Episode 6: Ghana, Russia, Mexico
GHANA – Reporter: Marilena Umuhoza Delli
The Report
Ghana is the only country in the world that has witch camps. Many places people believe in witchcraft, but Ghana is the only nation that confines elderly women because of it. Those declared witches survive selling firewood. Or they work the field for the chiefs. Some of the younger ones have had to resort to prostitution. Though rarer, there are also men that are also accused and they are deemed 'wizards.’ Their mental health issues and/or physical ailments— blindness, senility, misshapen limbs— have instead been vilified, and the vulnerable shunned and ostracized, routinely as a ruse to steal their land after their husband’s passing. It bears more than a passing resemblance to America, where the aged are often dumped in convalescent facilities rather than cared for at home.
The Reporters
Grammy-winning music producer, Ian Brennan (Zomba Prison Project, Tanzania Albinism Collective, Tinariwen) and Italian-Rwandan photographic and filmmaker, Marilena Delli, travelled to rural, northern Ghana to seek out the voices of those persecuted for alleged “witchcraft.” As they have done with those targeted for albinism on Ukerewe Island, genocide survivors in Rwanda and Cambodia, and prisoners at Zomba Prison in Malawi, the pair’s objective was to provide a platform for those otherwise censored or unheard.
RUSSIA – Reporter: Nikita Rasskazov
The Report
A walk and talk with Moscow locals about their experience of these fractured times. Independent artists and entrepreneurs share their stories of ups and downs, weaknesses and inspirations which make the future possible. The city which thrives even in the darkest times is known for its twisted perspectives — not only artistic, but political and ethical to the point when everything is intertwined and impossible to discern from outside. It is true that the picture of Moscow shows very little about Russia and it has much more to show and feel, so presented heroes are one of many unique voices in this kaleidoscope.
The Reporters
Arina Noskova — independent producer and filmmaker with a focus on music culture documentaries and music videos.
Nikita Zelenyi — music video director and video-artist with roots in skateboarding culture.
MEXICO – Reporter: Hugo Hernández\
The Report
Street vendors are often referred as merchandisers who use public spaces to sell their products and services. In Mexico, street vendors go back to the pre-Hispanic times, where people started selling things around the “Tianquiztli”, which means "Aztec society market” in Náhuatl (aztec language). Throughout Mexico and Latin America, street vendors have developed trademark ways of telling what they are selling, that go from homemade jingles to improvisation. These “chants” are usually sung with their mere voices, and in other cases they use sound artifacts (instruments) creating Mexico´s soundscape through and through. Since childhood, Mexicans associate specific street chants to the city's own soundtrack, these sounds are found in everyday life, in the subway, the bus, public plazas, the Alameda, markets. These street singers have built a craft that is passed on through generations, and some of their “jingles” have evolved through time. Here lies music`s magic as a universal language that manages to communicate people with each other.
The Reporter
Hugo Hernández, Mexican musician and industrial designer. In recent years he has developed professionally in different music areas. He is a bass player in a punk band called Darby Crash and in 2017 he created a local festival in Mexico with some friends, called Sentimientos de la Nación, where you can discover new mexican talent. In 2019 he performed at Le Guess Who?, touring with La Bruja de Texcoco. Now he is working as a musician on a new mexican musical project called Adolfo Ángel.