About
Help Me Help You is about young people motivated to help in Nyae Nyae, a remote place in Namibia’s Kalahari Desert that has been attracting much outsider help for many decades. Armed with cameras and Participatory Video training given by an overseas NGO, a group of young Ju/’hoansi become activists: “It’s not good to sit without doing something”. As they are making a film on the roots of educational marginalisation, the film they are in weaves together joint challenges and contrasts good intentions with power dynamics. While the young Ju/’hoansi turn the camera on school children, the filmmaker turns the camera on them, and herself. Through a camera lens and microphone, they are opening up a space to speak across generations and continents in their quest to help. But what does help mean?
Reviews
“Help Me Help You is a compelling and thoughtful documentary that challenges conventional notions of aid and assistance. Through its intricate examination of the dynamics between helpers and those they aim to help, Stéphanie Sassen offers a critical look at the complexities of intervention and the true meaning of making a difference.”
– C L I M A X Festival Internacional de Cinema Independiente