Voices across the Fence (2002)

This remarkable video greeting project - in which messages from Mozambican refugees living in South Africa were recorded then shown to relatives in remote villages back home - offers a unique glimpse into the lives of families torn apart by war and economic necessity. Mothers learn of sons who have passed away, wives discover their husbands have taken a new spouse and an old man's family get to see him for the first time in 15 years. Some of the villagers are disturbed by not being able to converse with the image of their loved one, although their messages are in turn recorded and sent to South Africa; others delight in this novel way of communicating across the border fence that separates them. We welcome Andy Spitz who will introduce his film.