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The Inspiration behind
The Lost Sparrows of Roodepoort:
“Nothing is as important to me as producing a work that is true to Sparrow and showing those who have not visited, just what the human spirit is capable of when faced with something immensely dark and frightening” -David Ponce (1986-2006)
David Ponce was a twenty year old film student from Chapman University in Orange California. He wrote these words after traveling to Sparrow Village, an orphanage and hospice for AIDS afflicted children in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This young filmaker was driven to create a documentary to “give a voice” to the children and to the joy which he found at Sparrow Village. In turn, this experience gave David much more than he expected; a new understanding of the power of the human spirit and the courage to fight his own battle.
Two months after this life al
tering experience, David would be faced with something dark and frightening in his own life; a leukemia diagnosis. He succumbed to complications of this illness in September, 2006, but his dream and his bright spirit live on.
Continuing the project is Brock Carter, a close freind and fellow Chapman film student. With the generous support of Fevered Dreams Productions, he is dedicated to finishing the story David wanted to tell; the story of the children of Sparrow Village and the hope found even in the face of “something immensely dark and frightening”.