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African Voices Dive Deep for Wildlife Stories
12 Jul
Summary
- NEWF trains African filmmakers and scientists in diving and filmmaking.
- eKhaya center in Sodwana Bay supports underwater and land-based productions.
- National Geographic funds a five-year program to boost African narratives.
National Geographic explorers have launched a pioneering dive and filmmaking center to address the scarcity of African voices in wildlife documentaries. The Nature Environment and Wildlife Conservation Trust (NEWF), founded by Pragna Parsotam-Kok and Noel Kok, recognized this gap after struggling to find local filmmakers and even swimmers among marine biologists.
Their initiative began with a conference and evolved into dive "labs" and filmmaking workshops. Over 200 individuals have since been trained in diving in Sodwana Bay, with hundreds more receiving land-based wildlife filmmaking training. NEWF also introduced composition workshops to ensure music in documentaries reflects African heritage.
This effort culminated in the opening of "eKhaya," a dedicated center in Sodwana Bay, in November 2023. Supported by annual funding of $1m-$1.5m from National Geographic, the facility offers editing suites, a dive pool, and accommodation for fellows.
The program has seen significant success, with NEWF fellows winning awards for their original scores and developing compelling documentaries. Interns at eKhaya are gaining practical experience through self-driven projects, further diversifying Africa's contribution to wildlife storytelling.
