Chasing the American Dream on Foreign Soil

The film chronicles 12 modern day globetrotters who have uprooted their lives in pursuit of their dreams and are finding that America is not the only land of opportunity. After two trips to South Africa and over 50 hours of footage, the film provides a candid and touching tale of sacrifice, hardship and great rewards by U.S. born citizens such as Cora Vaughn, a Chicago attorney who walked away from over a million dollar a year law practice to open up a bed & breakfast down the street from Nelson Mandela, James Prevost who came to South Africa with nothing and revolutionized the comedy industry and Charles Henderson a heroin addict at age 16 who became a Harvard graduate and now owns one of the most successful businesses in South Africa.

20 Four 7 Productions has been involved in producing innovative programming for over a decade. Award winning producer director Stafford U. Bailey has earned a reputation for producing informative as well as visually stimulating programs that have aired nationally. While in South Africa in 2005, Bailey saw a growing number of African Americans relocating to the region. Following further research, he discovered that African Americans chasing the American dream on foreign soil was on the rise and no major documentary covering this topic was being made or was planned. So, in 2006 he began production for a series of documentaries that explores this trend.

"There is a vast group of African Americans that are under-served, that are tired of the reality shows and music video programming that floods our TV screens," said Bailey. "We want to show that there are many African Americans making great strides not just here in the United States but around the world."

http://www.filmmaker.co.za/readarticle.php?article_id=1954

check out more clips of this movie @

http://www.blackswithoutborders.net/blacks...rders/home.html

http://www.jamati.com/online/film/blacks-without-borders/

check out more clips of this movie @

http://www.blackswithoutborders.net/blacks...rders/home.html

http://www.jamati.com/online/film/blacks-without-borders/


:10500:It could be my computer. The first link isn't working for me.

:heart:

sorry!

http://www.blackswithoutborders.net/blackswithoutborders/home.html

:)

sorry!

http://www.blackswithoutborders.net/blackswithoutborders/home.html

:)

No problem Sister.:love: Thank you for the links!

:heart:

wish them well, and all, but still ..

African Americans chasing the "american dream" in south Africa. why does "apartheid part 2" run through my head?

could not somebody have called it something else? it seems to be kinda dead over here so export/exploit it over there? why not Kenya, ... oh, wait: south Africa "used" to be white anyway, though, so i guess it kinda figures ... smh

Chasing the American Dream on Foreign Soil

The film chronicles 12 modern day globetrotters who have uprooted their lives in pursuit of their dreams and are finding that America is not the only land of opportunity. After two trips to South Africa and over 50 hours of footage, the film provides a candid and touching tale of sacrifice, hardship and great rewards by U.S. born citizens such as Cora Vaughn, a Chicago attorney who walked away from over a million dollar a year law practice to open up a bed & breakfast down the street from Nelson Mandela, James Prevost who came to South Africa with nothing and revolutionized the comedy industry and Charles Henderson a heroin addict at age 16 who became a Harvard graduate and now owns one of the most successful businesses in South Africa.

20 Four 7 Productions has been involved in producing innovative programming for over a decade. Award winning producer director Stafford U. Bailey has earned a reputation for producing informative as well as visually stimulating programs that have aired nationally. While in South Africa in 2005, Bailey saw a growing number of African Americans relocating to the region. Following further research, he discovered that African Americans chasing the American dream on foreign soil was on the rise and no major documentary covering this topic was being made or was planned. So, in 2006 he began production for a series of documentaries that explores this trend.

"There is a vast group of African Americans that are under-served, that are tired of the reality shows and music video programming that floods our TV screens," said Bailey. "We want to show that there are many African Americans making great strides not just here in the United States but around the world."

http://www.filmmaker.co.za/readarticle.php?article_id=1954


Thanks for this.

wish them well, and all, but still ..

African Americans chasing the "american dream" in south Africa. why does "apartheid part 2" run through my head?

could not somebody have called it something else? it seems to be kinda dead over here so export/exploit it over there? why not Kenya, ... oh, wait: south Africa "used" to be white anyway, though, so i guess it kinda figures ... smh

anAfrican - what do you expect? Do you believe that to return to Africa you need to be ready to draw water from a well in rural Kenya? If you did.. wouldn't your first instinct be to build a piping system? ;) Or.. should one find a community in rural Chad and have your kids herding sheep at age 5? or would you prefer to build a fence, practice crop rotation so your kids can go to a school you plan to build?

for those of us who like the modern gadgets - high speed internet and air conditioning ;) in Africa - Why would we prefer to create business and money for white people and their economies instead of our own on the Continent in more developed countries like SA, Ghana, Nigeria etc? all who have been 'white' at one stage...

More importantly, I ask you - Is Africa a location or a state of mind? Is it just a dream or just your name? something else, perhaps? You comments confuse me somewhat...

check out more clips of this movie @

http://www.blackswithoutborders.net/blacks...rders/home.html

http://www.jamati.com/online/film/blacks-without-borders/

OG9w-8Yi58I

mostly, i guess, for me, it's a "State of the Heart". if there were some way to get to the Ancient Elders that still may be alive, i'd love to document some of their wisdom. or any "undiscovered"/unspoiled civilizations that might still be hanging on around this poor beleaguered planet.

i just don't like much of anything that has come out of america, or has it in it's name/heart/style/actions. it's coming to mean to me too much of the root/cause of the planetary/ecological desecration that has just about everything on this planet in a really bad way. i'd only appreciate seeing "made in america" exported to the Marianas trench.

i've always wanted to get as far away from this place as possible, but "history" has shown that as soon as something somewhere turns out to be "better", Uncle Silly has to run in and mess it up.

just waiting for my pine box ... unless we get to some "skyscraper building". (a reference to an old thread/discussion.) pardon (or not) my pessimism.

