Film Review: What Are We Doing Here?
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see a new and much-talked-about feature-length documentary, What Are We Doing Here?, at its New York City premiere. Shot by three brothers and a cousin during a 6-month-long trek from Cairo to the southern tip of the African continent, the film has been billed as a daring and independent look at the failures of external (“Northern” or “Western”) charity and development efforts to make a substantial difference for the better in the lives of ordinary Africans. According to the website:
Daring to ask the questions no one else will, the filmmakers invite the world to rethink the fight against poverty in Africa. Could our good intentions be causing more harm than good? Have humanitarian interventions prolonged suffering? Who is actually benefiting from our good intentions? These questions and many more are addressed for the first time ever in this groundbreaking feature length film. If you ever wanted to know what happened to the $10 dollars you donated to charity last year, look no further. This film will change the way you look at charity in Africa forever.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW20gHstfzU]
With so dramatic a promise to challenge accepted discourse, coupled with an announcement that the filmmakers would be open to discussion and audience feedback afterward, this seemed too good to miss.