documentary
about me
26 September, 2011
I'm very pleased to announce that Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters has won the Audience Choice Award at the Africa World Documentary Film Festival! Big thanks to everyone who watched the film and voted!
8 September, 2011
Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters will soon be available in German! It's our third version now. Interested in translating it to another language? Give me a shout at nisha(dot)ligon(at)gmail(dot)com.
6 September, 2011
APOLOGIES for broken links on this website. I've finally gotten kicked off the Yale server where I was hosting many of my videos. I'm in the process of bringing them over to YouTube and embedding them, but please be patient... I'm also trying to finish my master's thesis!
31 August, 2011
The Guardian again ;-) This time it's a freelance job for a video of Kate Humble talking about her new book, "Watching Waterbirds".
22 August, 2011
Check it: I've been featured on today's Guardian Science Weekly podcast with Alok Jha, talking about counterfeit anti-malarial drugs and playing some of the research I recorded in South East Asia.
01 August, 2011
Hello from Mae Sot, on the Thailand-Burma border. I'm here recording for a radio documentary about drug resistant malaria. It's been non-stop raining for the past few days, but I've gotten some great material. Special thanks to the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit and the on the web for all to see! Watch it, comment on it, share it!
01 May, 2011
The Twiga Stars DVDs were a sell-out hit in Tanzania. We're now looking to put it up on the internet for all the world to see! Keep an eye out for more updates on that. As for me, I'm camped out at the Imperial College LibraryÉ studying for the dreaded exams.
15 April, 2011
We've agreed to a distribution deal with Pili Pili Entertainment to release the DVD of Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters (Swahili title "Twiga Stars: Dada wa Mpira) in Tanzania. Each Twiga Stars will also receive 50 DVD's of the film, and each women's club team will receive 200 copies to sell or give away at their discretionÉ with the goal of raising funds and support for women's football!
02 April, 2011
While I've been busy studying for my Master's in Science Media Production at Imperial College London, Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters has been touring the world! Next stop (and I'm finally going to get to travel to this one) is the Vail Film Festival, where Twiga Stars will be screening on Friday, April 1 at 7:45pm and Saturday, April 2 at 10:00 am. If you're in Vail, hope to see you there! If not, check out the screenings page to find out when and where you can see the doc!
01 Dec, 2010
Great news! Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters will be premiering at the Africa International Film Festival on December 4É can't wait! Check it out on my Twiga Stars blog.
09 June, 2010
Time flies! It's already June!! I'm wrapping up post-production on Twiga Stars. And I'm submitting it to film festivals, then finally taking a breather from endless editing. It's time for some travel and fun-- I'm off to the World Cup in a couple of weeks. Follow my vlog Filming the Fever, where I document the football fever epidemic of 2010.
In other super exciting news, the Twiga Stars have been invited to come train and tour in the USA! I'll be traveling with them in August and documenting the whole thing at www.twigastars.com. Interested in coming to see them? Get in touch by emailing me at nisha.ligon(at)gmail.com, and I'll keep you up to date as plans are finalized!
23 April, 2010
Mpira is now "Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters." Visit the new website at www.twigastars.com to watch the trailer and video clips, keep up with the blog, and preview some of the soundtrack.
05 April, 2010
I've emerged from my reclusive editing spree and am in DC for the weekend, getting comments on the rough cut for "Twiga Stars???" (I'm not sure if that's my title yet, but it's what I'm leaning towards.) Also trying to work on Twiga Stars dot com... so check back soon for updates on that.
It's certainly nice to get out on in the sun and hang out with other humans!!
31 January, 2010
On the way back from Sundance. Saw tons of amazing films, attended a bunch of interesting and helpful workshops and panels, and even got in some skiing. Basically just had an awesome time. Highlights were: Waiting for Superman, Boy, A Small Act, It's a Wonderful Afterlife and To Catch A Dollar.
21 January, 2009
I'm headed to Sundance! That's right. After not leaving the house for about 10 days of non-stop editing on Mpira, I'm headed out to Park City for 10 days of non-stop watching other people's films! I'm especially excited about Space Tourists, The Oath, and CANE TOADS: THE RETURN!!!!
