In collaboration with the social scientist Kirstin Grosse-Frie PhD and the support of UN Women Mali, Glocal Films ran a participatory video
research project around issues of gender equality and violence against women and girls in Mali. In separate workshops, a group of young women and a group of young men, produced a film for each other. Exchanging these films enabled the groups to share their views and personal experiences, resulting in a deeper understanding of the issues from both perspectives. A third film documents the discussions and some of the insights gained.

The first public screening event of the films was hosted by The Malian Minister for Women’s Affairs, Children and Family. It was attended by government officials, NGO representatives and the general public. Since then, UN Women has been touring with the film package throughout Mali, hosting screening events with Q&As that further raise awareness and stimulate debate. A scientific paper depicting the project’s findings will be published this year.

Glocal Films runs participatory video workshops around the world, empowering marginalised individuals and groups to find their voice through film. In the process of collaborative filmmaking, the social norms upholding gender-based violence are interrogated and different perspectives can be explored. Gender-based violence is not a subject that can be tackled in isolation – everyone suffers its effects. Our film projects stimulate dialogue within and beyond communities and, in doing so, hold the potential to trigger real social change.

Our projects:

• Raise awareness of local social norms and the implications they have for the human rights of women and girls.
• Enable dialogue and exchange between genders and generations on topics that might otherwise be taboo.
• Turn film into a tool for personal storytelling that allows healing.
• Include training to guarantee sustainability and a dissemination strategy to maximise the social and political impact of the workshops and resulting films.