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BURNING in the SUN Directed by Cambria Matlow & Morgan Robinson

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BURNING in the SUN Directed by Cambria Matlow & Morgan Robinson Birdgirl Productions presents BURNING IN THE SUN Directed by Cambria Matlow & Morgan Robinson “Riveting…The ramifications are extraordinary” — James van Maanen, Trust Movies Contact: Birdgirl Productions Sales: Cambria Matlow, Coproducer | 802.310.3379 | [email protected] Press: Claire Weingarten, Coproducer | 202.494.7812 | [email protected] USA/Mali | Documentary | 82 min | English, French, & Bambara with English subtitles www.burninginthesun.wordpress.com SYNOPSIS 26-year-old charmer Daniel Dembélé is equal parts West African and European, and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels – the first of its kind in the sun drenched nation. Daniel's goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99% of which live without power. BURNING IN THE SUN tells the story of Daniel’s journey growing the budding idea into a viable company, and of the business’ impact on Daniel’s first customers in the tiny village of Banko. Taking controversial stances on climate change, poverty, and African self-sufficiency, the film explores what it means to grow up as a man, and what it takes to prosper as a nation. OFFICIAL SELECTION Rooftop Films 2009, World Premiere Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2010 New York African Film Festival 2010 Sedona International Film Festival 2010 Indie Spirit Film Festival 2010 Santa Cruz International Film Festival 2010 Barcelona Environmental International Film Festival 2010, International Premiere Woods Hole Film Festival 2010 Landlocked Film Festival 2010 Real to Reel Film Festival 2010 Roxbury Film Festival 2010 Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival 2010 Southern Utah Documentary International Film Festival 2010 EcoFocus Film Festival 2010 Scottsdale International Film Festival 2010 Kansas International Film Festival 2010 Vermont International Film Festival 2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers 2010 IFP, Independent Film Week Spotlight on Docs 2008 IFP, Documentary Rough Cut Lab 2008 AWARDS WINNER—Grand Jury Prize, Best EarthVision Environmental Film, Santa Cruz Film Festival 2010 WINNER—Audience Award, Best Environmental Film, Indie Spirit Film Festival 2010 WINNER—Puffin Foundation, Finishing Funds 2010 WINNER—Experimental Television Center, Finishing Funds 2008 WINNER—Brooklyn Arts Council, NYSCA Re-Grant 2008 WINNER—LEF Foundation, Social Justice Grant 2007 PRESS ACCLAIM Critic’s Pick! -V.A. Musetto, New York Post “It’s Startup.com with solar panels instead of trade in this doc, which follows a 20-year-old Malian man as he attempts to build a business.” -Time Out New York “Inspirational!” -Amsterdam News “Proves a fascinating subject. The twenty minutes shown to us were riveting, and the ramifications are pretty extraordinary -- for Mali, of course, but for poor countries worldwide and, in fact, for some rich ones, too. If solar energy can be created as easily and cheaply as shown here, our government has, as Ricky used to tell Lucy, some 'splainin' to do.” -James van Maanen, Trust Movies “Director[s]Cambria Matlow and Morgan Robinson have found in Mali a young man whose personal story and drive to succeed so parallels Barack Obama’s that the film’s sociological insights almost outweigh the accomplishment of bringing cheap electricity to poor villages.” -Film-Forward.com “A really moving portrait…one of the festival’s highlights. Dembélé coolly and profoundly aligns a desire for personal independence with the complex cultural dilemma expressed so prominently in African cinema.” -Scott Limbacher, Columbia Spectator Dear Cambria and Claire, I just saw your documentary Burning in the Sun. It is one of the most constructive docs I've seen lately, congratulations on such a positive and urgent message. Daniel is so fantastic, his energy, charisma, determination, ethics are very well portrayed here but what I also like is the ability to capture his weaknesses as well, it shows his humanity. Definitely Carolina is in the house here! She has more guts than any of the men. Dr. Komp is also a key figure here, he is the guide, the proof that wisdom relies on the experienced, kind of like a greek structure. I think this doc should help as a model for other enterpreneurs in sustainable projects to really focus. Beautiful work girls, very inspiring. The edit is impeccable by the way. Well, I just wanted to share a bit of my thoughts on this. But I think it is a film which can trigger consciousness for alternative methods on sustainable energy among all the corners of this world. Inspiring :) Kindest regards, Pedro -Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, Director of Alamar, InternationalFilm Festival Rotterdam 2010 Tiger Award-winner “When