THE MEMORY BOX
A Documentary film
Directed by Stephen Auerbach and Wayne Schoenfeld
Produced by Exeko
Distributed by Locomotion Films
Produced by Exeko
Distributed by Locomotion Films
Montreal, February 25th, 2010 – The Memory Box was selected amongst 1,300 movies for the competition of the 5th Montreal Human Rights Film Festival documentary Grand Prize and Public Prize. The official DVD launch will take place during the festival on Sunday, March 21st at Cinema du Parc.
PROJECTIONS :: Friday, MARCH 19th & Sunday, MARCH 21st:: 7:00 PM
DVD Launch :: Sunday, MARCH 21st :: 5:00 PM
CINEMA DU PARC :: 3575, AVENUE DU PARC, MONTRÉAL
The festival's official website: http://ffdpm.com/2010/
Synopsis
Shot entirely on location in Ethiopia, the Memory Box is a story of tragedy and hope in Africa through the eyes of a most unique, Chaplinesque, Dawish the Clown.
Joining a volunteer surgical team from the West, Dawish is drawn beyond the hospital into the villages of rural Africa where the language of pantomime and wit is a universal tongue. He is as at home with the primitive tribes-people of the Omo Valley as he is with the most urbane of the capitol city, Addis Ababa. Dawish is invited into homes, churches, AIDS centers and orphanages where he finds the humanity behind the headlines of poverty, prostitution, hunger, AIDS and hopelessness.
Through the eyes of Dawish the Clown, the viewer is given a fresh view, a new perspective on the cynical predictability of the tragedy of Africa.
Joining a volunteer surgical team from the West, Dawish is drawn beyond the hospital into the villages of rural Africa where the language of pantomime and wit is a universal tongue. He is as at home with the primitive tribes-people of the Omo Valley as he is with the most urbane of the capitol city, Addis Ababa. Dawish is invited into homes, churches, AIDS centers and orphanages where he finds the humanity behind the headlines of poverty, prostitution, hunger, AIDS and hopelessness.
Through the eyes of Dawish the Clown, the viewer is given a fresh view, a new perspective on the cynical predictability of the tragedy of Africa.
"As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears...
Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child."
From A Clown's Prayer