Jane I. Wells is a British-American writer, producer and activist. She is the founder and Executive Director of 3 Generations, a 501C3 not-for-profit organization. which shares the stories of survivors of genocide and crimes against humanity through documentary film, oral history, witness testimony and creative writing.
Background
editWells was born in England, the daughter of Sidney Bernstein, a movie producer who was with Allied Forces at the end of World War II during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. A member of divisions instructed to film the Allied Forces' advance through Germany, Bernstein later made the film Memory of the Camps using footage primarily from Bergen-Belsen, which was liberated by British forces.[1] Some of his footage is now part of the permanent exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.[2]
After moving from the UK to the United States in 1984 she worked for Granada Television, First Run Features and Circulo de Lectores. She is married to Jonathan Wells, an editor and poet. They have four children.
Career
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In 2005 Wells became in involved with the award-winning The Devil Came on Horseback[3] a feature-length documentary about the genocide in Darfur.[4] Ultimately she became a producer of the film, traveling to Darfur with her son to bear witness to the state of affairs there.
In 2007 Wells founded 3 Generations, a non-profit dedicated to sharing the stories of survivors of genocide and crimes against humanity through documentary film, oral history, witness testimony and creative writing. Wells believes the responsibility for archiving genocide and trying to stop genocide must pass from generation to generation just as genocide has, per force, been passed down.[5] Since its inception 3 Generations has become actively involved in telling the stories of survivors from Armenia/Turkey, Australia, Bosnia, Burma, Cambodia, Darfur, DRC, East Timor, Germany/Europe, Guatemala, Kurdistan/Iraq, Namibia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, United States/Canada and Zimbabwe. In addition 3 Generations believes cultural regeneration is a crucial part of the recovery process after genocide and thus helps support the revival of decimated cultures by highlighting artists and activists whose work engages these cultures and conflicts.
Wells' articles on genocide and human rights have appeared in British Vogue[6], Diversion[7] and Weston[8]. She is a regular guest blogger on the Huffington Post[9] and the HUB[10].
References
edit- ^ IMDB entry for Memory of the Camps
- ^ Jerry Fowler. “Voices on Genocide Prevention.” September 13, 2007. Podcast. “Like Father, Like Daughter.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- ^ IMDB entry for The Devil Came on Horseback
- ^ Steidle, Brian and Wells, Jane. Kathleen Dunn. Kathleen Dunn. Wisconsin Public Radio. October 18, 2007.
- ^ Bruce Northam. "Helping Rwanda." June 10, 2008. Forbes Best Traveler.
- ^ “Eye Witness.” Vogue (British). October 2005: 141-142.
- ^ “A Doctor’s Life: Dedication in Darfur.” Diversion. August 2006: 24-26.
- ^ “Three Generations: Is Bearing Witness Genetic?” Weston. Summer 2008: 153 – 157.
- ^ Jane Wells on the Huffington Post
- ^ Jane Wells on the HUB
External links
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