Get Involved  ​

Despite the very real threats fa​ced by Central and South Asian mountain communities, a new consciousness is taking hold among the region's educated, engaged and socially active youth. We will support t​his growing movement by mentoring and funding a select group of local filmmakers whose work will be broadcast on regional and international television platforms. ​

​The programme will be based on the Giving Nature a Voice model created at the Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi, Kenya which led to the production and broadcast of 52 award winning environmental documentaries in East Africa (www.aku.edu/gnv​​). ​We will back Kyrgyz, Tajik, India ​and Pakistan ​filmmakers to tell their own conservation stories. Filmmakers from the entire Roof of the World region will be give the same opportunity later.

​The films can be as varied as the region. The key is to identify and research actual stories with compelling characters and a gripping narrative. It’s not enough to describe a topic and attach a budget. We need to know how you will tell the story in a compelling 25-minute film.

So research your story before putting words on paper, search the web for background on the issue, talk to your main characters, if not in person; then by phone, find out when they will be most actively involved in their story and try to build your shooting plan on real events, think visually and describe how you can evoke the scene’s majesty, and should be outline a plan​ to capture both the triumph and pathos of your subjects. 

We can help you with equipment and training, but it’s up to you to find and develop a story you really care about.

Your proposal should include

• A one page synopsis outlining the issue, the characters and narrative of your film.

• Separate from the one-page story description, please include a timeline: when you will research, film and edit your work.

• Bios and links to clips produced by your team: director, camera, editor, sound.

• A proposed budget: the grants are modest but enough to produce the first round.

Winners will have the option to use our equipment or their own. Everyone will benefit from a 2 day- seminar on documentary story-telling given by Emmy winning documentary producer Andrew Tkach. Once the deadline is posted, please submit all proposal to voicesroofworld@​aku.edu​. 

Giving voice to the truly voiceless, the Roof of the World’s threatened biosphere and the people, is the goal of the Aga Khan University, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat​ and University of Central Asia; and our goal is made possible by giving a voice to young Central and South Asia filmmakers who will produce compelling, illuminating, and impactful environmental films.