About:
Duke Global Health Film Festival (DGHFF) is an initiative launched by Kearsley Stewart, Professor of Global Health and Cultural Anthropology, and Jamal Edwards, a senior majoring in Global Health and Journalism. After attending the world’s inaugural Global Health Film Festival, an initiative started by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lancet, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. Stewart and Jamal were keen on bringing this unique approach to global health to Duke. DGHFF started with a grant from the Duke Africa Initiative and quickly gained support from the Duke Global Health Institute, the Franklin Humanities Institute and many others. DGHFF Theme Statement:
This year’s theme is “Infectious Disease and Visual Representation in Africa” which aims to bring together a global network of filmmakers, health professionals, academics, and students to discuss global health ethics and the narrative representation of infectious diseases in film in Africa. As a chronic disease, HIV/AIDS biomedically, politically, and artistically has a diverse and well-defined archive of stories to study trends, outcomes, and key players from initial outbreak to today. Some of the most compelling engagements with the narratives of the movement are nested in films that serve as visual representations, cultural preservation, and agents of change. Global health films, specifically, identify a unique view of the world’s response to HIV/AIDS in Africa. Similar, but quite distinct, visual storytelling is emerging from the most recent Ebola outbreak in western Africa and the chronic TB epidemic in South Africa. Global health films animate these illness narratives, at once strengthening African voices behind the headlines but also reinforcing the chaos narrative so commonly associated with the continent. This proposed film festival, and the expert panel, will challenge those stereotypes and offer a new perspective on understanding the visual representation of disease in Africa documentaries. DGHFF Leadership:
Kearsley Stewart, Associate Professor of the Practice, Global Health and Cultural Anthropology, is thesis advisor to Jamal Edwards and will supervise his independent study in global health film, Spring 2016. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on global health ethics, qualitative research methods, and HIV/AIDS. Jamal Edwards, T’16, is a double major in Global Health and Journalism. He is currently writing his thesis, “Making Room for Film in the Global Health Community.” Jamal will help coordinate this Duke Africa Initiative project and speak on the panel. As a Writ Large Humanities Fellow, Jamal is receiving support from the Center of Documentary Studies for his research.
