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This project successfully funded on 14th October 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Mfiti - Social Good Short Film
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
Mfiti aims to raise awareness about a little-known condition called obstetric fistula and its devastating impact on women and girls.
Mfiti follows 10-year-old Ernest as he struggles to care for his sick mother, Margaret, while surviving the pressures of childhood and village superstition on the shores of Lake Malawi. Margaret suffers after the loss of a child, and a subsequent condition that causes her to leak urine—both of which draw suspicion from the community. Whispers of witchcraft grow louder as women begin to disappear without explanation. Villagers blame a mythical serpent known as the Nyuvwira, said to take women who are alone or vulnerable. Ernest fears his mother could be next. View the trailer below.
Obstetric fistula is a condition caused by prolonged, obstructed labour, in which a woman can be pushing for up to a week, this process causes tears between the bladder, bowels and birth canal. During the process the baby is lost to still birth and the woman is left in pain, and with incontinence for years, or even a lifetime, without knowing their affliction is curable, via a simple surgery. A lack of knowledge and understanding surrounding the condition means the afflicted are ostracised, by their families and communities, living in shame and known as Mfiti (witch).
In the 1800s the building that is now the Waldorf Astoria in New York was a fistula hospital but in 1908 they shut their doors due to advances in reproductive health care. The condition slipped off the agenda and being such an un-palatable condition, it has never found its way back onto it, so very few people across the world know what it is, yet it affects an estimated 2 million women and girls across Africa and Asia.
At its core, Mfiti is about the intersection of belief and truth, and how love and loyalty can exist within systems of fear. It explores themes of stigma, responsibility, childhood resilience, and the quiet strength of women who are forced to endure in silence. The film challenges inherited myths and invites viewers to confront how societal structures—both cultural and medical—fail those most vulnerable. While specific to Malawi, the story’s themes are universal: what happens when illness or disability is met with shame instead of care, and how acts of compassion can begin to break that cycle.
Mfiti will act as a rallying cry for a world that has forgotten what obstetric fistula is. The film will have a call to action before the credits, driving people to Operation Fistula's website to learn more, to get involved, and hopefully, to directly donate. We aim to show the film worldwide at festivals, and with the help of our charity partner, Operation Fistula, and Executive Producer, Rhett Reese (Hollywood writer of the Deadpool franchise), aim to have it aired on a tv channel and find a home on a streaming service.
Importantly, the film will be distributed, with the help of Operation Fistula, in Malawi. Shooting the film in Chichewa will allow Malawian audiences to view the film and it is the hope that this dissemination of knowledge through the film will have a direct impact on women seeking out the operation or early presentation to avoid the condition entirely. With success and the use of dubbing the film could be rolled out in other African countries.
Me (top left) on an outreach trip in Kabudula, rural Malawi, with my boss, Margaret, (far right) - who I named a central character after.
Ten years ago I spent eight months living in Malawi, working in a specialist fistula hospital. My job was outreach; to spread the word and locate women and girls suffering with this condition. However, I returned to the UK to pursue a lifelong dream of a career in film.
After becoming a director I started looking backwards; three years ago I wrote Mfiti, drawing directly from my experience in Malawi—it is an amalgamation of first-hand accounts shared with me by patients, families, and healthcare workers and I’ve been working to bring this story to life ever since.
Crucially, Mfiti is rooted in these realities. This is not a story told to garner pity as many charity-based films are, it is one of true strength, resilience and hope. I am committed to telling this story with honesty and respect, without sensationalising poverty. I’ve been working closely with Malawians at every stage, with a Malawian producer and cultural advisor, Chichewa-speaking script supervisor, casting only Malawians, shooting on location, and filming in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language.
Told through the eyes of a young boy, Mfiti reflects the audience’s own lack of understanding around obstetric fistula, mirroring how the condition is misinterpreted in affected communities. By keeping viewers questioning the true meaning behind what unfolds, we maintain a sense of intrigue and emotional engagement.
