• Why did you choose to make a documentary instead of a fiction film?

I watch a lot of fiction films and the best of them are memorable because they either transport me into another world that takes me away from everyday living, or they speak of universal truths and emotions with characters whose stories become compelling. I believe a good documentary can be even more memorable because they present the truth and so have the power to really make a difference to society or to educate with so much more authenticity.  Documentary is exciting because it makes room for the unexpected and there was so much happening daily, it became much more than simply capturing the facts of the story. There is a great deal of creative thought in the way any film is structured.  And in my mind, documentaries can give people a voice they may not otherwise have been given. This is one of my compelling reasons for making the film; to let people tell their own stories and capture real challenges alongside their restoration successes, using the medium of film to showcase the beauty in what our participants achieved. Real people with a passion for what they do can be very inspiring.  Making a film to inspire more people to protect our fragile environments also felt like a truly important contribution I could offer a global audience.

• What is your connection to Rwenzori? Is there something special about the place for you?

I am British but was born in Uganda. My father being a biologist and artist, was always travelling to study wildlife behaviour and in school holidays we went too.  My mother always spoke fondly of a romantic trek they made together up the Rwenzori mountains in the early 60s and my father made a series of beautiful etchings and paintings to show for it.  It is a stunning part of the world with unique species so I am very aware how rare and precious its fauna and flora is, quite apart from the vital source of water the mountains are for the area. In the sixties we saw animals in the parks in great numbers but with habitat loss, climate change, sport hunting and animal trafficking, we are losing so much so fast, everywhere. UNEP stated that, of 8 million known species of animals and plants, 1 million is at risk of extinction! That’s huge. It feels very tragic that so many more creatures I was so privileged to see as a child, may soon be lost forever. Uganda and her people feel very special to me having had these experiences.  We left in a hurry during Idi Amin’s troubled times, so I have never felt ready to say goodbye to this wonderful country and have been drawn back several times throughout my life. Working with film is a great way to reconnect and offer something back.

• What are your personal views on culture? I’m asking because the film emphasizes clan culture.

As Emmanuel says in the film ‘culture is part of us’.  It’s what makes us who we are. It’s how we express ourselves, through art, our clothing, our beliefs and traditions.  And it is also what makes us different or unique from other peoples and so in that way it connects us to those who came before us.  How many times have you told stories of your grandparents?  How many times have you repeated folk stories in your own cultural traditions?  As a film maker if I didn’t ask my participants what is culturally important to them, I would not be connecting on that deeper level to capture their truths because even if a person no longer believes in traditional rainmaking practices for instance, it could still be an important aspect of that person’s history. An ecologically sustainable life is also ‘culture’ and many of the elders in our community lived in greater harmony with nature than the young, despite Jacob’s grandmother’s stories of dangerous baboons and buffaloes.  In Uganda, where clans still have kept their own traditions and are proud of their totems, you realise that it must mean something very important collectively.  The Rwenzori Foundry artists recognised that this was also a way they could connect with local people through their art to help open discussions about conservation or find common ground in what they were doing to protect these animals or plants. Some people had never even seen their totem animals before, like the now endangered pangolin for instance. They took real pleasure in being able to hold and touch their totems.  Similarly, I think when you realise how important rainmaking is to agricultural communities and you learn people see trees as Rainmakers for the part they play in the water cycle, that connection made me realise we can all be rainmakers by planting trees, which is why we called the film The Rwenzori Rainmakers.  Agroforestry has shown that many crops can do extremely well under shade trees, soils are replenished and yields become better. The presence of the Rwenzori Forest has already made a difference to the quality of farmers’ soils beneath it. Planting trees should perhaps become our culture worldwide in this fragile day and age!

• The development of the village plays an important role in the film. How do you define development?

Wow that is a difficult question.  I am no expert but I think development should mean people have access to basic rights such health, food, water, education and employment, which means it comes hand in hand with building infrastructures.  I think these should be well planned and these days use environmentally friendly measures/materials.  The founders built their gallery and guest house out of traditional mud brick, local stone, wood and recycled beaten iron barrels as roofing.  Of course, government officials are in place to manage development and as soon as I met her, I was struck by the strong personality of the local village council Chairwoman.  I felt inviting her to participate in the film would make the community story more interesting because she was holding her own in a previously male world. Winnie, our initial strong female character, was also drawn to her to share information and encourage support from other women.  This made it easier for Winnie to influence ideas like stopping pesticide use or supporting better nutrition. Women play a vital role in successful social development because they bring up the children and mostly run the farms. And our crafter Nansuna, was equally determined to do as much as the men in the foundry so she could leave kitchen work.

