“The role the film plays is that it brings information that you did not know. Film is made up of a lot of things like documentaries like for instance a documentary about climate change. It’s a topic we are not used to, so if I bring it to a community, it will bring new information to them.”]
“Storytelling is very powerful because it brings all the essence of what Africans are, in terms of their culture, their tradition, their customs and where they want to go in terms of the development that is happening around the world and how we can connect with the world and how we can move as a unit.”
“African stories need to be told because as a young person growing up in a community where there is a lack of resources, I don’t have access to know about the history of Africa. African stories need to be told to young people and to the community at large by those who have access to information.”
“As young people one thing we tend to do is think that everything will be served on a silver platter, but gig work allows you to do the groundwork.“
“Storytelling is powerful because it opens up your mind to different things that are happening and it also channels us towards opening up to different things or different activities that affect our daily lives.”
“Our youth are losing their identity. They don’t know who they are which affects them actually being able to understand what they’re capable of and what they can do. They need to know who they are, what they can do and what they’re capable of as African children.”
“What really drew me to Sunshine Cinema was the idea of distributing films to communities. In most cases people make films and they go out to festivals. And especially without documentary films, they never really reach the communities they’re meant for.”
“The power of showing films comes through the lessons that can be learnt. If we show a film about GBV to our targeted audience we will be able to help them open up to us. So, we can use film to open up and spark conversation and create change.”
“Stories are beautiful because they show you possibilities. They will show you what is and they will try and show you what could be, and they can also show you what actually was or what might be. So then, If you use stories as a medium to get people together you can show them all the different possibilities that might exist.”
“There are lot of challenges that my people are faced with, so I hope from this program I’m going to learn to facilitate conversations that can assist in making sure that my community has been equipped with knowledge and skills and just generally with ways to better associate and work with each other and hope to make the community a better place.”
“Storytelling is important to me because it changes perspectives. You get to learn about other people’s ideas, experiences and their journey, how they get to embrace their journey and you get to get out of your comfort zone and be like if someone can do it, I can do it, through storytelling.”
“What I’m hoping to get out of this program is that I’m hoping to be a better facilitator, be a game changer within my community. I want to use film as a tool for social change. I want to bring the feeling of cinema to the community and bring strong African content to people within our society.”
“Gig work is important because it helps to reduce unemployment as a social issue in our community and it helps to create jobs for the upcoming youth and it helps them to solve many problems.”
“ I think my community will be excited when I show them the films because they will also be learning new things in their lives.”
“Being a Sunbox Ambassador means I can promote change in my community, I can develop new skills and knowledge, into our youth in society and use them to promote better decision making among them.”
“It’s easier if you communicate with the community using something that they can see and relate to, like film, so we can start a conversation with them. It will be easy for them to raise what they are worried about and what they have always wanted to raise but did not have a way to do it.”
“Within the spark impact program and with the Sunbox I want to address the issues of us not being connected with our cultural heritage because where I come from, we live 800 meters away from the Kruger National Park and yet we know nothing about our wild species. So, I want to reconnect our community with the wild spaces that surround them.”
“African stories need to be told because we need to share our truth. We need to inspire with our authenticity, our background and show the world what we are standing for.”
“I will be that voice that will open the platform to other people that feel the same way about my community, who will come together and combat the issues that we are facing.”
“I am super excited about this program because of the fundamental skills I will learn and acquire to be an independent creative, I am naturally a storyteller so I am excited to spark conversations within my community but most importantly pass teaching through my work and bring about change in our black excellence and identity while opening up a safe space for other creatives to be part of this journey.”