Felicia & Musa
for USAID and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
"The food I made for them, that made them sick, is moi moi. They was going to the toilets every time."
Food safety is essential for ensuring that children, especially young children, grow up healthy and thriving. Too often, food contaminated with salmonella or other microbial pathogens is fed to children day in and day out by unsuspecting parents and caregivers. This leads to chronic diarrhea and other illnesses which damage young immune systems and can cause childhood stunting.
As a key component of food security, food safety is a relatively new topic on the international development agenda. Its importance is becoming increasingly noticed by public health experts and funders around the world.
Pierce Mill Media was asked to use its expertise in storytelling to help put food safety on the map. If people are to care about this topic, they need to see and hear the stories of the people behind the statistics.
PM developed a simple storyline about a young mother of four (Felicia) who journeys into the local market to purchase food for her family from a long-time food vendor (Musa). Along the way, she navigates the many pitfalls of unsafe food to find and prepare a healthy meal for her family.
Working in close collaboration with the Abuja office of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), we discovered Felicia and Musa, and found a series of filming locations—all during Covid lockdowns--including formal and bush markets outside of Abuja. PM’s partner, IBST Media, based out of Lagos, was instrumental in shooting the film. We were also thrilled to work with the preeminent Robert Broadhust during post.
New York partner Dungeon Beach used an expansive colorscape to bring out the beauty and vibrancy of Felicia’s home and the marketplace.
