Who is MFDI?

We’ve consolidated all our African film and media business in MFDI. In the 1980s and 1990s, we did this work through DSR, Inc, which now continues solely as a computer business, based in Maryland, USA. DSR specializes in exporting 220 volt computers to Africa, and Toshiba laptop sales and service, but also sells and services most major computer brands. DSR provided a huge amount of financial and logistical support to our African film work in the early years. It still provides some support now. DSR2, Inc was an offshoot of DSR, set up to handle our video sales for a few years, but in 2001 we closed DSR2 and moved all distribution activities to MFDI.

MFDI is an American 501(c)3 non-profit agency which has been operational now for 15+ years. It relates closely to Media for Development Trust (MFD) a Zimbabwean registered charity (W.O. 21/89) set up in the late 1980s, and also to Media for Development International / Tanzania, a branch office established in 2004 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The three are sister agencies. MFDI / USA supports the others, and they work together in film, radio, and TV productions as well as distributing African social message videos. Some of their key productions include: Consequences, It’s Not Easy, Neria, More Time, Everyone’s Child, and most recently, Yellow Card. These have been some of the most widely viewed films throughout Africa.

MFDI stocks about 1,000 VHS videos, and a small collection of 35mm prints. MFDI also has a selection of over a dozen 16mm films, which can be offered free to anyone that could use them. All titles are available in English and many titles are available in several other languages. Most of the titles are available in the VHS PAL and NTSC formats; SECAM is available with special order for some French titles. Prices are set low at break even levels to maximize distribution - MFDI’s motto is that a video is only as good as the number of people that see it. Over the last 15 years, MFDI and its sub-distributors have distributed many thousands of videos, mostly into Africa, and had hundreds of broadcasts on African (and other national) television stations. MFDI is always looking for new titles and adds up to a dozen a year. MFDI sells videos to support the emerging African cinema industry, and regularly sends out royalty checks to African film makers, but the main contribution is just keeping these titles available and getting them to audiences.

DVDs of some titles are now available and MFDI is working to get many more titles available in that format soon.

How to use this online catalog? Titles are listed under categories, ie AIDS, Family Planning, etc, but can also be "searched" for. New titles and Feature Films (over 90 minutes) are especially marked. Each title list the synopsis, length of video, production information, formats and languages they are available in and price. Also there is a page listing the various languages that the titles are available in.

If you are interested in making additional language versions of a title, dubbing rights for most titles are available, so please enquire. Broadcast rights are available for most of the titles listed, please contact MFDI for specific information.

A list of African sub-distributors is also listed here. Most titles can also be ordered locally from them. They would have to be contacted directly for prices and availability of titles.

Finally, there is a price list listing all titles and various accompanying materials and their prices in US dollars. There is a 25% discount for African agencies. Prices are subject to change. There is also a section on shipping, ordering and payment options.

Contact MFDI at: sales"@"mfdi.org or write to MFDI, 184 Crescent Lane, Glenwood Springs, CO, 81601, USA.