Reclaim: Finding the heart of the circular economy

Producer bio:

Dave Messing holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in film, and a master’s degree in global health. Originally from the United States of America, Dave served over two years with the Peace Corps in El Salvador as an agroforestry volunteer. During his time there he led a film-based initiative to help create environmental awareness.

Over the past three years Dave has worked at GRID-Arendal, an environmental communications centre in Southern Norway, where he has played many roles including script writer, producer and project manager for various film projects focused on Africa and pollution and waste management challenges. He counts this as some of the most rewarding work of his career.

Dave currently lives on a car-free island off the southern coast of Norway, where he enjoys playing the ukulele and guitar, snowboarding, hiking, and spending time with his two daughters.

Co-producer/editor bio:

Nebiat Assefa is an Ethiopian journalist and documentary filmmaker. She spent eight years in multiple positions at the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, where she was named Producer of the Year in 2011. She later graduated from the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, specializing in Documentary filmmaking. Nebiat is a 2020 One World Media, Vital Voices Women in Leadership fellow, and a member of Graca Machel African Women in Media Network.

In 2021, Nebiat moved to Kigali, Rwanda to establish her own documentary consulting company, Documenting Africa Production Ltd, which sheds light on under reported African stories.

Director bio:

Olivia Rempel is a Canadian science communicator and documentary filmmaker with a keen interest in telling human stories around science, sustainability and environmental issues. She received her Master’s degree from the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism focused on documentary filmmaking. She now works at GRID-Arendal, an environmental communications centre in Southern Norway, where she wears many hats in the science communication and video production world.

Some of her career highlights have included filming a community water hyacinth harvest on the banks of Lake Tana in Ethiopia and later spending a month on a research vessel off the coast of East Greenland, filming the scientists studying the impacts of the melting icesheet.