Since being elected in 2018, Freetown mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has won international plaudits for her commitment to fighting the myriad challenges facing the capital of Sierra Leone, one of Africa’s poorest countries.
But during her bid for re-election for a second term, she finds herself on the front line of a democratic crisis. As election season ramps up, her campaign faces intimidation, violence and international concerns over the integrity of the election process.
Mayor on the Front Line follows Aki-Sawyerr as she confronts the hard realities of politics in a country still scarred by the horrors of a bloody civil war.
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With unique access to Aki-Sawyerr, her team and family, this film offers unique insight into not only the highs and lows of Sierra Leonean politics, but also the personal cost of a life in political limelight.
Filmed over the course of a year, this #BBCAfricaEye documentary follows Aki-Sawyerr through the toughest period of her political career as she fights to win a second term in the midst of one of Sierra Leone’s most fiercely contested elections.
📰 READ more: "Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr - the tree-planting mayor of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown" ➡ bbc.in/3T0lgWU
🎧 LISTEN to the #AfricaDaily podcast: "How tough is it being Freetown’s opposition mayor?" here ➡ bbc.in/49zq8cH
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Africa Eye brings you original, investigative journalism revealing secrets and rooting out injustice in the world’s most complex and exciting continent. Nothing stays hidden forever.
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Credits:
Produced, Directed and Filmed by PAUL MYLES and CHRIS WALTER
Editor - DANNY COLLINS
Producer - ABDUL SAMBA BRIMA
Production Manager - JILLIAN VAIZEY
Music - 19 SOUND, ARTISTS FOR PEACE SIERRA LEONE
Additional Camera - IBRAHIM S. KAMARA
Drone Footage - MICHAEL DUFF and IBRAHIM S. KAMARA
Archive - AYV TV, AFP TV, BBC NEWS, BBC WORLD SERVICE, GATES FOUNDATION
With thanks to FREETOWN MEDIA CENTRE
Post Production Facility - ROUNDTABLE POST PRODUCTION
Colourist - PAUL KOREN
Online Editor - JOE HEATH
Re-Recording Mixer - DAN WEINBERG
Dialogue and Sound Editor - ANDREW HARRIS
Conform Artist - TOM STOW
Head of Workflow - EMMA CORBETT
Post Producer - LAKSHYA UPADHYAYA
Post Production Coordinator - GEORGIA REILLY
For the BBC:
Online Editor - CHRIS STOTT
Reversioning Producer - ANNA PAYTON
Digital Producer - TAMASIN FORD
Impact Producer - ADELLE KALAKOUTI
Social Media Producer - ANUSHA KUMAR
Production Coordinator - SARAH CLARKE
Production Manager - SIMON FROST
Executive Producers - PETER MURIMI, NICOLA MILNE
Head of Longform - LIZ GIBBONS
Africa Eye Editor - TOM WATSON
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