeply interested by your strong film.

Kids in India watch KIBERA KID!

More than 30,000 children from all over India will have the opportunity to see The KIBERA KID short film at the World Kids International Film Festival 2008 to be held in New Delhi, 25th to 31st of July.

WorldKids Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated towards the promotion of ‘entertainment with a purpose’. WorldKids Foundation’s vision is to expose Indian children to world cultures and traditions as well as encourage critical thinking on social and environmental issues.

We are pleased to join with WORLD KIDS FOUNDATION in their vision to bring together children and youth through media! Visit www.wkiff.com for more information!

Read about KIBERA KID feature film project

From "A Love Story Conquers Tribal War"
by Matt Brown in THE NATIONAL, UAE, June 29, 2008
...(The) feature film, which will be shot entirely in Kibera with actors from the slum, will be about two kids from different tribes whose friendship is strained by Kenya’s tribal conflict.

A group of Kibera writers is helping Mr Collett draft the script for the (Kibera Kid) feature film. The group meets weekly to brainstorm ideas and give Mr Collett feedback on the script.Mr Collett hopes to start filming in November and is looking for funding.

Evans Kangethe, one writer, recently moved back to Kibera from a displacement camp. Machete-wielding youths chased him from his home and took everything he owned. Now he is putting his experiences down on paper, telling the world what he went through.

“Actually it was hell,” Mr Kangethe said. “When I come here and I am around other writers, I gather more ideas. When we meet, I find it so healthy.”
Read the entire story about the Kibera Kid Street Theatre and the feature film on
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080629/FOREIGN/653880137/1017/NEWS

KIBERA KID short film available on CAACHI

CHECK IT OUT today! KIBERA KID, CHARCOAL TRAFFIC and LIFE FORCES available as downloads on http://www.caachi.com/Members/HotSunFoundation All proceeds go to support the work of Hot Sun Foundation in Kibera.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in New Zealand

Charcoal Traffic is an official selection in the Urbis Animax international section of the Canterbury Short Film Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand. Visit www.urbis-animax.com
for more information.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in BEIJING CHINA

After a showing of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC on June 4 2008 at the D-22 night club in a trendy part of Beijing near the Peking University campus, the audience had many questions.

Q. Why don’t people cook with gas or electricity if charcoal causes so many problems?
A. There is no gas or electricity available in most of Somalia, even in towns.

Q. Do people really live in small huts?
A. Yes, many people are nomadic pastoralists who must move with their flocks.

Q. Why do people carry machine guns in Somalia?
A. Because of ongoing lawlessness due to civil war since 1992.

Q. Did goats really live in the area where the film was shot; there seemed to be no grass only sand?
A. Yes, goats are able to survive even where there is very little pasture.

Q. The acting was of high standard. Were the actors professionals?
A. None of the actors had had any previous acting experience. They were friends or staff members who worked with us in our solar cooking project.

The Beijing screening of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC gave co-producer James Lindsay an opportunity to explain the situation in Somalia and the work of Sun Fire Cooking distributing solar cookers as an alternative to charcoal.