Shout Gladi Gladi (2015)

Shout Gladi Gladi is a documentary about hope. It tells the story of one woman's quest to cure fistula and save mother's lives in Africa. Shot in Malawi and Sierra Leone (just prior to the Ebola crisis) this is an intense portrait of the people suffering from fistula and the struggle of those who are not only trying to fix this condition but curtail it through better maternal health care. In addition, it is about women's empowerment, specifically through a radical device from BBOXX, a solar powered generator that provides the women not only with electricity in a region where there is none but also as a means to make money by charging cell phones.

Date of release
2015-10-01
TMDB
5.0 / 10 (1)
Runtime
1h 40m
Genres
Documentary, History
Director
Iain Kennedy, Adam Friedman

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Kenya

Shout Gladi Gladi is a 2015 American-British documentary film about the obstetric fistula problem in Africa, co-directed by Adam Friedman and Iain Kennedy, narrated by Meryl Streep, and named for the celebration held after women completed treatment.

Production

Friedman had first met Ann Gloag in 2008, and after learning of her project, decided to make a film documenting her efforts. The film was eventually written by Iain Kennedy and co-directed by Kennedy and Adam Friedman, and produced by Friedman's Vertical Ascent in collaboration with The Freedom From Fistula Foundation, an organization founded and run by Scottish businesswoman, Ann Gloag.

According to Adam Friedman, "Filming ‘Shout’ was an extraordinary experience. My wife and I were stopped at gunpoint in Malawi and were one of the last film crews shooting in Sierra Leone as the Ebola plague descended. But throughout, the wonderful people of Africa and the amazing work that Ann's groups were doing inspired us to keep on keeping on.”

Friedman was surprised at Meryl Streep's interest in being a part of the film. He had originally wished a narrator of her caliber, but did not think it was even possible. Urged by an acquaintance of his sister's, he sent Streep a copy of the film. One week later he received word from her office that she felt Gladi was so powerful a film she "felt the need to be involved."

Meryl Streep stated "This powerful film attests to the igniting power of one woman, Ann Gloag, to set in motion hundreds of helping hands, doctors, nurses, caregivers, family and friends, to resuscitate the health and status of victims of fistula, and to give them back their lives."

The first cut of the film was completed in September 2015, and according to Friedman, it was only missing the key piece of Meryl Streep.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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