Volta

Featured on Directors Notes directorsnotes.com/2018/05/10/paul-nevison-lake-volta/
Featured on Film Shortage filmshortage.com/shorts/volta/

The relics of Ghana's colonial past still occupy large stretches of the coastline. Towering from the cliffs, former slave forts are the grim sentinels of a brutal past.

Stolen from their homes and categorised as mere merchandise, these dark dungeons would have been the final vision hundreds of thousands of enslaved men and women saw before being loaded onto slave ships and transported to the far flung corners of Europe's rival empires.

200 years after the end of the transatlantic slave trade, children in Ghana are once again becoming slaves…this time in their own country.

Lake Volta, Ghana: the world's largest man-made lake sustains thousands of lives - but its fishing industry is too often built on the backs of vulnerable children. Most are younger than 10. Many are trafficked against their will. The overwhelming majority suffer abuse and work long hours in life-threatening conditions.

Henry, a Compassion centre director, is fighting the practice. "We teach our young people about their rights." he says. "We teach them to look out for each other and report any time they suspect a child would be trafficked or abused. I know that when these young people grow older, we will be free of child traffickers forever."

CREDITS
Director/Editor: Paul Nevison
Producer: Janine Daly, Jessica King
Production Assist: Stacy Kennedy

Cinematography: Bjorn Amundsen
Camera Assist: Caleb Ware

Composer: Brett Anthony Shaw
Additional Music: Ryan Taubert
Sound Design/Mix: Ryan Pribyl
Voiceover: Jesse Miti
Colourist/Titles: Matt Fezz
Stills: Helen Manson

Special Thanks to:
Compassion Ghana
Henry Amanor
The Labolabo community
Nathan Metz