Paula Ely

Paula produced two documentary films in Africa. "The Money Stone," directed by Stuart Harmon, tells the stories of two young men working in artisanal gold mining in Ghana. The film was released in 2019 won several festival awards and was distributed internationally and via various streaming platforms. "Vanishing Cultures: Bushmen of the Kalahari," focused attention on Botswana's San culture and the people's fight to remain on their land. The film was an official selection at nine national and international film festivals and recipient of a number of festival awards, including a feature in a "Movies That Matter" festival with the human rights organization WITNESS. The raw footage and Paula's photographs from the film's production have been preserved at the Smithsonian Institution's Human Studies Film Archive. She also served as a panelist for many years for the Roy W Dean Los Angeles Film Grant for emerging documentary filmmakers.