Film Screening: “Man’s Greatest Lake” and “Who is Free?” by R. Lane Clark and Stephan F. Miescher

“Man’s Greatest Lake,” an episode of the documentary series GHANA’S ELECTRIC DREAMS,explores unanticipated consequences from the creation of the world’s largest man-made lake behind Akosombo Dam. The film takes viewers across the water to meet people whose lives were forever altered. Volta Lake flooded forests and fertile grasslands, creating a vast aquatic environment for a bountiful fishing industry. Akosombo had a devasting impact on the ecology and economy of downstream communities. Fishers migrated upstream establishing fishing villages; children from newly impoverished areas found themselves trafficked into servitude, working in the lake’s fishing industry. We learn from Ghanaians about efforts to solve unexpected problems and to adapt to this changed ecosystem. The trailer for a work-in-progress, “Who is Free?,” follows up on stories of children who escaped involuntary servitude on Volta Lake and found refuge and education through an NGO in Kete-Krachi. It offers a meditation about freedom and bondage.

R. Lane Clark is an artist and documentary filmmaker who has worked in Ghana for over thirty years. Films include Eyes of a Stranger and the Women’s Health in the City of Accra series, Are Your Sure?and Where Shall I Go?, and, in collaboration with Stephan F. Miescher, the series Ghana’s Electric Dreams. Miescher is a Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of the book, A Dam for Africa: Akosombo Stories from Ghana.

This event is open to the public.

For virtual participation via Zoom, please use the following link:

https://uni-freiburg.zoom-x.de/j/63594872391?pwd=bqqapa7HC016Aw2ob6NT2Ikb7mpIdb.1

Meeting-ID: 635 9487 2391
Code: WT8s5VU9B