Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman profile the life of Liberian activist Silas Siakor, a tireless crusader against illegal logging and a symbol of resistance for a new generation.
Silas Siakor is just one character in a global network of citizens using mobile technology and social media to fight corruption and change the status quo. By radically reshaping communication, social media has changed how we organize ourselves and our relationships with other members of society.

We've heard about conflict diamonds, gold and oil but Charles Taylor - recently convicted of war crimes - paid for the last years of his civil war in Liberia with wood.
Silas Siakor, a Liberian activist, helped change all that. He risked his life to compile a report that convinced the United Nations to put sanctions on Liberian timber, cutting Taylor off from a last critical source of revenue. A few months later, Taylor stepped down from power.
Now, half a decade later, Siakor, winner of the Goldman Prize - the World's most prestigious grassroots environmental award - is trying to kick-start his country's struggling economy through a sustainable logging industry.

A film by Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman

Canada / South Africa / Kenya, 2017, Documentary, 1h20 minutes colour, English / Liberian English, PG

starring Silas Kpanan'Ayoung Siakor

NOTE BY THE PROGRAMMER
Liberian activist Silas Siakor is a tireless crusader against illegal logging. He's watched multinational corporations wreak havoc on the environment while enriching themselves and impoverishing Liberians. This kind of corruption has gone on for so long that it can induce fatigue. But Silas is a tribute to the power of citizens to fight back.

Filmmakers Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman chronicle Siakor's life over five years. He comes from a family of modest means but he is rich in determination and ingenuity. After living through 25 years of civil war and upheaval, he established the Sustainable Development Institute to advocate for protecting the country's resources. He and other activists venture to remote areas to document abuses with their cellphone cameras. (The film's co-director Nayar created the information-sharing app TIMBY that has aided their work.)

Siakor's investigations shed a critical light on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who came to power in 2006 on a wave of international goodwill. Siakor once shared hopes about her presidency but grew dismayed by ties between her relatives and logging interests.

While other documentaries take a global perspective on environmental threats, Silas gains power from its specific focus on one country. Siakor and his acupuncturist wife, Marlay, make an impressive partnership, displaying humour and resilience, exemplifying a new generation of resistance.
THOM POWERS (TIFF 2017, Toronto)

Tags: Conflict, Social Justice, Women In Film, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN, Female Director, Documentary


Directors
Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman

Screenplay
Anjali Nayar

Cinematography
Joan Poggio, Anjali Nayar

sound
Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman

Original Score
Brendan Canning, Ohad Benchetrit

Editing
Andrew MacCormack, Roderick Deogrades

Story Consultants
Joelle Alexis & Iikka Vehkalahti

Executive Producers
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Edward Zwick, Jonathan Stack

Executive Producer:
Eric Tahitien

Co-Executive Producers
Steven Silver Neil Tabatznik & Robin Smith

Producers
Steven Markovitz, Anjali Nayar

Co-Producer
Tamsin Ranger

Production Companies
Ink & Pepper, Big World Cinema, Appian Way

In association with
Gabriel Films

With the participation of
Blue Ice Docs

Publicist
C2C Communications

International Sales
Cinephil

Locations:
Kenya: Nairobi;
Liberia: Monrovia;
United States: New York, Boston, San Francisco

CONTACT
Email: info@logsofwar.com
Twitter: @LogsofWar


2017 | TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival
* Selection - TIFF Docs / TIFF Speaker Series / Our Digital Future
* World Premiere
www.tiff.net/tiff/silas/

2013 | TFI New Media Fund | Tribeca Film Institute, New York
* Grantee
https://tribecafilminstitute.org/blog/detail/2013_tfi_new_media_fund_grantees_announced

2012 | FCAT, Cordoba
* Selected - Africa Produce / Director Eye (Selected projects in feature documentaries)
www.fcat.es/FCAT_en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156&Itemid=101

2012 | IDFA Bertha Fund 2012
* Won: Inaugural IDFA Worldview Award
www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=0ab2a3b4-2234-410a-bb57-36b2ac78dfe1

2012 | 12nd Alter-Ciné Foundation Grant
In 2012, Hawa Ekua Essuman was recipient of a $5,000 Alter-Ciné Foundation grant (Montréal)
www.altercine.org/html/en/gagnants-12.php

_______________

ES
Hemos oído hablar que los diamantes, el oro y el petróleo sirven para financiar los gastos de la guerra pero fue con el negocio forestal que Charles Taylor, recientemente acusado de crímenes de guerra, financió los últimos años de la guerra civil en Liberia.

Silas Siakor, militante activo de Liberia, entregó su aporte para que esta situación cambiara. Arriesgando su vida, investigó acerca de esos hechos y presentó un informe a las Naciones Unidas. Resultado de ello fue la imposición de un embargo del comercio de la madera en Liberia, privando con ello a Taylor de una de sus últimas fuentes de ingreso. Meses más tarde, Taylor dejaba el poder.

Siakor fue galardoneado con el Goldman Prize, el premio más reconocido mundialmente en el ámbito de la defensa del medioambiente. Actualmente aboga por que su país adopte una estrategia de desarrollo sostenible en materia de recursos forestales.

Directores: Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar


Source:
www.altercine.org/html/es/gagnants-12.php