Born and Raised in the Ghetto By Johan Mottelson

↑ Film screening at CAFx Film festival at Cinemateket (2019), photo by Francesco Martello Film series poster →

BORN AND RAISED IN THE GHETTO

Born and Raised in the Ghetto is an award-winning threepart documentary mini-series about urban life in informal settlements in sub-Saharan Africa. Each film portrays a neighborhood, focusing on the urban characteristics, everyday life, and some of the emblematic problems linked to informal urban development. The films follow a young local man in each location who presents his neighborhood in his own words. The three local men have structured lives, pride and aspirations. Thereby, the films challenge the way residents of informal settlements are commonly conceptualized in the media. The films thus seek to provide a nuanced portrait of the three neighborhoods and their residents with a focus on both problems and potentials.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the least urbanized parts of the world. However, the region has some of the highest population growth rates and rates of urbanization. Consequently, African cities are undergoing radical urban transformations in order to accommodate the rapidly growing population. More than half of the urban population in Africa resides in informal settlements under precarious conditions. However, most residents live relatively normal lives and take pride in their homes and neighborhoods. While the negative associations of informal settlements are manifested in real problems, very few people have an idea of their actual implications. The stereotypes of a primitive Africa conveyed by the media are often far from the hyper-urban reality that characterizes most African cities. This documentary series takes a unique look at the conditions of some of the most extreme urban environments in the world with heartwarming personal stories and new perspectives on urban development in Africa.

The films were shot with a hand-held smart camera without zoom or manual focus. Accordingly, the films have a no-nonsense stripped-down visual style, similar to the personal experience of walking through these urban areas. Aesthetically, the series thereby relates to the African smart-phone generation, mediating the artistic expression and media format prevalent among young urban dwellers across the continent.

The mini-series was included in the official selection of a long list of film festivals, including CAFx - Copenhagen Architecture Festival, Cinema Urbana, and Kugoma Mozambican Film Forum. The mini-series won the award for Best TV Episodic Series at the Impact Humanity Television and Film Festival (2019) as well as the award for best documentary at ASIFF – African Smartphone International Festival (2018). The full documentary series is available at www.filmstriben.dk and the trailer for the series is accessible at https://vimeo.com/278821131

Born and Raised in the Ghetto still frames