ROLE: Cinematographer
DIRECTORS: Raj Patel, Zak Piper
PRODUCERS: Peter Mazunda, Rachel Wexler
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Julie Goldman, Steve James, Cynthia Kane, Gordon Quinn
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Sheffield DocFest
AWARDS: Mountainfilm Festival 2021 Moving Mountains Award
Back in July 2017, I went on a three-week-long cross-country filming trip with a production crew and Esther Lupafya and Anita Chitaya, two Malawian women on a mission to persuade Americans that climate change is real. We visited Wisconsin dairies, Washington State beaches, Detroit urban gardens, upstate New York foodie restaurants, farmers in Oakland, and policymakers in Washington, DC.
Weaving together footage from that journey with Malawian producer and cinematographer Peter Mazunda's beautiful footage from Malawi, THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER follows Anita as she navigates the divisions that shape the USA: from the rural-urban divide, to schisms of race, class and gender, and to the American exceptionalism that remains a part of the culture.