Non-governmental development has often been made possible by outsiders with the funds, with either philanthropic or money-making ambitions. Today Colonial practices are also being reformed or rejected.  I think good development should always be designed with the environments and local people in mind so that it does more good than harm.  And I think it should ideally be managed by the people in the society it effects, so what development takes place should be in the power of the people to demand, approve or refuse.  And development often means change, so local people should have a hand in shaping that change.  I think that is what made this story so interesting because here is a project, managed by Ugandans who choose to work with the spirit of Ubuntu, by helping improve lives not just for themselves, but for their whole community. The foundry had start-up funds from The Ruwenzori Foundation (formerly Ruwenzori Sculpture Foundation), who also helped establish a small clinic to support the crafters and village, but increased public demand for their limited services (including the loss of a regional hospital to floods) has almost forced development of a larger new village hospital. Local people are already talking about what businesses they can run to serve the hospital when it opens.  It will very likely attract more development but if it’s managed well and supports, not harms the environment, this community may welcome it.  The Founders are ensuring it has a beautiful environment full of trees.  Most of the project workforce are local employees. Without involving their community, the artists could not have made their forest and enterprise what it is today, but they needed funds to start the enterprise, and they still need grants for the hospital and other community projects. The village has since requested and helped build a youth centre and some villagers also hope to provide guest houses for wildlife tourists. So, they are helping themselves.  I guess such development patterns are similar world-wide.

• You’ve shown how people in Rwenzori believe in the medicinal properties of trees and herbs. What is your perspective on this, considering the advancements in modern science?

I think our modern science all began with ancient practices.  Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years as did the practices of Ancient Egyptians who used Aloe Vera among other herbs. Even Chimpanzees have been observed using plants to soothe sores. We commonly use Aloe vera and Arnica to soothe skin conditions today.  Morphine is made from Opium Poppies and paved the way for the painkiller Codeine to be made.  Aspirin is made from the willow tree bark and is used to thin the blood and so can protect against heart attacks. A periwinkle flower is used to kill cancer cells. I too, frequently drink chamomile and mint for digestion. Even baobab can now be found in modern herbal teas. We use numerous essential plant oils to maintain well-being and good sleep.

The popular Jackfruit in Uganda is highly nutritious with a high protein content, B vitamins and Vitamin C. It is known to improve glucose tolerance with one dose, so is a very useful food for diabetic patients and has uses treating asthma skin conditions and ulcers. While in Uganda we were given a bitter little pod in our stew and told we must eat it as it protects from Malaria. Quinine is the active plant ingredient for malaria. We filmed how a malaria tonic is made from herbs because for many villagers, modern drugs are too expensive and can damage the liver with long-term use. Herbal remedies are preferred and necessary because malaria was prevalent and can be deadly, but western remedies from the clinic are still sought for serious ailments when the herbs fail to help.

What modern science does is extract the active ingredients in the plants and then finds ways to reproduce or replicate those in the lab. Research will always continue. I read that the snowdrop, a pretty flower we have in the UK is poisonous, but because the Ancient Greeks first used it to alter mind states it is now used to help slow down memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients and in India you are doing similar modern research to protect the brain using Water Hyssop.  So, we ignore local lore at our peril.

More trees and plants mean more access to medicine for the community. Our local herbalist was keen to educate Winnie and this led to them discovering a more playful herb.  The ladies were very frank about how it is used and the crew had to suppress their laughter.  But I originally set out to show that there is also a fine balance in using local remedies without killing the source.  Many tree barks are harvested for medicine locally and this was causing an issue for the Rwenzori Founders because trees would be badly hacked and die. So, while the collection can bring amusement there are challenges too.

• You’ve highlighted the impact of the water issue in Rwenzori. What prompted you to address this topic? Was it intentional, or did the story naturally lead to it? I’m asking because the entire world is facing a water crisis.

The water story featured because one day while filming some of the village taps ran dry and Emmanuel was approached for help having originally installed the taps when they brought water pipes for their own enterprise.  As we were filming during the longest drought they had, and the rains were late, I asked if we could follow Emmanuel as he investigated the problem.  To learn what an amazing water resource the mountains are, was incredible, but the many rivers are running dryer in hot seasons due to deforestation, fires, and climate melting the glaciers.  It transpired that the reason for the lack of water was not only over-use of taps in drought conditions but tree roots seeking water, people cutting pipes to water their own plots, broken connectors and other accidental causes given shallow burial of the pipes.  So, we visited water sources high in the hills. Maintenance of water pipes is indeed a global issue – even some water bodies in the UK where we have plenty of rain, are being criticised for huge water wastage by not fixing pipes. It was great to see the team deal with this issue so quickly in Uganda, an example to others less efficient.

• You subtly touched on the topic of climate change. What inspired you to create a film about climate change?

