Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Church Chapel Koinonia Room, Goshen College will be screening the documentary film Ben Between Africa, written and directed by filmmaker Ari Ali. This event is open to the public as well as GC students and the screening will be followed by a Q&A with Ali. 

The documentary follows Ali as she attempts to uncover information and answers regarding the mysterious death of her uncle, Ben Gamber, and its possible connection to her family’s mission work in Ethiopia in the mid-20th century. Ali began more deeply investigating Gamber’s death after learning of a letter he sent from Kenya days before his death in 1975.

“I often felt like there was a fracture in my family, and Ben’s death was the only thing that I could pin it on because it was the one thing that we didn’t talk about,” Ali said. “I wanted to see if I could learn more about him in the pursuit of finding the letter.”

One of the first things that Ali discovered was a box of letters in her great-uncle’s attic. She happened to have her camera with her and began filming the moment. 

“That’s how this went just from a curiosity to actually a film,” she said.

In addition to reading through the letters she found, Ali also began to research the mid-century evangelical movement in East Africa, overseas Mennonite missionaries, and the political and social history of Ethiopia. She started interviewing and connecting with Ben’s family members, former boarding school classmates and others, who provided further perspective and insight.

Ali found this process both interesting and impactful. “The research, the discovery, the meeting of people that you never thought your paths would cross, all of that is what makes being a filmmaker and putting a story together so interesting,” she said. “I feel like I pulled back the curtains, and there’s this entire community and world that had always been there that I am now directly connected with.”

This deeply personal connection to the story is part of the reason that Kyle Hufford, professor of communication, decided to screen the film at GC. “Ben Between Africa is a participatory documentary,” he said. “She is in it and plays a role as a narrator, but also is part of the story.”

Hufford also appreciated the perspective that Ali brings as a largely self-reliant filmmaker who had to raise money, research, and do much of the work herself. He stated that this kind of perspective was valuable for students “to appreciate what it takes to make a documentary like this, how many years it takes. You know, the blood, sweat and tears.”

Both Hufford and Ali expressed excitement for the Q&A portion of the night. “Not a lot of filmmakers get the opportunity to witness the audiences and then go be able to engage with them,” Ali said. “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of that.”

Ali stated that she finds the screenings impactful because of the way she sees the audience react to the documentary and its themes. 

“It’s really just about the desire to connect with your family and to rebuild bridges where maybe they disintegrated before your time, you know? And people seem to be able to relate to that, no matter what type of background they come from.”

Ali encouraged those unable to attend the screening tonight to go to future screenings. Ben Between Africa will be shown at Greencroft this Sunday at 3 p.m., in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 18, and at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego on Nov. 13. 

Note to copy editors: Ari Ali requested that we promote the D.C and San Diego screenings, so please keep those in the article, thanks! -Teo (also make sure to delete this note before publishing)