20 December, 2009
The website is back! After being kicked of the Yale Art server and floundering in cyberspace nowhere for a few months, my personal website is back up, now at www.majanimedia.com. It is still VERY GLITCHY as I sort things out with the new server and redirect old links, but I promise to have it as good as new soon. Also, I lost of the updates I've done since March, so it'll take a little while getting everything back up to date. For now please check out www.nishaligon.com/mpira
26 March, 2009
I really need to start updating more... so much to tell! So I just accepted an offer from Imperial College London to do a one-year MSc in Science Media Production. Thrilled to finally take a real stab at combining my two passions-- science and film. But hold up, that doesn't start until October, and there is so much exciting stuff on my plate between now and then!
First off, I've finally decided that I need to call it a wrap on filming for "RISK" and really hunker down in the editing room. I've already got a very rough cut, but it's completely disjointed and lacks any real narrative. This film's a tricky one! I've started adding music and lots of archive footage, so at least it's looking and flowing like a real film, rather than an interminable series of academic talking heads **yawn**. But it's due in a month and still got a LONG way to go.
As I head into serious post-production on that, I'm also deep into pre-production on my next project, a more verite-style documentary that will follow a couple of girls from the Mchangani Sisters soccer team as they compete to defend their title as champions of the Tanzania Women's National Soccer League and to earn call-ups for the Tanzanian national team, the Twiga Stars. I've got about 8 hours of footage that I'm cutting into a trailer, and then it's time to do some serious fundraising. Production will ramp up in June and July during the national tournament, then I'm going to have to lock myself away for two months to try and get some serious editing done before heading to London in October. Then it'll be back to the life I live now... student by day, caffeine charged film editor by night. Woohoo! Honestly though, if you know any talented documentary editors in London in search of a project, please let me know!
As far as fiction films, last summer's screenplay, "What Happened in Moscow," is off in various reading rooms, as it competes for glory on this summer's festival circuit. It's still hard to imagine it ever getting made, but I can hope for miracles! My current screenplay (about kids getting up to no good in VA horse country) is stuck at a halt as I cannot seem to write an ending. It's probably going to take a quiet weekend in the woods on the week before it's due... but I really just can't think about it right now. My creative juices are drained.
Speaking of writing, on the science front, things are actually coming along nicely, and I've finally gotten a chunk of my manuscript written. I've made myself stop fiddling around with inconclusive PCR's and random new analyses, and start trying to put into words what it all means. There's still a long way to go, but at least progress is being made. Anyways, I should probably get back to all of this work that I'm talking about, rather than blogging about it...
26 February, 2009
Lots of news! I'm in way over my head right now with just about everything. My senior documentary film about risk perception is well into post-production now, but of course, being me, I still have a page-long list of more things I want to shoot. I'm also in pre-production for a feature-length doc I'd like to shoot after graduation about a women's soccer team in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I'm headed over there in a week to sort everything out and film a trailer-- so more news to come on that soon!
Also, I've started uploading films to vimeo, so check out them out here. Make sure to watch the footage that Logan shot with my helmet cam while ice climbing! The POV shots will be a recurring theme in my risk film... so let me know if you're doing anything sweet soon and want to try filming it with the helmet cam!
6 December, 2008
I'm off and outta here! That's right... since I don't have any finals this semester, I'm leaving New Haven today for a whirlwind month and a half xmas break full of filming and (hopefully) snow. First I'm headed up to Boston for the annual meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis. I'll have half of the people I need to talk to for my film in the same place at the same time.
In other exciting news, I just acquired a helmet cam, so I'll be able to film POV shots of skiing, biking, horseback riding... you name it! I'm really excited to use it to illustrate concept of decision-making, and have been wearing it around the apartment attached to my headlamp.
So to everyone in New Haven, goodbye for now and Happy Holidays! I'll see you in the New Year!
