OPEKA

USA, 2019, 90 min

Director: Cam Cowan

Producers: Cam Cowan, Tiffany Peckosh-Soffrin

Editors: Tiffany Peckosh-Soffrin, Cam Cowan

Cinematographer: Cam Cowan

Pedro Opeka declined a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play professional soccer in his native Buenos Aires. He chose instead to become a missionary and live in one of the poorest countries in the world. The son of a bricklayer, he convinced destitute families living in Madagascar’s largest landfill that he could teach them how to build their own houses and, in the process, build their dignity. His mission is to prepare the children he saves to one day save their own country.

Believing that powerful movies can move the justice dial in ways conventional law and politics cannot, Cam stopped practicing law to study filmmaking and later created Sohei Productions to make documentaries focused on social justice issues. His first feature film about survival, Madagasikara, won over 20 awards at film festivals in 2018-19. Opeka, his second feature film, is about hope. Opeka received the Golden Palm Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival 2020.

Cam has a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

UP CLOSE Intro by Director Cam Cowan