Genre
Synopsis
In hauntingly beautiful footage shot on the front lines of Africa’s poaching crisis, NO FEAR NO FAVOR follows local women and men who fight the illegal wildlife trade through cooperative law enforcement and innovative conservation. As they begin to break the deadly connection between poverty and poaching, we see that people and wildlife can thrive side by side, in mutual benefit.
Through Community Conservancies rural stakeholders protect wildlife, return eco-tourism profits to local people, and generate sustainable new livelihoods -- especially for women and girls.
Bio
Mirra Bank is a veteran director whose work has international reach. She is a member of the Academy (Doc Branch), and directed the Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary, Last Dance, with Pilobolus and Maurice Sendak. Her filmmaking began with editorial contributions to Woodstock (Academy Award), Gimme Shelter, and Harlan County, USA (Academy Award). Her directorial debut, Yudie, premiered at the NY Film Festival, aired nationally on PBS, and is currently available on Criterion. In films like Enormous Changes (Sundance, BFI London) and Nobody’s Girls (PBS), Bank focuses on the experiences of women and underrepresented communities. She shot her human rights-baseball feature documentary, The Only Real Game, over 5 years in strife-torn Manipur, India. The film was a Netflix premiere and winner of the “American Spirit Award” at Sedona International Film Festival.
Bank filmed her latest feature doc, No Fear No Favor, in wilderness areas on the front lines of Africa’s poaching crisis. The documentary won both the Hamptons DocFest “Filmmakers’ Choice Award” and “Environmental Award,” followed by others, including “Outstanding Cinematography” and "DOXX Award Finalist" for the best documentary directed by a woman, at TallGrass Film Festival. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Bronx Documentary Center; is an Adjunct of the Investigative Reporting Program at Berkeley; and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
Screening History
Hamptons Doc Fest 2019
Annapolis International Film Festival 2020
Woods Hole International Film Festival 2020
Lighthouse International Film Festival 2020
Tallgrass International Film Festival 2020
Awards History
Hamptons Doc Fest 2019 - Filmmakers' Choice Award and Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Environmental Award
Tallgrass Film Festival 2020 - Outstanding Cinematography
Credits
Director - Mirra Bank
Director of Photography - Mirra Bank
Producer - Mirra Bank
Producer - Richard Brockman
Editor - Maxwell Anderson