Milking the Rhino

Milking the Rhino is ready for release! The film will have its world premiere at the Tricontinental Film Festival next month.

August 21, Johannesburg (Rosebank Mall) August 23, Johannesburg August 24, Capetown (V&A Waterfront)

We are pleased to announce that Milking the Rhino, the forthcoming documentary from Producer/Director David E. Simpson from a concept by Co-Producer Jeannie Magill, is the recipient of a $150,000 grant from the PBS Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Fund. The Fund was established in 2006 by way of a multi-million dollar grant from the Skoll Foundation, with the purpose of highlighting the work of people acting as change agents, improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating sustainable solutions to better society.

Milking the Rhino

portrays rural Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation: a revolution that is turning poachers into preservationists and local people into the stewards of natural resources.

With this grant, a strong outreach plan will be built and executed for RHINO, as well as an informative and resource-rich website to support the film's life beyond broadcast. These materials will help the film achieve its dual goal of challenging a general audience's preconceptions of conservation, and providing inspiration for those working and teaching within the field.

Kartemquin Filmmaker, David E. Simpson, participated in the ITVS session during day 3 of the IFP Chicago Midwest Filmmaker Summit on Sunday. Simpson sat with Naomi Walker from ITVS and discussed his related experiences on his past film Refrigerator Mothers, and with his current ITVS funded doc-in-progress, Milking the Rhino. Naomi Walker is also presenting Kartemquin's Terra Incognita as a part of the Independent Lens' Community Cinema program in Chicago on December 15th.

Learn more about the status of Kartemquin's work-in-progress, Milking the Rhino, by visiting their blog and myspace page.

Milking the Rhino Producer/Director David E. Simpson and Associate Producer Xan Aranda have just returned from San Francisco, where they finalized licensing contract negotiations with the Independent Television Service. This contract includes significant levels of funding which will aid the Rhino crew in finishing its goals for this feature-length film.

Milking the Rhino’s exploration of the triumphs and pitfalls of community-based conservation continues, with plans for a third and final trip to Africa this summer. The director and crew venture back to Namibia and Kenya to follow up with Maasai and Himba communities, torrential rain in East Africa now in place of devastating drought, and the continually unpredictable landscape of conservation, rural development, and poverty reduction.

A “bridge between producers and public television”, the Independent Television Service (ITVS) - subsidized by the Corporation For Public Broadcasting - provides film funding, feedback during production and a comprehensive public television launch including marketing, publicity, station relations and outreach support.

The Illinois Arts Council has awarded Kartemquin Educational Films a grant of $14,270.00 from State funds for support of the feature length documentary: Milking the Rhino…and Other Tales of Community Conservation. Each Kartemquin project employs and hopes to inspire a variety of Illinois artists. Our films succeed because of the collaborative efforts of local directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, musicians, graphic designers and many talented others. Milking the Rhino is no exception. This grant is part of the larger picture of IAC support for Kartemquin projects over the years. In the case of Milking the Rhino, this financial support will help to offset the costs of high definition video post-production during our 2007 fiscal year.

A new DVD which contains 88 minutes of rough-cut material is now finished. The disk is comprised of 11 stand-alone scenes from Namibia and Kenya as well as a short demo for the film. Director David E. Simpson edited the material with assistance from Associate Producer Aaron Wickenden. Kartemquin’s Jim Morrissette authored the disk and Dan Sharkey, formally of gripdesign, created beautiful packaging. Along with newly revised fundraising materials, authored with the help of development consultant Julie Simpson, the Milking the Rhino team will be using this disk as part of a targeted fundraising push. In the coming months, the team will be approaching specific foundations and exploring various co-production possibilities as a way to meet their fundraising goals. Plans are underway for a final return trip to Africa in Spring of 2007.

On Sunday, May 21, 2006 a fundraiser for Milking the Rhino…and Other Tales of Community Conservation was held at Gabriel’s Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thirty-two artists from the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, Africa, and the island of Mauritius donated over 60 pieces of original artwork and crafts to the event. The gallery donated an African inspired buffet of exotic foods accompanied by South African wines, while the Maple Street Dance School from Albuquerque donated live performances by Ghanaian drummers and dancers. A short demo video of Milking the Rhino was screened for the audience of approximately 200 people generating a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm for the documentary. The local media supported the fundraiser with a front page story about Milking the Rhino and the fundraiser in the Journal North as well as informative articles appearing in the New Mexican, Southwest Art Magazine, the Santa Fean and Passatiempo publications. The local NPR station interviewed co-producer, Jeannie Magill; and the local radio station, KSFR, and TV station KAZQ in Albuquerque provided a wide audience with film clips and background information about this timely documentary.

After a successful production trip to Namibia and Kenya, Milking the Rhino…and Other Tales of Community Conservation is now three-quarters of the way to being “in-the-can.” 67 hours of HighDef footage (Panasonic Varicam, 16×) was shot by cameraman Jason Longo, and sound person Rich Pooler. The crew was led by director David E. Simpson and producer Jeannie Magill, who are now preparing to edit a rough cut of this material.

David E. Simpson and Jeannie Magill’s latest documentary, Milking the Rhino on the controversial issue of community-based conservation in Africa, has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation. David and Jeannie have just returned from a scouting trip to Africa with 30 hours of HD footage. They travelled to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa. David is currently working with Himba and Maasai translators to prepare the footage for editing. A return trip is scheduled for November, 2005.