PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Patrick Farrelly, co-director of the film Jaha’s Promise.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

Patrick Farrelly presented his film Jaha’s Promise, which he co-directed with Kate O’Callaghan, at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. This documentary talks about the life of Jaha Dukareh, a Gambian anti-female genital mutilation campaigner and activist her country of birth to confront the harmful tradition. Farrelly talks the challenges of making a documentary about this particularly delicate topic and approaching a documentary without knowing what the outcomes and developments of the story will be. Other topics discussed in the interview include the origins of the project, how Farrelly was able to connect with West Africa (a place he had never been to before), and more.

Jaha’s Promise is the story of a young woman’s battle against extraordinary odds to eradicate the practices that almost destroyed her life: child marriage and female genital mutilation. When Jaha was 15 she was brought to New York from her native Gambia to marry a middle-aged man she had never met before. Jaha escaped the ‘marriage’ and 10 years later returned home to launch a campaign that puts her on a collision course with her own family and society’s traditions. The documentary is the story of that struggle, a narrative of success and setbacks until she achieves a stunning victory that brings radical change to her society. For the girl who was powerless in the face of those who diminished and banished her, it is a moment when she feels close to recovering her identity, closer to finding peace.

For the official website of the festival, click here.
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