Bullfrog Films
27 minutes
Grades 7-12, College, Adult

Directed by Emily Marlow
Produced by Television Trust for the Environment

DVD Purchase $195, Rent $45
VHS Purchase $195, Rent $45

US Release Date: 2006
Copyright Date: 2005
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-597-0
VHS ISBN: 1-59458-596-2

Subjects
African Studies
Anthropology
Conflict Resolution
Developing World
Economics
Geography
Globalization
Humanities
International Studies
Local Economies
Marketing and Advertising
Millennium Development Goals
Natural Resources
Oceans and Coasts
Poverty
Recreation
Sociology
United Nations
War and Peace

Awards and Festivals
Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival
Life 5 Series
Back In Business?

After 11 years of civil war, can Sierra Leone expect tourism to improve the economy?

"The visual impact of the gripping documentaries in the Life 5 series make them extremely powerful teaching tools." Dr Jeremy Sarkin, Visiting Professor of International Human Rights, Tufts University

Eleven years of civil war between 1991 and 2002 has left Sierra Leone in ruins. According to the United Nations it's the second poorest country in the world. Tens of thousands of people were killed and many more injured and displaced during the war. In May 2002, stability was restored when the former ruling party was returned to power in democratic elections.

Now, after three years of peace, the rebuilding has begun, and Sierra Leone is looking for outside investment to kick-start its economy. Until now, most of Sierra Leone's foreign earnings have come from exporting diamonds. But it's rich in other natural resources. Apart from diamonds, there is titanium ore, gold and fisheries. Tourism, on the other hand, offers the promise of revenue with a far quicker turnaround time. Sierra Leone has miles of beautiful beaches. In a country that was once a war-zone, could tourism be one of the new industries that moves the country into the future?

The other titles in the series are:

1. Roma Rights - Breaking the cycle of Roma poverty and persecution.

2. School's Out! - Is the private school option better in a Lagos shantytown?

3. Srebrenica - Looking For Justice - Examines the massacre at Srebrenica on its 10th anniversary.

4. Killing Poverty - Has the corruption in Kenya lessened under its new president?

5. The Great Health Service Swindle - Reversing the brain drain in doctors and nurses from developing countries.

6. The Donor Circus - Zambia tries to change the conditions for international aid.

7. For Richer, For Poorer - In Brazil the gulf between the rich and the poor is one of the biggest in the world.

8. Kill Or Cure? - India's $4.5 billion dollar pharmaceutical industry that serves the world's poor is at a crossroads.

9. The Silent Crisis - The Central African Republic struggles to avoid economic and social chaos.

10. Cash Flow Fever - One in ten people on the planet either send or receive money from abroad.

12. Kosovo - A House Still Divided? - Resentment and property ownership issues remain as the UN Housing Property Directorate Mission ends.

13. Trouble In Paradise - Local inhabitants of the Maldives wait for promised tsunami aid.

Web Page: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/l5bib.html

Reviews
"The visual impact of the gripping documentaries in the Life 5 series make them extremely powerful teaching tools for university, and indeed, other classrooms. In succinct episodes they raise and contextualise some of the most critical issues in the world today. These episodes are produced in an extremely objective manner and allow an audience easily to come to grips with an array of complex problems. They ought to be an indispensable part of the teaching curriculum."

Dr. Jeremy Sarkin, Visiting Professor of International Human Rights, Tufts University

"The importance of these films is that they are intended to raise awareness about global issues in young people, and can be used by anyone for this purpose. The quality of the films is excellent. They are documentaries about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals and include brief interviews with people who are actually involved in MDG programs, from various institutions and from the grassroots to executive level...The objective evidence about the current global crisis of insecurity, poverty, gender inequalities, environmental degradation, and lack of international cooperation is presented in a way that is both realistic and non-inflammatory.