I think the Covid Pandemic made us all question our relationship with nature and face up to environmental destruction caused by humans. Not having enough wild spaces for nature means more crossover with humans and hence the spread of disease.  To then hear about massive advances of desert like conditions and droughts in Kenya and huge flash floods and landslides happening yearly in the mountains made me anxious.  What was I able to do personally? Could a film help reinforce an environmental campaign? I do join green organisations to protect birds, pangolins or things like tigers when I can and I’ve signed countless petitions campaigning for bees etc. I read up about rewilding. I planted a small bed of wildflowers to encourage frogs, and pollinators in my garden, but it was not enough. And so having successfully planted trees while on holiday in 2019 at the Rwenzori Founders, I decided to follow up on an idea to film their community environmental story because climate change affects everybody and Africa’s tropical forest belt is one of the great lungs of the world. When they agreed I could film, I approached my ex-BBC friend Jacqui Doughty to help produce it and we founded Films for Change as an environmental wing for our separate film companies to facilitate it. We fundraised for the film with a big Kickstarter campaign March – April 2022.  We were both tired of hearing about the doom and gloom and wanted to show the positive effects of what this community has done to inspire others. It also was important to film in both dry and wet seasons, so the second shoot was in 2023.

• What are your thoughts on the actions of world leaders and politicians regarding climate change?

Most Governments are simply not investing enough.  I can’t talk for much of the world but in Scotland at least – rewilding has become more accepted and Knepp farm in Sussex England, proved the concept very successfully; storks have returned to breed there. West of England recently announced they plan to plant 20 million trees to make a new forest.  So, we have hope, thousands support climate actions in protest of environmental destruction.  I believe the young people who follow us are better informed than we were at their ages.

It is also quite terrifying how destructive one powerful world leader can be by withholding environmental funds and denying the existence of climate change, so that he can destroy forests and get rich on fossil fuels. He sets a terrible example, if his people are protesting, we hear little about it.  But I think in other countries hard hit by climate change the intentions must be real.  Uganda does have tree planting policies even if many of their trees do not survive because often the wrong trees are planted, but things are improving. I have learnt just how fast trees grow in the tropics, given the right conditions.  If everyone planted the right indigenous trees with care, the mountains could be reforested in no time. Politicians need to motivate the funds to make it happen. Even a slow growing mahogany I planted had pushed over 6 feet in only 3 years because the conditions were right.  I am pleased to acknowledge too that many people in my circles do care.  Our film crowd-funders enabled us to plant 2100 indigenous trees in Kyemihoko and care for them for 6 months.  They have thrived and already line the roads and fields as fine trees.

• Your documentary was beautiful. Can you share who inspired you to become a documentary filmmaker?

Thank you, I have been inspired by so many things, and although at one time during my university training I imagined I would like to work in drama, I was lucky to get a job as an assistant to Richard Stanley who produced films for Oxfam, WHO and UNICEF as soon as I graduated, which I found very inspiring.  It was the first time I had heard about common agricultural policies and we also made films about Apartheid sanctions, the Pol Pot genocide in Cambodia and on the state of the World’s health.  Much of my job was logging stunning shots of women and children at health centres in places like India, transcribing fascinating interviews and assisting Richard film and edit local interviews.  The next thing I did was to spend 6 months with a friend studying anthropology in an indigenous community in Ecuador collecting stories on film to illustrate her thesis, which was a wonderful experience too. I shot that on 16mm film with a Bolex to gain the experience but struggled to sync much of my separate Walkman sound, being a crew of one. Yet it was a beautiful experience where I learned to film economically and concentrate on what was important to story and craft.  I loved the process of capturing characters and events and different angles as unobtrusively as possible on film which of course I couldn’t see until it was processed on my return.  When Phil Agland then invited me to work with his team in China for two years on a CH4 documentary series ‘Beyond the Clouds’ I think I decided Documentary had to be the most fulfilling work. Phil won many awards and was a generous mentor who gave me responsibility to plan and research stories for programme four.  Seeing how he crafted scenes and structured the series taught me so much and we are still in touch as friends. And of course, it meant immersing myself in a new community speaking a new language. After that I went freelance and made my own films, eventually founding Distant Object Productions with my partner.

• Lastly, what is your next project?

I am still working with Distant Object and have an edit about a sculptor who made a portrait of Oscar Wilde to look forward to and we hope to continue delivering value to our clients. I am also working with a friend’s family Trust who are planning to rewild a meadow, so we will attend a rewilding management course and perhaps film the meadow progress. With Films for Change we are seeking broadcasts/distribution and next year we hope to run our impact and educational campaign in Uganda and Kenya – for which we are fundraising now with a producer in Nairobi.  We intend many more trees will be planted in the beautiful mountains and that more children will learn about climate change, reforestation and biodiversity.  This film has been a very meaningful one and with the excitement of festival runs like yours this year, sharing the film and winning this editing award, has been a tremendous honour. I am thrilled to have my work valued in this way. Thank you very much.