This is Backer Hamada, the director of all the media efforts behind IOTC. My goal with every piece of media is to lift up the voices of the unheard communities we are collaborating with. Over the past year, these efforts have grown a community that is driving impact towards our partners at home and abroad. This media-focused update will highlight our achievements and impact across Kansas City, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Madagascar. I want to give a huge shout-out to Matt Jacobson, my co-director and mentor. None of the accomplishments below would have been possible without him.
Closing Our First Year of Film Festivals
Trauma: The New Epidemic, directed by Matt Jacobson and Backer Hamada, has closed its first year on the festival circuit. The project takes you into Ethiopia’s only public trauma center, a repurposed hotel. The film has received awards and honors across the United States and Europe.
Awards
Grand Jury Award Documentary Short, Awareness Festival
Audience Choice Award, Kansas City Film Festival International
Runner-Up Documentary Short, Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition
Best Documentary, African Cultural Film Festival
Best Documentary Short, Uplift Film Festival
Jury Award, Thurrock International Film Festival
Honorable Mention, Frames of New York
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Short, Indie Short Fest
Official Selection, Replay International Film Festival
Official Selection, Free State Festival
Semi-Finalist, London International Filmmakers Festival
We are now entering our second year of film festivals, with more submissions planned throughout 2026.
Community Screenings
We are now hosting screenings with hospitals, churches, and collaborating organizations. We are planning screenings with the Ethiopian Community Organization of Kansas City (ECOKC), Ethiopian Community Los Angeles (ECLA), Children’s Mercy Hospital, Project C.U.R.E., and groups within the University of Kansas.
If your community is interested in a screening, please reach out to marketing@traumacentral.org
Art Exhibit
Tessa Petersen, a nurse and artist, and Backer Hamada recently began presenting their exhibit titled The African Trauma Epidemic, which includes the following:
Chain Reaction is mixed media piece that represents the source and cause of the trauma epidemic, created using paint, real X-ray images, and children’s toys.
Source to Solution is a hardware piece that uses orthopedic equipment shaped to represent the direct connection between Western technology and trauma in Africa.
Shared Wisdom is an acrylic paining on canvas that represents the collaborative efforts of an American physician collaborating with an Ethiopian physician.
The final piece is a digital display featuring footage from Trauma: The New Epidemic, taking viewers inside Ethiopia’s only public trauma hospital, a repurposed hotel.
Documentary Series
Little Camel Films and the International Orthopedic Trauma Collaborative are in the process of creating three documentary shorts and expanding Trauma: The New Epidemic into a feature-length film. The three shorts currently in pre-production and production include:
FUTURE follows a nurse named Future from a remote village who is working to build the future of trauma care in Zambia.
ISLAND REACH documents Francis and his clinic boat delivering medicine and clean water to remote regions in Madagascar.
Dr. Fabruce’s documentary captures a surgeon’s efforts to construct a functioning trauma hospital from shipping containers to serve a large rural region.
Similar to Trauma: The New Epidemic, these films will foster connections and raise funds through partnerships with hospitals, humanitarian organizations, diaspora communities, and global health institutions. In addition to fundraising, these projects will undergo a festival run across the globe. Backer Hamada, the lead on these projects, is looking for executive producers, nonprofit partners, and collaborators to support remaining production costs.
If you have any leads or interest in supporting these productions, contact backerhamada@gmail.com
