{"id":1199,"date":"2010-05-20T21:03:43","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T01:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2010-05-20T21:03:43","modified_gmt":"2010-05-21T01:03:43","slug":"erica-pomerance-and-the-challenges-facing-african-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/2010\/05\/20\/erica-pomerance-and-the-challenges-facing-african-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Erica Pomerance and the challenges facing African women"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Erica<\/a><\/p>\n

Regular guest blogger Jocelyne Clarke wrote this about a very committed Montreal filmmaker<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

At the recent edition of Vues d\u2019Afrique<\/a>, I attended Erica Pomerance\u2019s just completed film, <\/strong><\/span>‘Op\u00e9ration Survie’<\/a>, about a medical condition that affects approximately two million women worldwide : obstetrical fistula.<\/strong><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Generally associated with primitive birthing conditions, delivery complications and inadequate health care, the condition <\/span>leaves women incontinent, and as a result, socially excluded. <\/span><\/strong><\/span>In Africa, excision and genital mutilations, still practiced on young girls in many regions, are also a factor. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The film was made with the collaboration of Dr. Danielle Perreault, a Quebec emergency doctor, television commentator and photographer with a special interest in women\u2019s health, who travels worldwide to educate and train. <\/span>The film partially takes place in a center where women live while awaiting the simple surgery that will often enable them to re-integrate normal society. <\/span>Sadly, many women are so damaged by repeated childbirths that they will never recover normal bodily functions.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Danielle Perreault and Erica Pomerance at the film’s launch.<\/em><\/p>\n

Erica has a long term interest in Africa.<\/strong><\/span> <\/span>In 1997, she directed ‘Tabala \u2013 Rhythms in the Wind’<\/a>, about African music and dance culture in Montreal. <\/span>Simultaneously, she had developed an interest in the realities of African women and begun research on female circumcision, and particularly on the work being done by women\u2019s organizations in Africa. <\/span>Following ten years of research and on the ground work, ultimately collaborating with Monique Simard and Virage Productions, she released ‘Dabla! Excision’ <\/a>(2003). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, Erica has directed four films in West Africa, including ‘Op\u00e9ration Survie’: ‘<\/a><\/span>Miroir en face<\/a>‘ (2006, Via le Monde); ‘Caravane’ (2008), self-produced with the Taling Dialo<\/a> initiative, a video training association she founded, and ‘Ndomo, les cinq doigts de la main’<\/a>, about girls\u2019 initiation in Mali, co-directed with Isabelle Garceau. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In the extremely and increasingly difficult context of documentary production, even more so given the \u00ab distant \u00bb nature of the realities she explores, Erica\u2019s passion and determination are an inspiration. I often see her just as she is about to board a place to West Africa, small camera in hand and hopeful that the funding will eventually be found for some new project. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Her films and the personal commitment she brings to them offer precious glimpses into \u00ab other \u00bb worlds, both sobering and inspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regular guest blogger Jocelyne Clarke wrote this about a very committed Montreal filmmaker. At the recent edition of Vues d\u2019Afrique, I attended Erica Pomerance\u2019s just completed film, ‘Op\u00e9ration Survie’, about a medical condition that affects approximately two million women worldwide : obstetrical fistula. Generally associated with primitive birthing conditions, delivery complications and inadequate health care, … Continue reading Erica Pomerance and the challenges facing African women<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-festivals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1199"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1210,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions\/1210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socialdoc.net\/magnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}