19 October, 2008
My documentary film idea has finally come together and I've decided to make a film about RISK and how we perceive it. Might sound boring now, but I assure you that once you get into it, risk is a fascinating topic. I want to look at everything from the risk you take when driving your car, to the management (or mismanagement) of risk on the stock market, to potential global and even existential risks (such as the technological singularity). I'm heading out to the Singularity Summit next weekend, where I'm sure I'll be introduced to more interesting and though-provoking topics related to risk... and get to meet some of the world's leading experts on the Singularity! If you're interested in hearing more or have any good ideas for my film, please email me: nisha13(at)me(dot)com
13 October, 2008
Twenty-three is old. I am twenty-three today. I am old. Scary stuff.
25 September, 2008
School is back underway, and you know what that means: busy, busy, busy! If you're at Yale I'd encourage you to tune into campus cable channel 24 and watch the new and improved YTV. If you're not... be patient while we revamp our website! I'm trying also trying to plan my senior documentary and am fishing for ideas. Suggestions? Email me!
Oh, and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Rodrigo Possebon!
14 August, 2008
Askldjsvfkjhs!!!!!!!! The last tadpole that I've been waiting on metamorphosed today, which means that after over five months I'm taking down my experiment, and I can go home! Watch out RVA.
13 August, 2008
Happy 21st, Lindsay Barbee!
11 August, 2008
My first DNA extraction was successful! Woohoo... the fact that I'm actually blogging about this shows just how uninteresting my life is right now. The olympics have definitely been entertaining tho...
8 August, 2008
I finally watched In Bruges and it was AWESOME! Five stars. Not at all what the trailers suggested but highly, highly recommended.
I'm very pleased to announce that Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters has won the Audience Choice Award at the Africa World Documentary Film Festival! Big thanks to everyone who watched the film and voted!
8 September, 2011
Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters will soon be available in German! It's our third version now. Interested in translating it to another language? Give me a shout at nisha(dot)ligon(at)gmail(dot)com.
6 September, 2011
APOLOGIES for broken links on this website. I've finally gotten kicked off the Yale server where I was hosting many of my videos. I'm in the process of bringing them over to YouTube and embedding them, but please be patient... I'm also trying to finish my master's thesis!
31 August, 2011
The Guardian again ;-) This time it's a freelance job for a video of Kate Humble talking about her new book, "Watching Waterbirds".
22 August, 2011
Check it: I've been featured on today's Guardian Science Weekly podcast with Alok Jha, talking about counterfeit anti-malarial drugs and playing some of the research I recorded in South East Asia.
01 August, 2011
Hello from Mae Sot, on the Thailand-Burma border. I'm here recording for a radio documentary about drug resistant malaria. It's been non-stop raining for the past few days, but I've gotten some great material. Special thanks to the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit and the on the web for all to see! Watch it, comment on it, share it!
01 May, 2011
The Twiga Stars DVDs were a sell-out hit in Tanzania. We're now looking to put it up on the internet for all the world to see! Keep an eye out for more updates on that. As for me, I'm camped out at the Imperial College LibraryÉ studying for the dreaded exams.
15 April, 2011
We've agreed to a distribution deal with Pili Pili Entertainment to release the DVD of Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters (Swahili title "Twiga Stars: Dada wa Mpira) in Tanzania. Each Twiga Stars will also receive 50 DVD's of the film, and each women's club team will receive 200 copies to sell or give away at their discretionÉ with the goal of raising funds and support for women's football!
02 April, 2011
While I've been busy studying for my Master's in Science Media Production at Imperial College London, Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters has been touring the world! Next stop (and I'm finally going to get to travel to this one) is the Vail Film Festival, where Twiga Stars will be screening on Friday, April 1 at 7:45pm and Saturday, April 2 at 10:00 am. If you're in Vail, hope to see you there! If not, check out the screenings page to find out when and where you can see the doc!
01 Dec, 2010
Great news! Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters will be premiering at the Africa International Film Festival on December 4É can't wait! Check it out on my Twiga Stars blog.
09 June, 2010
Time flies! It's already June!! I'm wrapping up post-production on Twiga Stars. And I'm submitting it to film festivals, then finally taking a breather from endless editing. It's time for some travel and fun-- I'm off to the World Cup in a couple of weeks. Follow my vlog Filming the Fever, where I document the football fever epidemic of 2010.
