Award-winning film, The Fourth World, to be shown
ORANGE CITY – The award-winning film, The Fourth World, produced by Mark Volkers, will be shown on the Northwestern College Green Thursday, Aug. 29 at 8:30pm.
Volkers, with assistance by Dordt College students, shot the film over a three-year period, mostly in the Philippines, Guatemala and Kenya.
Award-winning film screening and documentary film workshops scheduled
The award-winning film, The Fourth World, produced by Mark Volkers, pictured on left, will be shown at the Northwestern College Green on Thursday, August 29 at 8:30pm. The free screening, part of the 2013 OrangeRind Film Festival, is sponsored by Orange City Arts Council, Sioux Center Rec & Arts Council and Northwestern College. This fall – Sept. 7, Oct. 17 and Nov. 7 – a series of three documentary film workshops will be taught by Volkers in Orange City and Sioux Center. Register by Sept. 3 for the reduced fee: $40 adults, $25 students.
“We wanted to tell the story of a billion people—one in six of us—who live in a slum,” said Volkers. “But it’s impossible to wrap our minds around a number like that. So to help us deal with the macro-picture of global poverty, we tell micro-stories—stories of individuals who are part of that one billion.”
In Manila, Philippines, the crew spent a week with a family that lives under a bridge and digs in garbage. They focused on the 15-year-old daughter, Jovelyn.
In Guatemala City, Volkers and his assistants spent a week with two women. One, Salma, was sold into the sex trade at age eight by her mother. The other, Tanya, was shot in the spinal cord a decade ago. She survives by begging – from her wheelchair – on a busy street corner.
Felix
In Nairobi, Kenya, the crew concentrated on 16-year-old Felix, who sells ears of corn to help him stay in school. He lives in the Mathari Valley, one of the largest slums in Africa, and is from the Luo ethnic group. President Obama is also a Luo.
“These people, caught up in this massive migration from countryside to city, tell their own stories,” said Volkers. “They are engaging, wonderful people who are caught up in some pretty dire circumstances. Through their stories, we get the big story.
“Is the story depressing? Not really,” said Volkers. “Is it a wake-up call? Absolutely. Will you be surprised by what you see? Absolutely.”
Volkers, of Orange City, teaches digital media production at Dordt, but served as a missionary in an African village for seven years and has also been a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker for Christian Reformed World Missions and other organizations, winning numerous national and international awards. The Fourth World has won over 30 awards, including the Award of Merit at the Lucerne International Film Festival, the Best Documentary Feature at the Third World Indie Film Fest, and Telly Awards in Cinematography and Documentary.
Jovelyn
The Fourth World is currently showing on television in Ireland, Turkey, Greece, other European countries, and across the Middle East. It’s for sale via iTunes, Amazon and Hulu. Volkers and company are working on deals in Australia and New Zealand. “We keep pushing to get the story told in new markets. The fourth world is a hidden world and we want to expose it for what it is,” he said.
The free film showing is the 2013 version of the OrangeRind Film Festival, which began three years ago by the Orange City Arts Council and Vaughn Donahue. This year’s OrangeRind includes the screening of The Fourth World, plus documentary film workshops taught by Volkers. (See sidebar.)
Sponsors are the Orange City Arts Council, Sioux Center Rec and Arts Council, and Northwestern College. Inclement weather location is Northwestern’s DeWitt Theatre. Bring lawn chairs or blankets.
For more information, contact ocArts@orangecityiowa.com, arts@siouxcenter.org, www.orangecityarts.net or www.fourthworldfilm.com .
Documentary film workshops planned for the fall in Orange City and Sioux Center
ORANGE CITY – Documentary film workshops, taught by award-winning filmmaker Mark Volkers, are scheduled for September 7, October 17 and November 7 in Orange City and Sioux Center.
Volkers, of Orange City and instructor of digital media production at Dordt College, produced The Fourth World, which has screened at film festivals from Jakarta to London and from Vancouver to New York City. It has won multiple awards on many continents.
The documentary film workshops feature three parts. On Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9am to noon, at Old Factory Coffee Shop in Orange City, Volkers will teach a “doc boot camp,” the nuts and bolts of making documentary films.
Students will work on their films, then return for part two on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 7 to 10pm, at the Fruited Plain in Sioux Center. The rough-cuts will be screened and critiqued.
The finale will be Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7pm, at the Vogel Community Room, DeWitt Learning Commons at Northwestern College. This screening of the final student films will be free to the public. Judges will honor two filmmakers with a “Best of Show” and $250, and an honorable mention: $100.
Sponsors of the OrangeRind documentary film workshops are Orange City Arts Council, Sioux Center Rec & Arts Council and Northwestern College. Awards sponsor is OC Basketball Productions, LLC: the primary production company of the film, Winning Favor.
Fee for the three-part workshop is $40 for adults and $25 for students, in advance. After Sept. 3, the fee is $50 and $35. Register at Northwestern’s Student Development Office, Orange City Arts Council or Mark Volkers’ office at Dordt College.
For more information, contact mrkvolkers@gmail.com, ocArts@orangecityiowa.com, arts@siouxcenter.org, 712-707-6514.
