Dutch director Rieneke Van Santen is in Sheffield to present her campaigning project 24 Strong, set in Papua New Guinea.
In the feature doc, 24 journalists working in the newsroom of the national TV broadcaster are fired for standing up against censorship. Together they embark upon the unexpected launching of starting Papua New Guinea’s first independent investigative media.
But a year after their termination, survival dominates the lives of the journalists and they are struggling to remain united as a team, some forced to sell coffee by the roadside. Not only are they fighting political corruption. Papua New Guinea has the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world.
Can the journalists succeed in their dream in building the first independent investigative media in an environment with so many challenges? The film tells the individual stories of some of the group members to show how they are facing this challenge.
“What strikes me most in this story are the women,” says Van Santen. “The men are doing the camera work. They’re doing editing. It’s the women that are leading this organization. It’s the women that are leading the investigations and that are exposing corrupt businessmen and politicians. They are the ones getting the death threats for the work that they are doing.”
“And so it’s not uncommon for female journalists to go out and report about social issues and injustice in her country to go home and find more violence with their husband,” she adds.
Van Santen underlines her artistic approach. “The driving force of this film is the charismatic energy of the protagonists. Their vibrant personalities as well as the dynamic setting bring life to the screen. I want the emotional tone to be as if you´ve just gone on a road trip with them and have become close friends, with the aim of emotionally connecting to the characters. This film will portray a collective struggle embodied in the story of [one of the women, name redacted], the collective supporting her strong voice.”
Van Santen’s career in filmmaking started as executive director of a journalism platform in Iran where she helped create documentary films addressing human rights issues. She also works as a strategy consultant through her company Dendezo with journalists and media non-profits across the world operating in challenging environments.
She further underlines the core theme of the work. “At the heart of 24 Strong lies the universal message of press freedom as an indispensable pillar of any democracy. This documentary presents a ´slice of life´ through unique access to these journalists from a very underrepresented part of the world. The film´s story narrative is woven together through the themes of gender equality, corruption, collectivism and survival.”
Impact is high on the agenda. “We envision an impact campaign that opens up discussion about both these core themes within PNG (Papua New Guinea) that can help strengthen the position of journalists and women locally, but also internationally with funding bodies and policy makers to put the urgency of supporting independent media in the Pacific region on the agenda, as well as the needs of female journalists and women in media in particular,” Van Santen tells BDE.
Producer and co-director Kristian van der Heyden of Belgium-based Harald House adds: “We need to tell more stories about women journalism and empowerment. The gender disparity is this field is highly problematic. Women journalists faces challenges that are systemically overlooked. Also, we know little about PNG. It’s an opportunity to leave an impressing of a country that comes with its own challenges.
“We are still in development so we are looking for co-producers and broadcasters. We plan to apply for production funding in August at the VAF (Flemish Audiovisual Fund),” van der Heyden adds. “We are looking for a co-producer from Australia or New Zealand as well as broadcasters from the region.”
Director Van Santen underlines both her credentials to tell this story and the sense of responsibility she feels in doing so. “As a young director of a media non-profit early on in my career, I have experienced prejudice, discrimination, harassment and sexual assault first hand,” she says. “The journalists [of 24 Strong] are ready to tell their story and have placed their trust in me to do so. I therefore wish to use my voice and access to provide a platform [for them] to raise theirs.”
