Caretakers

30/10/2022

Our Water is an official selection at Oregon Documentary Film Festival Fall 2022! If you're in Portland 19 Nov 2022, come to the screening!

Check out this Film Festival Circuit event!

30/10/2022

Sign! It’s critical to have these conversations in the context of cultural considerations if we want any climate action.

Imaging and Realising Climate Resilient Futures: The Power of Arts, Culture and Heritage to Accelerate Climate Action The Climate Heritage Manifesto for COP27 This Manifesto provides key messages on culture and climate change aimed at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) and beyond. It...

24/02/2021

Indigenous teachings offer insights into creating a more harmonious relationship with nature, which would reduce the risk of future pandemics

28/12/2020

So many stories in here... so special... hold on to your language, your voice, it is special and unique.

Recording, collecting and archiving our stories, languages and histories is a constant work in progress that requires immense manpower and resources. The first step, however, is recognising the worth of our heritage.

05/08/2020

It is with deepest sadness that we pay tribute to the incredible life of Laurence Dworkin who passed away on the night of the 17th of May 2020 due to Covid-19 complications.

Anyone who was fortunate enough to have met Laurence can testify to his unique character, his unwavering generosity and compassion, his bravery, dedication and commitment, and what will especially be missed – his very distinctive, great sense of humour.

Laurence didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk too, and it is evident when considering all of his life’s accomplishments, that he was an undeniably good person.

In the 1980s Laurence co-founded, together with Rapitse Montsho, Brian Tilley and Nyana Molete, the VNS/Afravision video collective which filmed the Anti-Apartheid uprisings taking hold across South Africa. Their unwavering bravery meant that by 1995 this team built up the most comprehensive and in-depth archive of the 1980s Struggle period.

But Laurence’s inspirational life story continues into the Post Apartheid setting. In 2000 he became involved as producer in the Steps For The Future documentary series on the HIV-AIDS crisis in South Africa. He continued working as co-director for the documentary film company STEPS, which uses the power of film to inspire social change. Here he became a mentor to many, as he placed value on passing his knowledge and expertise on to the youth. At STEPS he started his passion project CareTakers, producing a vast collection of films that focus on pressing environmental problems and inform viewers on why and how we need to protect our natural systems. When Laurence left STEPS in 2017, he continued to work on CareTakers as a separate NGO. His sincere love for the environment drove him to not only focus his career on the environment, but his personal life too – for example, he declared his Bokkeveld farm, in the Northern Cape, a private nature reserve – the first of such declaration in this province – and here too, helped form a co-op with a number of small-scale rooibos tea farmers.

Laurence’s sole desire to construct a better world was the driving force throughout his lifetime. He truly lived and undoubtedly his many pursuits in life are inspirational.

Laurence, you will stay in the hearts and memories of many. Rest in power and be assured that you are not replaceable and will never be forgotten.

CareTakers’ board members – Emmylou Bailey, George Davis, Naima Maleika Sebe, Brian Tilley, Gcobisa Silwana & Maria Honig – will be picking up the reins of CareTakers, driving forward Laurence’s legacy.

23/10/2019

The first of our short video clips shot as part of a film training exercise with SANBI employees. This one about some of the young scientist central to the recently published and all important National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA)

The National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) is the primary tool for monitoring and reporting on the state of biodiversity in South Africa. It is used to infor...

16/09/2019

Caretakers has just completed the first phase of a participatory film training programme with 14 dynamic young South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) employees. The aim of the training is to capacitate people within SANBI to produce their own short videos, communicating stories emanating from the work that they do.
The first training film, on young scientists working on the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA), will be up on social media platforms soon. Watch this space!

07/11/2018

Yes we've been somewhat silent lately, But behind the scenes we've been very busy gathering up all the footage from our Tourism Blue Flag beach winners and creating our beautiful edits ;) :) ! Here's a short snippet of Hobie beaches short documentary, where Simamkele talks about why it is crucial for him to be a good father.

Such a heart-warming statement, we hope it inspires others!!

Now back to the edit room to complete all the edits & put them through their sound mix, so that we can finally showcase the final edits to you all :D ! Feeling happy!

17/09/2018

After many months of providing the 50 Tourism Blue Flag (TBF) beach groups with feedback for the film footage they have submitted to us on a monthly basis, for our TBF Journey Filmmaking Project and Competition, today was the day that we announced those beach winners, whose footage we will edit into short documentaries around their TBF Journey experience!!

Congratulations to these spectacular beaches for their hard work and persistence:

Hobie beach
Humewood beach
Kings beach
Kellys beach
Lappiesbaai beach
Stilbaai beach
Saltrock beach
Preekstoel beach
Ramsgate beach
Wilderness beach

Now the editing process can begin and we look forward to showcasing the final edits!!! :D

A project in collaboration with WESSA Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa