Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong
Producer, Writer, Director of Vanishing Seeds
On June 25, 2010 Miss Ghana USA 2010/11 traveled to Haiti to shoot her short documentary film Vanishing Seeds in collaboration with Trees for the Future (a non-profit organization that teaches people around the world about agro forestry and the hazardous effects of deforestation). This film project will be apart of Miss Ghana USA 2010/11’s year long campaign against deforestation. She plans to film a sister film in Ghana as well later in this year. Rebekah studied Pre-Medicine and Psychology with Life Science Concentration at VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health and working as a research coordinator at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In 2007 she founded Reel Worldwide Underground Link (RWUL) a non-profit organization with fellow alumnae of VCU where they use the medium of film as an outreach tool in the community. One of RWUL’s most popular projects was the “I Luv Africa” film series and community discussion program that took place in Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York educating people about different African cultures as explored through modern cinema.
Melinda Tenenzapf
Cinematography, Assistant Editor
Melinda Tenenzapf is a student of film and political science at MarlboroCollege in Vermont. Melinda is from Brooklyn, New York, where she was raised by her Jewish father and a Jamaican nanny she considers mom. Growing up in a mixed family, with regular visits to the Jamaican countryside shaped her unique childhood which inspired her to make her first documentary film Jewmaican at age 15. This short film played at festivals around the country, including the Tribeca Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, where it won the youth jury award. While continuing to explore her own background, Melinda aspires to tackle the issues of globalization and inequality through her films, as she already does through her studies. She has interned with Nomadic Wax global hip hop label & Production Company and the International Rescue Committee, and was recently on the jury of the 10th annual Media That Matters film festival. She is occasionally teased for her love of trees and peace.
Trees for the Future
Co-Producers and Partners
Trees For The Future Coordinators
Ethan Budiansky & Timote Georges
Trees for the Future have been working in Haiti since early 2002 supporting projects throughout the country. Trees for the Future programs focus on addressing the country and communities’ most urgent needs. Working with local farmers and farming groups, planting trees to reforest degraded hillsides, produce sustainable charcoal and fuel wood, produce biodiesel, and establish intensive hillside farming practices. Trees for the Future West African and Caribbean Ethan Budiansky works with Haiti program Coordinator, Timote Georges on the ground to connect with communities throughout the country to develop beneficial tree planting projects.