The Universal Story
At the heart of every story lies a dream. It's the aspirations, struggles, and hopes of everyday people that connect us all. When we focus on these universal truths, the barriers of culture and circumstance fall away, leaving stories that resonate long after the film ends.
My first film, Border Jumpers, took me to the heart of a tense feud between Zimbabwe and Botswana in 2004. Robert Mugabe had driven Zimbabwe’s economy into the ground, leaving shelves bare and families desperate. Thousands of Zimbabweans crossed the border to survive, and that’s the story Peter Hutchens and I set out to tell.
In Botswana, we met Mary, a Zimbabwean mother of four cleaning houses to get by. New to documentary filmmaking, we weren’t sure how to frame her story. The situation was bleak, but we knew we needed something more. We needed viewers to identify with her, care about her, and root for her. That’s when it clicked—the key wasn’t the hardships; it was her dream. Mary had a beautiful voice and dreamed of becoming a "superstar singer." By focusing on her aspirations, we made her story relatable. Hopes and dreams cut through the complexity of circumstances and make characters feel real. They transcend culture, language, and background. It’s a foolproof formula that works every time.
That approach still drives our work today. No matter where we are in the world, whether it’s the streets of a city or the remote corners of a country, the hopes, dreams, and struggles of the people we meet connect us all. When we tap into these shared human experiences, we cut through the noise and get to the heart of the story. Those relatable moments—aspirations for a better life, the fight for dignity, the dream of something greater—strike a chord. It’s these elements that make our films resonate on a personal level, no matter the location or context.
Border Jumpers aired on PBS Wide Angle in July 2005.
On location with Mary in Francistown, Botswana 2004