The Donation - Birmingham Film Festival 2024

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Mon 11 Nov 2024

Birmingham film-maker Andrew Hindle turns to Africa for inspiration in his latest short film The Donation which premieres at Birmingham Film Festival on November 11.

The film is a fictional story set within factual circumstances and aims to highlight the work of charity Building Schools for Africa, where Hindle is a trustee.

The tale begins with greedy businessman Keith Arnslow (played by Karl Brookes) eyeing up a suitcase full of cash he’s just been given as a bribe to seal a deal. But before he can begin to spend his new-found bounty, his granddaughter Sophie (played by Andrew’s daughter Amélie Hindle) appears asking that he sponsor her in a fundraiser for Building Schools for Africa.

When Arnslow scoffs at the belief that he should give away his money, the two are whisked off to Cameroon where they see the difference the £25,000 in his suitcase would make.



Hindle wrote, produced and directed the film which was shot on location in the Midlands and in Cameroon at two schools which have benefited from the charity - St Paul’s Primary School in Bamenda and Kon Yambetta Primary School.

With cinematography from Stephen J Nelson, we are transported into the pristine new classrooms but also see the former decaying rooms the children had used in the past. So too we see a young child collecting water from a putrid stream and in contrast children at the school pumping clean water from a new well.

The message of the film is hugely positive with smiling children and teachers welcoming the grandfather and daughter and sharing a little of their lives. But it also contains a sobering message that even when children have promise, their circumstances can still prevent them going on to achieve their dreams.

At 13 minutes in length, The Donation is a short insight into the difficulties faced by schoolchildren in Cameroon but also the impact a donation can have. For example, £25,000 could potentially buy three classrooms, a school office and latrines.

The performances are well-defined. Brookes gives a suitably oily Arnslow whose attempts to look at ease when surrounded by singing children in an African village feel more like grimaces of extreme discomfort. And Amélie Hindle is endearing as Sophie in her desire to encourage him to make the difference.



The Africa cast includes Gisela Berinyuy as the teacher and Wikom Bruno Sunjo as the driver – both were recruited locally and work for Strategic Humanitarian Services Cameroon, a partner organisation to Building Schools for Africa, and the children are from the featured schools.

Presented by Main Road Films, The Donation is a step on from Andrew Hindle’s last productions - the light-heartedThe Life and Times of Norman Ondoby and the black comedy thriller Last Respects. In The Donation while the subject matter is treated gently, the message is also very powerfully driven home that we live in a world of haves and have-nots.

The Donation is screened as part of the free 8pm programme on Monday November 11 at Millennium Point in Birmingham alongside a series of other short films. For more on the festival and its programme see here.



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