the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 17th New York African Film Festival begins this coming Wednesday, April 7, for its week-long run, there'll be a number of good films to see. None of them, however, quite has the impact for TrustMovies as that of a very small DIY documentary titled BURNING IN THE SUN. In fact, BITS, as it will now be known here, is the single film most often covered on this particular blog over its 19-month history. I first saw a 20-minute portion of this film in September of 2008, during the IFP Independent Film Week, which then became on of my first blog posts (here). So timely and fascinating seemed this subject and how it was handled that I did a follow-up post, just to learn what was happening with the film a few months later. Then, nearly one year after my first viewing, the documentary, was given its first showing here in NYC at a Rooftop screening this past summer. The feedback was very good, and sure enough, a number of festivals -- Santa Barbara, Sedona, Indie Spirit, Santa Cruz -- were soon offering the little movie a berth in their program. In fact, the current NYC screenings are a joint effort of the FSLC's African festival and its Green Screens program. The reason for FSLC's dual programming effort is that BITS has two important themes: the betterment of Africa -- specifically Mali, the home of the film's protagonist -- and ecology/solar energy. Directors Cambria Matlow and Morgan Robinson tell this story succinctly with no unnecessary frou-frou. And the characters we meet, all helping to make one young man's dream (doing something good for his country) a reality, are an odd but fascinating mix. And while the setting is Africa, what should ring all kind of bells in the mind of Western viewers is how easily and inexpensively this fellow, Daniel Dembélé, is finally able to do this. If a mud-hut village in Africa can use solar energy to power water flow and electricity, what the hell is going on here in America that we can't seem to manage something similar and bigger. (The movie of course does not begin to answer that, but its very existence raises the question -- and a good one it is.)” -James van Maanen, Trust Movies DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Some of the most valuable feedback we got while crafting this film was from our editor, Emily Paine. She encouraged us to trust our material and not try to make anything fancy, fabricated, or to insert any “big drama” that did not otherwise naturally emerge. So the story survives and thrives on its own organic elements and characters. We also didn’t want the film to be dogmatic or preachy. We wanted viewers to feel safe with the characters and the situations we presented, and to have the space to approach the material from their own persepctives, without being told what to think. At the beginning we wanted to make a movie about everyone we had filmed during the three months and 140 hours of tape we shot in Mali, because each character was so fascinating and vibrant – we could have made a different and exciting movie about any one of them, from the sole female schoolteacher Olga Sidibe in Banko village to Dr. Richard Komp, the mad scientist who acts as Daniel’s mentor. After months of editing though, it became clear that Daniel Dembélé – passionate, complex, and commanding onscreen – was to be the main focus, and that his story could best encompass the issues we wanted to delve into in the film. Founding a small business is something that is deeply embedded in American and European culture, a topic to which many can relate. But most have never seen this universal kind of effort take place in Africa, traditionally marked out by the media as the land of the starving, the war ravaged and the hopeless. In our portrayal of Daniel, who undertakes a familiar effort in an unfamiliar environment, we attempt to open the door to what is possible in Africa, and update Western cultural awareness with a profound dose of optimism. For us, Daniel’s work shatters notions of the need for African dependence on outside aid and embraces the view that ultimately it is Africans who will develop Africa in their own way. Now more than ever before, people around the world have come to see green-collar jobs as an absolute necessity for survival in our rapidly changing economies and environments. Daniel’s daring, charisma and intelligence remind us of the sort of leadership required around the globe that will encourage this level of transformative change. It was important to us for the film to showcase him as an African leader, not only of his country, but as a global trendsetter. So not only do viewers come away with a greater understanding of the kind of development that makes the most sense for Africa, but a sense of profound inspiration that they can take what they’ve seen and apply it just as easily to their own communities.
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