As he realized the war had claimed over 5 million lives,
Dan Balluff set off on a crusade to tell the story about
this forgotten country and its conflicts. The Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been battling war, child
prostitution, and child soldiers for over 10 years.
After finishing his Peace Corps service in 1988, Dan
traveled to the DRC. He was instantly amazed by its
pristine rain forest and the gigantic Congo River. Dan's
concern for the DRC brought him to find out as much
informationas he could and this made him realize the Congo
hled many secrets. He took time out of his life to
investigate and make informational films on the war the DRC
hides.
Upon research, Dan found that there are thousands of street
children in the Congo who struggle daily to live. A
majority of these children are orphans and have turned to
prostitution as a means of survival. Accusations of child
witchcraft have also been a reoccurring theme in the Congo,
which has lead to the documentary, Children of Congo: from
War to Witches.
Dan began posting his media on talent sites in hope of
spreading consciousness of the situation in the DRC. He has
also produced other documentaries and comedy shorts.
However, Dan has expressed his commitment to social issues,
"I hope to be able to continue making films about issues
and countries that need more public awareness."
Before Dan had focused on the Congo, he went to film school
at the American University in Washington D.C. Completing
his schooling, he jumped into world concerns by teaming up
with the Enviromental Protection Agency as a scientist.
After working for the EPA for a number of years, he left to
pursue a career in filming documentaries.
In the mid 2000s, he filmed a short informational piece
about the food crisis in Niger. While in the Peace Corps he
lived in a small village called Tapoa. He decided to make
this documentary because Niger is one of the poorest
countries in the world. "The food crisis really sent them
over the edge," Dan said. Dan titled this film, "Niger:
Living on the Edge of Survival." He also created a travel
film documenting Niger, "Exploring Niger" and a short
tourism video that is narrated in English and French,
titled, "Niger."
Dan's future plans are to create a documentary about Haiti.
Dan has implied that the small country of Haiti is one of
the most underprivileged in the west and with this being
said, he wanted to bring awareness the U.S. He is
researching and fund-raising for the film now.
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