John Ankele

John Ankele started out as Program Director for the NYC Council of Churches, doing public affairs programs for WABC radio, WNBC-TV, and WCBS-TV. He then spent six years teaching at the Communications Center of the All-Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya. Back in the U.S., he developed curriculum videos for schools and institutions and promotional videos for nonprofit organizations. Lately, he has led workshops exploring “the common ground between contemplative practice and the experience of visual perception, from the point of view of both filmmaker and watcher.”

John and his co-producer, Anne Macksoud, supplied the following statement about their work:

We are two “old dogs” who are worried about  the state of our world and saddened by the suffering we see all around us. Since 1985, we have produced and  directed documentary films about the subtleties of individual human experience and the complexities of our collective challenges. Our work encourages thoughtful responses to the interconnectedness of all life. We hope it inspires viewers to become agents of change, determined to do what it takes to create a more just and peaceful world.

It is clear to us that our political leaders cannot solve the problems of our time. They themselves are too beholden to privileged, powerful constituencies to inspire us to think beyond our own self-interest. We believe that change, if it is to come at all, must start with ordinary people around the world who understand the relationships and responsibilities of a global community. We believe that ordinary people have the will, the resourcefulness, the compassion, and the decency to craft new solutions that serve the common good.

We offer our films as catalysts for this kind of awareness — as  tools for education and activism in the name of social  change. We are happy to answer questions, provide  additional resource materials, and suggest ways of using our films that will support your own efforts to nurture and protect this world that we share.