PASADENA NOW -- Being “passionate about education and social justice” has led James Baumann from California to Africa to South America.
The 2006 Idyllwild Arts Academy graduate in what was then called Moving Pictures was at San Francisco State University in 2013, studying Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. A professor mentioned a Tanzanian school that James felt he had to see.
Tumaini Junior School — tumaini means “hope” in Swahili — “in a town called Karatu, teaches both primary school students and older students. It turns nobody away, including orphans.”
James has continued making documentaries. Breaking Boundaries records the challenges faced by Barranquilla’s ambitious teachers and students. Another project, Stories of Conflict, departs from the familiar terrain of education.