Thanks for posting. I'm going to check out these videos. I don't know much about African countries. I guess these videos would be a start. I saw the youtube vid trailer for the AAs in South Africa. Looks like they are really LIVING IT UP! I would love to have a lifestyle like that, with nice houses, fast cars, and plenty of money. I hope I get to visit there one day and experience being a majority for once without my skin color being in question.

mostly, i guess, for me, it's a "State of the Heart". if there were some way to get to the Ancient Elders that still may be alive, i'd love to document some of their wisdom. or any "undiscovered"/unspoiled civilizations that might still be hanging on around this poor beleaguered planet.

i just don't like much of anything that has come out of america, or has it in it's name/heart/style/actions. it's coming to mean to me too much of the root/cause of the planetary/ecological desecration that has just about everything on this planet in a really bad way. i'd only appreciate seeing "made in america" exported to the Marianas trench.

i've always wanted to get as far away from this place as possible, but "history" has shown that as soon as something somewhere turns out to be "better", Uncle Silly has to run in and mess it up.

just waiting for my pine box ... unless we get to some "skyscraper building". (a reference to an old thread/discussion.) pardon (or not) my pessimism.

anAfrican :love:

I've been trying to let this pass but it keeps popping into my head...

I don't understand.. it seems as if you are saying everywhere is messed up so why bother if you cant return to the ancients.. so just wait for death.. that doesn't come across as pessimistic, but rather a pointless way to live. :uhh:

You comment brought to mind The Last Poets who spoke about dying "just because" as opposed to dying "for a cause".

:heart:

‘Blacks Without Borders’ has been making an impact on all those who watch it. The film focuses on the achievements of African-Americans in South Africa and shows that Africa is more than just a continent riddled with disease and war. Jamati.com caught up with Judy Bailey and Stafford Bailey to learn more about their journey to the movie.

Jamati: What was it that made you decide to do the movie?

Stafford: I was working on a film in Zimbabwe with Morgan Freeman and Danny Glover, and people kept telling us that there were many African-Americans in South Africa. I knew that the largest number of African-Americans was in Nigeria but was unaware of the ones in South Africa.

Jamati: That is interesting. What made the people in the fim move to South Africa?

Stafford: They saw the opportunity that was there. Some went on vacation and ended up staying and others went looking for opportunity. They got there and they realized that they could do a lot and made a commitment to do so. One guy didn’t believe what mainstream media was saying about Africa. Another sold everything and went to South Africa with his suitcase and not much else. He talked his way into going with a delegation and ended up staying. Another person started a venue that featured black comedians and is doing really well. Cora Vaughn was an attorney making about $1 million a year and had always planned to live in Africa. Although she had traveled extensively through Africa, she felt most at home in South Africa so she moved there and set up a Bed and Breakfast in an exclusive neighborhood. Overall, most of them went back to connect with their roots.

Two brothers set up a satellite company and now have 40% of the market share. They just set up a billion dollar deal with Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin company conglomerate. A filmaker went and she found that they wanted her to teach people how to make movies.

Most of the people who went there were already successful in the U.S. South Africa is a great training ground for college graduates–they allow you to do whatever you want to do so you get exposure to many different jobs.

Jamati: What would you say would be the recipe for success if you want to start a business in South Africa?

Stafford: Make sure that you have a GREAT business plan and that you have some money. The affirmative action program that they have is being enforced rigorously so you need to have a black South African as a partner if you want funding from the South African government. They are great about opening doors and giving you access to all the things that you will need as it helps you provide employment for South Africans.

Jamati: How have the South Africans reacted to the African-Americans?

Stafford: The African-Americans have created jobs so they are welcomed. They also pay their domestics a better wage than the locals so that is always welcome. There was some xenophobia because some African-Americans had come making big promises and not delivering. Overall they feel that there are common threads between apartheid and slavery and there is a sense that our paths are very similar.on any other websie

Jamati: Are you working on any other projects now?

Stafford: One of our projects is called Black Road to Hollywood. We are looking at doing more documentaries to empower black people. Doing film that highlights and features black people around the world in a positive light. The Other Side of Victory looks at the behind-the-scenes of shows by Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy, etc.

Judy: We are trying to change a mindset and to change the things that people think that African-Americans want to see. We want to make a breakthrough and get into mainstream media.

Stafford: Or just reach more black people. We talk about Africa having poverty and AIDS but there are poverty stricken places right here in the U.S. Charles Henderson (one of the subjects in the documentary) couldn’t find a jungle in the places that he visited in Africa so he created a little one in his backyard. Those are the stereotypes we are trying to change.

http://www.jamati.com/online/film/blacks-without-borders-expand-their-horizons

You started....so now you have to keep it up! MORE PLZ!.lol

I LIIIIIIIIIke:wb: