TRP Film & Media Projects

Today We Pack, Tomorrow We Settle
From 1998 to 2003, The Second Congo War had consumed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Hundreds of thousands of Congolese people – forced to leave their homes – fled across international borders. Among those who fled were the thousands of people from Katanga Province. They went south into Zambia and were placed into two refugee camps, Kala and Mwange, where they existed for nearly a decade.
Fast-forward to 2006. The international community declared the Katanga Province stable. However, the inability to connect the refugees to the kind of information they needed, left many of the refugees in Zambia wary of the circumstances they would find if they returned home.
Armed with only two hand-held cameras, TRP traveled to the DRC to collect testimonies of former refugees who had already returned home and were in the process of re-building their lives. Through extensive visual documentation, TRP would give the refugees access to valuable information that would mean the difference between remaining in a refugee camp or their repatriation.
The Results?
The result? A 45-minute film documenting the conditions in popular areas of return, messages from family and friends, and information on the assistance that returning refugees would receive. The film, “Today We Pack, Tomorrow We Settle,” was screened inside the Congolese refugee camps for thousands to see.
The REEL Project’s documentary contributed to the voluntary repatriation of over 9,000 refugees to Katanga Province, DRC by 2009.
The two refugee camps in Zambia, Kala and Mwange, were closed a year later.


“Jecoke Group Performing”

Jecoke is comprised of dancers, guitarists and vocalists.
We want to connect Jecoke with the rest of the world because they are an amazing group of talented and dedicated performers. They are well known artists in parts of DRC, but, as you can see from the above video, their passion deserves to reach a greater audience.
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Jecoke
The REEL Project produced a music video for Lubumbashi-based performance group, Jecoke, in exchange for a song which was featured on TRP’s first humanitarian film project, “Today We Pack, Tomorrow We Settle.”
Jecoke is a performance group in the southern city of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a legacy that spans for decades. The 1950’s. When the copper mines of Lubumbashi were still in full swing and the surrounding mining communities were lively with nightlife, Jecoke’s founding members performed comedic musical sketches so that they could be seen and heard in their community. Although consecutive dictatorships and wars ultimately led to the demise of the Lubumbashi copper mines, Jecoke is still hard at work striving to be recognized by the community and beyond.
A REEL Media Project

Due to the most recent influx of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), it has been brought to our attention that there is still great need for an information campaign to put a voice to what has been happening.
The REEL Project’s (TRP) newest project, “A REEL Media Project,” will be a research-derived media project, interviewing displaced and returnee populations in Kalemie and surrounding DRC areas. This project will provide true accounts of the plight of the returnees and IDP’s situations on the ground. It will also highlight the work and positive impact of the organizations that have provided assistance, which includes the IP/OP organizations under the United Nations, State Department, and local and International NGO’s. TRP will work in unison with all IP and OP organizations on the ground, locally and internationally.
Though it may be that the final film will be much longer in length (due to the information we collect, interviews, etc.), TRP proposes to create a 40-minute documentary. In addition to this, we will also be making a 5-minute short film exclusively for online use.
How will “A REEL Media Project” video be distributed? TRP aims to provide a copy of the final video to all IP and OP organizations under the United Nations working in the area (as deemed necessary), as well as independent NGO’s working to share the same mission. It will, then, be submitted to a wider audience in the west (US territories/California). As we work to expand the reach of our film in conjunction with local and international NGO’s here in California/USA, we plan to coordinate online distribution with outlets such as The Africa Channel and FORBES “Out of Africa”, as well as online streaming on our official website thereelproject.org


A Timeline of Major Dates
In May 2015, TRP will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo to visit Kalemie and surrounding areas. We will film for the duration of 3 weeks – allowing 2 weeks of travel time (on ground-in country).
Mid August 2015, and again in November of 2015, TRP will conduct quarterly reviews of the project with local staff, final review in February of 2016. The quarterly reviews will examine the feedback of the film and potential for new media developments with local staff.
TRP is continuing its mission to move returning Congolese refugees and IDP’s beyond post-conflict development efforts in the recovering areas of the DRC.