Grants & Awards
Pushing the Elephant
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Nonfiction
Date Awarded: Summer 2008
Directors(s): Beth Davenport & Elizabeth Mandel
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Producer(s): Katy Chevigny & Angela Tucker
Company Credit: Arts Engine
Location: USA / DRC
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Film Status: Completed
URL: » Pushing the Elephant site
Distribution: PBS - Independent Lens, Women Make Movies
About the Film:
This documentary chronicles how Rose Mapendo escaped from the ethnic violence of the Democratic Republic of Congo to become a vital voice to help mend her divided country. She has assisted dozens of survivors to rebuild their lives, but there is still one person Rose must teach to forgive–her daughter Nangabire. Pushing The Elephant counters the horrors of genocidal violence with the moral fortitude and grace of one woman’s mission for peace.
About the Filmmakers:
Having worked in various capacities at Big Mouth since 2003, Beth Davenport brings over eight years of production and outreach experience in television, commercials and award-winning documentaries for P.O.V., Sundance Channel, BBC and Arte France as well as directing advocacy videos and short films. Film credits include: the Emmy-nominated film Deadline, Thomas Balmes’ Wrongful Death and Election Day. Beth is currently a producer at Arts Engine, Inc./Big Mouth Films and is producing The Dishes, directed by Katy Chevigny and directing Pushing the Elephant, a feature-length documentary.
Elizabeth Mandel is the producer of the film Arctic Son, and a co-producer on Jennifer Fox’s film Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman. She directs and produces educational videos for non-profit organizations such as Jewish Women International and for Johns Hopkins Medical Center’s Project Restore, in additional to producing spots for Nickelodeon and Sundance Channel. Elizabeth served as an associate producer for Jasmine Dellal’s When the Road Bends and was the producer of the Deadline DVD. Prior to joining Big Mouth in 2001, she worked for the United Nations and the Asia Foundation. She has also worked in India, Cambodia, Nepal and Japan on a variety of community development, leadership training and citizen participation projects. She holds a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in International Affairs, with a focus on Economic and Political Development and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a B.A. in Religion and East Asian Cultures.
Festival & Award Highlights:
IDFA 2010 – World Premiere
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2011
Durban 2011
