Facts

Original Title:
Africa Unbottled

Duration:
54'

Genre:
adventure/wildlife

Locations:
Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana

Production Company:
Earthrise/ Six Street Studios/ Theater for Africa/ After the Rains

Producers:
Glynn O'Leary, Nicholas Ellenbogen

Directors:
Craig Foster, Bowen Boshier

Photography:
Craig Foster

Script:
Bowen Boshier, Craig Foster

Music:
Barry Donnelly

Original 54 min director's cut

Across the African continent and around the world, there are many passionate opinions about how to manage the precious wildlife of southern Africa. This film discovers that the people who know most about wildlife management are the people who actually live in these rural, developing countries. Their thoughts and realisations are brought to life in AFRICA UNBOTTLED.

AFRICA UNBOTTLED sends playwright Nicholas Ellenbogen in a land rover to remote communities in six different African countries. In each community, the residents have taken an holistic and somewhat controversial approach to managed wildlife care.

From Bawa, Mozambique, to Masoka, Zimbabwe, Ellenbogen finds that enforced hunting bans aren't always the way to go in saving endangered species. Such bans often cause overpopulation among the animals and poverty among the people. On the other hand, limited hunting and controlled safaris bring population control to herds and provide much needed revenue for communities.

Ellenbogen takes the wisdom of the African communities and uses it to forge a new play, entitled 'Guardians of Eden', in which he shows the delicate balance between humans and animals. He hopes the play will provide a new vision of Africa. As he puts it,

"The sooner the world realises that Africa is a massive energy source - full of bright ideas, full of technology that is ancient and tried and tested, full of wisdom that is untapped, full of love and energy of a spiritual nature - the sooner she will prosper herself."

AFRICA UNBOTTLED is written and directed by Craig Foster and Bowen Boshier.