Mercy’s Blessing – Home
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In a rural village in the heart of Africa a teenage boy has a dream: to raise his younger sister and himself out of poverty. But when a twist of fate shatters his hopes, everything seems lost and he is faced with the ultimate choice.
Winner 12 International Film Awards
Watch Film Now!
Available in 14 languages (subtitled)
Purchase Film €9.99
(individual use)
For personal use only, in private settings. The video format is MP4 and comes in high resolution.
Purchase Film €350
(for schools)
For use in your own school, university, or community centre.
Organize Free Public Screening
Videocamp is a platform that gathers social impact films, making them available for free public screenings.
IMPORTANT:
Due to copyright laws the film cannot be placed online for public viewing.
Inspiring Change
Visit our Foundation Inspire Courage for Change that is using Mercy’s Blessing as a tool for social action.
The film Mercy’s Blessing is being used in schools, universities, community centres, youth groups, and workplaces in over 100 countries worldwide. We invite individuals and organisations to use the film Mercy’s Blessing to inspire courage for change.
Mercy’s Blessing is a story of selfless love and sacrifice in the midst of social injustice. It highlights the power of the human spirit, the power of choice, and the capacity of young people—especially boys and men—to act courageously, despite great odds in upholding equality and justice.
Mercy’s Blessing creates space for meaningful discussions to take place; such as:
Promoting Equality of Women and Men
Developing an awareness of gender equality, challenging our assumptions, attitudes, and behaviour, and standing up for justice.
Becoming a World Citizen
Understanding our own social reality, recognising our prejudices, our privileges, and the power of choice in creating change in our lives.
Advancing Education and Social Change
Exploring the role that education can play in developing our talents and capacities, mobilising our energies to be of service to our communities, and becoming agents of positive social change.
Resource kit
A comprehensive toolkit has been developed using the experience of teachers, educators, and community facilitators who have been using the film over the past few years with youth and adults. The Resource Kit contains supporting materials to facilitate a screening and discussion, including Workshop Questions, a Facilitator’s Guide, Relevant Facts about Malawi, and more.
The Workshop Questions encourage participants to explore the themes associated with each character and analyse why they make their choices. The questions also invite participants to reflect on their own reality, the implication of these themes in their own lives, and how to take positive action. Materials can be used in one session, over multiple sessions, or as part of a project day. Recommended Age: 11+ years.
Download Resource Kit here!
United Nations Campaign
The United Nations Joint Programme for Girls Education in Malawi, used the film Mercy’s Blessing to spearhead a nation-wide awareness campaign. The film was screened in schools and communities around the country.
A red carpet première of the film was held in Lilongwe, Malawi (6 November 2015) to signify the launch of the campaign.
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Official Selection in 21 Film Festivals
Montreal World Film Festival 2015 (Montreal, Canada)
Voiceless International Film Festival 2015 (California, USA)
Rahway International Film Festival 2015 (New Jersey, USA)
Katra Film Series 2015 (New York, USA)
Princeton Independent Film Festival 2015 (New Jersey, USA)
Out of Africa International Film Festival 2015 (Nairobi, Kenya)
International Peace & Film Festival 2015 (Florida, USA)
Malawian Film Festival 2015 (Lilongwe, Malawi)
I Imagine Film Festival 2015 (Santa Monica, USA)
International Film Festival for Women, Social Issues, and Zero Discrimination 2016 (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Artplay Moscow Film Festival 2016 (Moscow, Russia)
China Women’s film festival 2016 (Beijing, China)
Move Me Productions 2016 (Antwerp, Belgium)
Best Independents International Film Festival 2016 (Karlsruhe, Germany)
Fifda – Festival International Des Films De La Diaspora Africaine 2016 (Paris, France)
International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema Berlin 2016 (Berlin, Germany)
All Lights India International Film Festival 2016 (Hyderabad, India)
Ananse Festival de Cine Afro 2016 (Cali, Colombia)
African Diaspora International Film Festival 2016 (New York City, USA)
“Behind Children” International Film Exhibition 2017 (Beijing, China)
Popoli e Religioni Terni Film Festival 2017 (Terni, Italy)
Director
May Taherzadeh is a multi award-winning independent filmmaker who has directed films in over 15 countries across 6 continents.
May was born in the UK, grew up in southern Africa (Malawi, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe), is ethnically Iranian and currently lives in Curacao with her husband and their 4 children.
“Art can better awaken such noble sentiments than cold rationalizing, especially among the mass of the people.” Bahá’í Writings
Cast
| BLESSINGS | Allick Chavula |
| MERCY | Hazel Roberts |
| MOTHER | Febbie Mzungu |
| CHIKONDI | Liness Banda |
| BLESSINGS’ TEACHER | Mutisunge Mzungu |
| MERCY’S TEACHER | Mutisunge Singini |
| UNCLE | Justin J. Mkandawire |
| SCHOOL FRIEND | Patrick Lipenga |
Crew
| ASSISTANT PRODUCER | Emily M. Bailey |
| DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | Sasha Proctor |
| CAMERA ASSISTANT | Lawai Nuesslein |
| EDITORS | Luis Dechtiar Heinrich L. Nüßlein |
| SOUND DESIGNER | Ivan Mihoci |
| BOOM OPERATOR | Patrick Lipenga |
| MUSIC | Overton Chimombo Shemu Joyah |