The film will be shot handheld in a claustrophobic 4:3 frame—similar to Laszló Nemes’ Son of Saul—staying close to our protagonist, Ernest, with long takes to heighten realism and convey his internal conflict without relying heavily on dialogue. This approach will intensify the sense of Ernest being pulled into adulthood by the events around him. Drawing inspiration from Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, we will shoot almost entirely with natural light, using what is available, to ground the film in reality. An immersive, diegetic soundscape—like the Safdie Brothers’ use in Uncut Gems—will bring the lakeside environment to life, echoing Ernest’s rising paranoia. In key moments the soundscape will be stripped back to introduce atmospheric, haunting Malawian music. This stark realism will be layered with elements of magical realism inspired by Beasts of the Southern Wild, weaving in Malawian folklore about the Nyuvwira, an eight-headed serpent, to explore how myth and fear shape perception and identity.
Ernest - Street Cast
We are street casting our lead, 10-year-old Ernest, in local communities around Lake Malawi. Importantly, we have already whittled down from 70 boys to 5, and will be hosting an in-person final casting session and workshop with those 5 boys in the weeks leading up to the shoot. We are looking for a boy who has a personality similar to the character, who won’t have to change who he is to play Ernest.
Due to their lack of experience we have decided to cast very experienced actors in the two key supporting roles.
Margaret - Lily Banda
Margaret is Ernest’s mother. She has suffered the loss of her second child, she’s has been left by her husband and her health is rapidly deteriorating. Like others she fears the threat of The Nuvywira but her only concern is the safety of Ernest who she desperately tries to make leave before she’s taken. She is selfless and strong. We have cast Lily Banda as Margaret. Lily is a Malawian actor who is best known for her performances in Netflix’s ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’, Fox’s ‘Deep State’ and Amazon’s ‘The Wheel of Time’. She will bring a wealth of talent and experience to the role and our team.
Peter - Eugene Khumbanyiwa
Peter is our Antagonist. He suffered the loss of his mother to a fistula-related illness and as such has been hardened. He devotes his life to helping others but struggles to emotionally show his kindness. In the final act as he watches Margaret go off into surgery we see a chink in his armour and a moment of connection with Ernest. We have cast Eugene Khumbanyiwa to play the role of Peter. Eugene is a Malawian
actor based in South Africa, best known for his role as Obesandjo in the Oscar-nominated film 'District 9.’ He has also featured in ‘Chappie’ and ‘Death Race 3’.
Mfiti has a production budget of £72,217
To date we have fundraised £65,907. Seth Cochran and Operation Fistula have been invaluable in helping us to raise these funds, through private means, with other investment coming from Executive Producer Rhett Reese and Mori, the writer & director.
We were supposed to be shooting this film in July of this year, we even had our crew and cast ready to go, but the sharp fall in the dollar meant that not only did we have less money than we had several months before, but costs across the world went up due to tariffs and the subsequent economic slow down, particularly in Malawi, where they are heavily reliant on the dollar. Costs for most crucial parts of the project soared, from flights to hotels, equipment hire and crew rates in Africa. And, we subsequently lost £5,000 of funding from a source who was hit by the economic environment. We were suddenly looking at needing a further £15,000. It was a huge blow to everyone working on the project.
However, having now secured £10,000 of that we're looking to raise the final £5000 to make the film a reality.
We are heading out to Malawi at the end of September to shoot the film early October, starting post production in mid October and aiming to have the film completed by the end of the year. A private premiere in early 2026 will proceed the films festival run.
Stretch Goal
If we are lucky enough to reach our goal we will be setting a stretch goal of £2000. This money would go towards hiring a PR company such as London Flare PR to assist with the marketing of the film during its festival run. These companies have the ability to supercharge your festival campaign and therefore the film's reach, meaning more eyes on obstetric fistula.
Here's how the budget is split.
Thank you so much for reading this far.
If you can contribute, even a little, you are contributing to not just the making of a film but to spreading the word about obstetric fistula, you are contributing towards positive change for women who have been suffering in silence for years.
If you do donate, your donation is tax deductible thanks to our partner Operation Fistula, who are a registered charity in the UK and the USA.
Whether you can contribute or not, if this story means something to you, please share it directly with three people that you trust, people who believe in speaking up, backing something meaningful or learning about something new.
And give our instagram account a follow!
Instagram: mfiti_film
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made