In other super exciting news, the Twiga Stars have been invited to come train and tour in the USA! I'll be traveling with them in August and documenting the whole thing at www.twigastars.com. Interested in coming to see them? Get in touch by emailing me at nisha.ligon(at)gmail.com, and I'll keep you up to date as plans are finalized!
23 April, 2010
Mpira is now "Twiga Stars: Tanzania's Soccer Sisters." Visit the new website at www.twigastars.com to watch the trailer and video clips, keep up with the blog, and preview some of the soundtrack.
05 April, 2010
I've emerged from my reclusive editing spree and am in DC for the weekend, getting comments on the rough cut for "Twiga Stars???" (I'm not sure if that's my title yet, but it's what I'm leaning towards.) Also trying to work on Twiga Stars dot com... so check back soon for updates on that.
It's certainly nice to get out on in the sun and hang out with other humans!!
31 January, 2010
On the way back from Sundance. Saw tons of amazing films, attended a bunch of interesting and helpful workshops and panels, and even got in some skiing. Basically just had an awesome time. Highlights were: Waiting for Superman, Boy, A Small Act, It's a Wonderful Afterlife and To Catch A Dollar.
21 January, 2009
I'm headed to Sundance! That's right. After not leaving the house for about 10 days of non-stop editing on Mpira, I'm headed out to Park City for 10 days of non-stop watching other people's films! I'm especially excited about Space Tourists, The Oath, and CANE TOADS: THE RETURN!!!!
20 December, 2009
The website is back! After being kicked of the Yale Art server and floundering in cyberspace nowhere for a few months, my personal website is back up, now at www.majanimedia.com. It is still VERY GLITCHY as I sort things out with the new server and redirect old links, but I promise to have it as good as new soon. Also, I lost of the updates I've done since March, so it'll take a little while getting everything back up to date. For now please check out www.nishaligon.com/mpira
26 March, 2009
I really need to start updating more... so much to tell! So I just accepted an offer from Imperial College London to do a one-year MSc in Science Media Production. Thrilled to finally take a real stab at combining my two passions-- science and film. But hold up, that doesn't start until October, and there is so much exciting stuff on my plate between now and then!
First off, I've finally decided that I need to call it a wrap on filming for "RISK" and really hunker down in the editing room. I've already got a very rough cut, but it's completely disjointed and lacks any real narrative. This film's a tricky one! I've started adding music and lots of archive footage, so at least it's looking and flowing like a real film, rather than an interminable series of academic talking heads **yawn**. But it's due in a month and still got a LONG way to go.
As I head into serious post-production on that, I'm also deep into pre-production on my next project, a more verite-style documentary that will follow a couple of girls from the Mchangani Sisters soccer team as they compete to defend their title as champions of the Tanzania Women's National Soccer League and to earn call-ups for the Tanzanian national team, the Twiga Stars. I've got about 8 hours of footage that I'm cutting into a trailer, and then it's time to do some serious fundraising. Production will ramp up in June and July during the national tournament, then I'm going to have to lock myself away for two months to try and get some serious editing done before heading to London in October. Then it'll be back to the life I live now... student by day, caffeine charged film editor by night. Woohoo! Honestly though, if you know any talented documentary editors in London in search of a project, please let me know!
As far as fiction films, last summer's screenplay, "What Happened in Moscow," is off in various reading rooms, as it competes for glory on this summer's festival circuit. It's still hard to imagine it ever getting made, but I can hope for miracles! My current screenplay (about kids getting up to no good in VA horse country) is stuck at a halt as I cannot seem to write an ending. It's probably going to take a quiet weekend in the woods on the week before it's due... but I really just can't think about it right now. My creative juices are drained.
Speaking of writing, on the science front, things are actually coming along nicely, and I've finally gotten a chunk of my manuscript written. I've made myself stop fiddling around with inconclusive PCR's and random new analyses, and start trying to put into words what it all means. There's still a long way to go, but at least progress is being made. Anyways, I should probably get back to all of this work that I'm talking about, rather than blogging about it...
