Photograph by Nelson Serrano
Photograph by Nelson Serrano
A child refugee from civil war in Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe), Emmy award-winner Michael Davie is one of today’s freshest voices in documentary filmmaking. He has risked his life to make films about the violent abuse of women in Pakistan, the plight of war refugees in the Balkans, and the child soldiers in Africa—a continent he loves, fears, and wants the world to better understand.
Recently Davie has produced two of his most powerful films. The Choir, which received glowing reviews on the film festival circuit in 2008, is a documentary about a unique program for prisoners in South Africa that uses prison choir groups as a rehabilitation tool. In 2008 he directed National Geographic Explorer: Gorilla Murders, documenting the execution-style murder of six mountain gorillas—including the gravely endangered species’ silverback patriarch—in Congo’s Virunga National Park, where an ongoing civil war has made the region one of the most dangerous in the world. This film was honored with a 2009 Emmy Award.
Popular Presentations
The Power of One
Visualization, mental toughness, rigorous planning, and self awareness are the tools that have enabled Davie to take on the hardest assignments National Geographic could throw at him—often against odds and in the face of danger. In this motivational presentation, Davie shares his secrets for digging deep in the well of your own potential and extending beyond your perceived limitations. Using examples from his war zone assignments and deep-jungle and mountaineering expeditions, Davie will unlock the power inherent in every individual to excel and to lead—in the wild and in the workplace.
Follow Your Bliss: Find Your Path
At age 22, in search of the spirit of African youth in all its beauty and brutality, Davie hitchhiked 8,000 miles from Cape Town to Cairo armed only with a video camera and a backpack. While there he rode shotgun with Special Forces police in Johannesburg, investigated the sexual abuse of street children in Zimbabwe, and uncovered government complicity in the heroine trade in Tanzania. He also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and rafted the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. The result was an acclaimed documentary series, “Cape Town to Cairo”, and the start of an extraordinary career as a filmmaker. Davie shares his story as a way to encourage students to honor their passions, learn to manage risks, recover from setbacks, and thrive.
My Africa
As a filmmaker and journalist, he has been immersed in the violence and beauty of Africa—from civil war in Sierra Leone to the mountain gorilla murders and crisis in Virunga National Park, to prison choir competitions in Cape Town. As the cradle of humanity and the site of some of today’s most critical threats to man—AIDS, violent civil war, infectious disease, scarce water and natural resources—and one of the last places on Earth many wild animals still call home. Davie aims to demystify the misconceptions about his homeland and generate a greater compassion for the people who live there. Richly embroidered with tales of adventure and extraordinary personal encounters this lecture will appeal to all those wanting to understand Africa today and its role in our future.
The Choir: South Africa’s Unique Approach to Prisoner Rehabilitation
Filmmaker Michael Davie shows excerpts from his feature documentary The Choir and tells the stories behind the film. Shot over five years in South Africa’s biggest prison the film follows the members of the prison choir in their struggle for redemption through music. Uplifting, unexpected and profoundly optimistic the film shows the power of the human spirit to transcend its circumstance through self-expression. The film asks the question “can people change?” and explores the conditions required to help them overcome their fears and limitations and thrive.
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