Leads to production of Haitian earthquake documentary
Sonja Larsen
Editorial assistant, Connections
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Filmmaker: Timothy Wolfer will introduce the Australian premiere of his documentary Adopting Haiti during the Manifest Creative Arts Festival.
It started with this Facebook post: “Anyone want to help a poor documentary filmmaker buy a ticket to Haiti?” Timothy Wolfer, a film and television major at Pacific Union College in California’s Napa Valley, posted the message only an hour after the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Six hours later, a donor gave Timothy two airplane tickets.
Recruiting a friend to help, Timothy began his journey that weekend. All flights to Haiti were cancelled, so the two did the next best thing: they flew to the Dominican Republic and hitchhiked across the border and into a wasteland. The documentary Adopting Haiti is based on events at the Maison de Enfants de Deu orphanage. “I’m into telling stories of newsworthy events but from people’s perspectives,” says Timothy. A difficult task in tragic circumstances. “You’re focusing on the disaster and the grief and filming it all.”
When Timothy arrived at the orphanage, he found himself in the middle of a developing story with the United States State Department attempting to evacuate children from the orphanage. The situation had stirred a media frenzy, with CNN and Fox News also on site. Timothy captured more than 20 hours of footage. “I wanted people to understand what was really going on after the earthquake, particularly with the children.”
So began the edit of the film, but what of its distribution? Timothy had no contacts in the industry until, by chance, a friend and colleague met one of the heads of independent film production and marketing company Mattoid Entertainment. An introduction and film screening followed. The result: Mattoid released Adopting Haiti on Hulu.com at midnight on the first anniversary of the earthquake.
Timothy says the experience has changed his perspective on the purpose of life. “When you have a gut feeling to do something, go for it. Trust the Lord has a plan.”
Timothy is a former winner in the “Best Documentary” category of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America’s SONscreen Film Festival. “The festival didn’t give him his break, that’s something that comes from within,” says director Paul Kim. “Tim has that edge.”
SONscreen has helped give other young filmmakers that edge, too. “Many are for the first time screening their work on a large screen and to a large audience,” says Paul. “They’re nervous, but they’re also inspired to see the power—or lack of it, sometimes—of their film.”
Co-founder Stacia D Wright sees the value of empowering Adventist filmmakers. “God has given each of us gifts and talents to use for His service,” she says, “but if we’re not encouraged or trained to use our gift or talent, then we can never reach the potential He has for us.”—with Larry Pena, Pacific Union College