26 February, 2009
Lots of news! I'm in way over my head right now with just about everything. My senior documentary film about risk perception is well into post-production now, but of course, being me, I still have a page-long list of more things I want to shoot. I'm also in pre-production for a feature-length doc I'd like to shoot after graduation about a women's soccer team in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I'm headed over there in a week to sort everything out and film a trailer-- so more news to come on that soon!
Also, I've started uploading films to vimeo, so check out them out here. Make sure to watch the footage that Logan shot with my helmet cam while ice climbing! The POV shots will be a recurring theme in my risk film... so let me know if you're doing anything sweet soon and want to try filming it with the helmet cam!
6 December, 2008
I'm off and outta here! That's right... since I don't have any finals this semester, I'm leaving New Haven today for a whirlwind month and a half xmas break full of filming and (hopefully) snow. First I'm headed up to Boston for the annual meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis. I'll have half of the people I need to talk to for my film in the same place at the same time.
In other exciting news, I just acquired a helmet cam, so I'll be able to film POV shots of skiing, biking, horseback riding... you name it! I'm really excited to use it to illustrate concept of decision-making, and have been wearing it around the apartment attached to my headlamp.
So to everyone in New Haven, goodbye for now and Happy Holidays! I'll see you in the New Year!
19 October, 2008
My documentary film idea has finally come together and I've decided to make a film about RISK and how we perceive it. Might sound boring now, but I assure you that once you get into it, risk is a fascinating topic. I want to look at everything from the risk you take when driving your car, to the management (or mismanagement) of risk on the stock market, to potential global and even existential risks (such as the technological singularity). I'm heading out to the Singularity Summit next weekend, where I'm sure I'll be introduced to more interesting and though-provoking topics related to risk... and get to meet some of the world's leading experts on the Singularity! If you're interested in hearing more or have any good ideas for my film, please email me: nisha13(at)me(dot)com
13 October, 2008
Twenty-three is old. I am twenty-three today. I am old. Scary stuff.
25 September, 2008
School is back underway, and you know what that means: busy, busy, busy! If you're at Yale I'd encourage you to tune into campus cable channel 24 and watch the new and improved YTV. If you're not... be patient while we revamp our website! I'm trying also trying to plan my senior documentary and am fishing for ideas. Suggestions? Email me!
Oh, and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Rodrigo Possebon!
14 August, 2008
Askldjsvfkjhs!!!!!!!! The last tadpole that I've been waiting on metamorphosed today, which means that after over five months I'm taking down my experiment, and I can go home! Watch out RVA.
13 August, 2008
Happy 21st, Lindsay Barbee!
11 August, 2008
My first DNA extraction was successful! Woohoo... the fact that I'm actually blogging about this shows just how uninteresting my life is right now. The olympics have definitely been entertaining tho...
8 August, 2008
I finally watched In Bruges and it was AWESOME! Five stars. Not at all what the trailers suggested but highly, highly recommended.
short documentary
radio package
link
web video for the guardian
creative writing
senior thesis research
guardian science weekly podcast
documentary
family video
organization and website
documentary
policy paper
short film
about me
research paper
about me
blog and vlog
tv special
short film
about me
Watching (in the spare time I don't have): The Health Show,
Surprising Europe and
and The Killing (Danish version).
Reading: Africa United, Brisingr, Lots of Radio theory books for my thesis!
Itching to go to: DR Congo, New Zealand, Botswana, Iceland, Patagonia... and everywhere else
Spending my time: Getting my master's degree in Science Media Production and doing various freelance media projects
Waiting impatiently for: The Red Scarlet to come out, the London 2012 Olympics, and world peace.
Reading: Africa United, Brisingr, Lots of Radio theory books for my thesis!
Itching to go to: DR Congo, New Zealand, Botswana, Iceland, Patagonia... and everywhere else
Spending my time: Getting my master's degree in Science Media Production and doing various freelance media projects
Waiting impatiently for: The Red Scarlet to come out, the London 2012 Olympics, and world peace.
photoelicitation video
web design project
photo album
research paper
about me
Some stuff about me goes here!
Some stuff about me goes here!
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Some stuff about me goes here!
Some stuff about me goes here!
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photo album
web design project
