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8 November 2007

TVEAP to distribute IRIN Films

Humanitarian documentaries for Asia Pacific audiences

Aftershock Rebuilding after the Asian earthquake TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP) has started distributing documentary films on humanitarian issues produced by IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks).

Several films produced by IRIN have recently been added to TVEAP's international catalogue of development and humanitarian films, available free of license fees to broadcast, civil society and educational users across Asia.

The film titles cover topics ranging from the state of women in Afghanistan today and the human cost of Nepal's Maoist conflict to rebuilding after the Kashmir earthquake of October 2005.

IRIN is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, but its services are editorially independent.

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, IRIN was founded in 1995 to improve the flow of vital information to those involved in relief efforts in the Great Lakes region following the 1994 Rwandan genocide. IRIN's area of geographical coverage has increased since then, as has the range of subjects covered and the number of services offered.

Between Two Stones "We are delighted to extend the outreach of IRIN's humanitarian films in the Asia Pacific," says Pamudi Withanaarachchi, TVEAP's Distribution Coordinator."These are stories from disaster or conflict zones of our region and beyond. We are confident that these films would help keep the issues on the public agenda."

David Gough, Head, Film Unit of United Nations IRIN, says: "IRIN Films was established in 2004 with the sole aim of raising awareness and understanding of humanitarian crises which we feel are under-reported or misunderstood. Partnering with TVEAP for the distribution of some of these films will certainly aid this process and we are delighted to be associated with TVEAP's ongoing efforts to promoting peace and understanding."

IRIN Films further expand TVEAP catalogue's humanitarian coverage. Last year, TVEAP acquired the regional distribution rights for Doctors on the Frontline, a global series that profiled the work of the Nobel Prize winning humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

TVEAP will distribute selected IRIN film titles on a non-exclusive, non-commercial basis to broadcast, civil society and educational users across the Asia Pacific (see box for titles and synopses).

IRIN Films in TVEAP Catalogue

These are the first IRIN film titles to be distributed by TVEAP. More will be added in the coming months.

Losing Hope - Women in Afghanistan (19:41 mins; June 2007)
When Afghanistan's long civil war finally came to an end with the fall of the Taliban in 2001, its women dared to hope. But six years later, broken promises and a resurgent Taliban have left their dreams in tatters. View transcript

Aftershock: Rebuilding after the Asian earthquake (12:47 mins; May 2006)
At 08.52 am on 8 October 2005 a massive earthquake struck northern Pakistan. An estimated 73,000 people lost their lives and more than two million lost their homes. Six months after the quake, the Pakistani authorities began to move the displaced out of winter camps and back to their villages. View transcript

Between Two Stones (20:41 mins; February 2006)
In February 1996, the first shots of Nepal's civil war rang out across the Himalayas. Ten years on, more than 12,000 people have lost their lives as Nepal's ruling monarchy battles with Maoist rebels seeking to establish a communist republic. View transcript

Bittersweet Harvest: Afghanistan's New War (14:08 mins; September 2004)
Just as it emerges from more than two decades of war, Afghanistan now finds itself embroiled in yet another conflict - the war against drugs. View transcript

All images courtesy IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks)

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TVEAP to distribute IRIN Films TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP) has started distributing documentary films on humanitarian issues produced by IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks).