Filmmakers, Ehsan Bhatti and Nic Yeeles of Remarkable Reko, hope to challenge their generation to dig deep and make a difference to those less fortunate with the release of their film, ‘Twenty5', which premiered at The Athenaeum Club in London on Tuesday 13th July.
The film, produced following a trip to Ethiopia in January with Remarkable CEO Stephen Pomeroy, highlights the ongoing work that has been undertaken in the country 25 years since our TV screens were dominated by scenes of famine and civil war.
Over 150 guests made up of MPs, business and church leaders and Ethiopian delegates attended the premiere and the following traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. The charity's patron, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, also sent messages of support from Buckingham Palace.
The film was also supported by international super-model Liya Kebede who said:
"I was extremely moved when I saw the film. It has been beautifully shot and captures both the struggles that Ethiopian people have faced and continue to experience everyday as well as the hopes they have for the future. I am particularly proud of my Ethiopian heritage and I'm grateful for the invaluable work St Matthew's Children's Fund's does to support Ethiopian communities."
Nic Yeeles, 21, said they decided to go to Ethiopia after being approached by the charity St Matthew's Children's Fund (SMCF) earlier this year.
Nic said: "We wanted to do something different and show a new way of approaching charity. I think our generation has become so desensitised to the images of abject poverty and suffering, so we decided to take a totally different approach and in our film Twenty5, we've showed the positive side of Ethiopia - and the real results of charity giving. We're going to release it on to the internet and let it spread virally."
The film offers us rare and extremely touching glimpses of life in Ethiopia as it is lived by the people whose lives were badly scarred by the famine - and whose existence was given incredible hope by the generosity of those who put their hands in their pockets twenty five years ago.
The seven-minute-long film was commissioned by the charity St Matthew's Children's Foundation (SMCF). It begins with iconic images from the famine and from Live Aid, but then moves forward to 2010 to show how parts of Ethiopia are today, thanks to people's generosity in the UK and the rest of the world.
The film is now available online to view where Nic and Ehsan hope it will appeal to the social networking generation.
Nic explained: "By using this film to pass on our message we hope to raise money, but also raise awareness amongst a younger generation about what happened and what should never be allowed to happen again.
"I've heard those who, like us, weren't even born in 1985 say 'why should we care?', but we've been there and we realised then why everyone should."
The film is now available online at http://www.twenty5ethiopia.org/
