Survivors
2018 | 84 minutes | English and Krio with English subtitles | Sierra Leone
Through the eyes of Sierra Leonean filmmaker Arthur Pratt, Survivors presents a heart-connected portrait of his country during the Ebola outbreak, exposing the complexity of the epidemic and the sociopolitical turmoil that lies in its wake. The film chronicles the remarkable stories of two Sierra Leonean healthcare workers during what is now widely regarded as the most acute public health crisis of the modern era.
Survivors interweaves the heroic stories of Mohamed Bangura, the senior ambulance driver at the country’s main emergency vehicle dispatch; and Margaret Kabba Sesay, a nurse who works at the Emergency Ebola Treatment Center, caring for some of the sickest patients. As Sierra Leone moves towards containment of the outbreak, we see international organizations draw down their support and begin to understand how the future of the region will be profoundly shaped by the complex decisions made and actions taken by individuals like Margaret, Mohammed, and Arthur. In this way, Survivors explores what it means to be Sierra Leonean at this critical juncture in the country’s history. The film was broadcast on PBS's award winning series POV and was nominated for Peabody and Emmy awards in 2019.
The screening of this film was followed by a discussion between filmmaker Arthur Pratt and epidemiologist David Heymann.
About the Director
Arthur Pratt is the co-founder of the Freetown Media Centre in Sierra Leone, which serves as a hub for local production, media education and professional development where he serves as Manager in charge of Education and Creative Initiative; he is also a Christian Evangelist and community leader. Starting as a playwright, stage director and actor. Arthur helped develop and acted in three of WeOwnTV-produced short films, CHARITY, BEND DOWN THE CORNER, AND THE CRIPPLE AND THE WITCH HUNTER, which were shown in the Madrid Film Festival in 2009/2010. Arthur’s interest then grew from a man displaying his talents in front of the camera to a man working behind it. In 2010, he shot, and produced his first short film, BLACK SUGAR. Later in the same year, he wrote, directed and produced the widely acclaimed short film on the Trans- Atlantic slave trade, THEY RESISTED, which was screened in Clap Ivoir (Ivory Coast film festival). Presently Arthur is producing a new documentary titled NEW BOAT which looks at the influence of foreign fishing vessels in Sierra Leonean waters.
About the Epidemiologist
David Heymann is a medical epidemiologist and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is a distinguished fellow at the Centre on Universal Health at Chatham House, and was chairman of the board of Public Health England from 2009 - 2015. From 1989 to 2009 he held various leadership positions in infectious diseases at the World Health Organisation (WHO), and in 2003 headed the WHO global response to SARS in his role as executive director of communicable diseases. In 1976, after spending two years working in India on smallpox eradication, Heymann was a member of the Centre for Disease Control (Atlanta) team to investigate the first Ebola outbreak in DRC and stayed on in sub-Saharan Africa for 13 years in various field research positions on Ebola, monkeypox, Lassa Fever, malaria and other tropical diseases. Heymann has published over 250 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, is editor of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, and is an elected member of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the US National Academy of Medicine.
