Julia Dahr: My way is through the camera

Julia Dahr. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • In Norway, there is this perception that people in Kenya just sit and do nothing and are always looking for handouts, so I want to show them that it is not like that.
  • I first came to Kenya when I was 18 through an exchange programme for a three-month stay.
  • At 23, I came back to do a documentary and short films about how people are being affected by climate change.

In 2016, Julia Dahr was listed by Forbes as one of the 30-under-30 people in Europe driving and defining the world media. She is an award-winning director and producer from Differ Media (Norway), dedicated to telling stories on human rights and sustainable development.

She spoke to ActScene on why she keeps coming back to Kenya after first stepping into the country seven years ago.

Why stories on climate change and sustainable development?
At 20 or 21, I learned about one of the biggest injustices of our time; those who are causing climate change in the world and not making any effort to change it. All I saw on films was how the ice is melting and how polar bears are becoming endangered.

No one talked about how climate change is affecting people. At the time, I was doing short films and I felt that it was not helping or conveying the message I wanted to tell people. When I was 15, I saw this film called To Be and To Have and it really inspired me a lot.

It follows school children to a village in France and I had never seen anything like it. After watching the film, I felt the connection and realised that documentary films can bring you so close to a place that is far away. I found it so powerful.

Who is Julia Dahr and what drives her?
I’m 30 and I like to see one of the biggest injustices in the world changed. My hope is to see the world and its people live in a clean and habitable place.

Why Kenya? I first came to Kenya when I was 18 through an exchange programme for a three-month stay. At 23, I came back to Kenya to do a documentary and short films about how people are being affected by climate change.

How did you end up making the film ‘Thank You For The Rain’?
While doing my research with a local organisation, I met a farmer called Kisilu in Kitui and we clicked. I decided to follow him and document his fight for climate change in a remote area where there was no running water or electricity.

In Norway, there is this perception that people in Kenya just sit and do nothing and are always looking for handouts, so I wanted to show them that it was not like that.

At the beginning, I was to follow Kisilu for only one rainy season. It was all dry and, on my last week before we left, there was this storm which blew away Kisilu’s roof.

How many documentaries have you made and where can people watch them? I have several projects. If anyone is interested, they can go online to Differ Media. Have you ever been in trouble with the law as you do your work? My way is through the camera. My work is to follow people who are trying to save the world and tell their stories. I’m trying to make their voice bigger and louder as much as I can.