Diario Films specializes in documentary production for international organizations, nonprofits, and mission-driven brands. From on-the-ground shoots in remote regions to aerial cinematography for global campaigns, we bring emotional clarity and cinematic craft to stories that matter.
Freetown at a Crossroads - The Urban Crisis
Freetown at a Crossroads takes you inside three of the city’s most vulnerable communities: Susan’s Bay, Kroo Bay, and Dwarzak - informal settlements on the margins that are constantly under threat from floods, fires, and a total lack of sanitation infrastructure. For the people living there, every rainstorm is a potential emergency.
The film traces the evolution of Tzu Chi’s approach in Freetown - from providing emergency disaster relief to launching a groundbreaking grant competition that empowered local residents to design and pitch their own solutions. It also highlights a new partnership with Freetown City Hall, showing how humanitarian work can shift from reactive aid to collaborative, future-focused planning.
This is a story about crisis but also about agency, imagination, and what’s possible when local voices lead.
Directed by Michael R Mazur
From the mountains of Guatemala to the streets of Freetown, Diario Films tells stories wherever they need to be told.
MICHAEL R MAZUR is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the founder of Diario Films, a studio dedicated to telling human stories with emotional depth and global perspective. His work spans more than 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, focusing on resilience, identity, and the people reshaping their communities from within.
In recent years, Michael has directed and produced a major documentary series in Sierra Leone, exploring local leadership and sustainable development in the aftermath of crisis.
He is currently directing and producing Hidden Heroes, an ongoing global series documenting the untold stories of local and Indigenous leaders confronting the world’s most urgent challenges. Recent episodes explore the plastics crisis from Busan to Geneva to Georgia (U.S.), blending cinematic storytelling with deeply human insight.
Alongside his documentary work, Michael directs branded storytelling for tech and social impact companies such as Notability, UpTerra, and Freque, crafting films that merge authenticity with purpose.
His career includes collaborations with the United Nations (UNHCR), the U.S. State Department, the NBA, National Geographic, and numerous nonprofits and creative agencies. As the first-ever Media Fellow for Kiva.org, he produced documentaries across Central America and Southeast Asia, bringing stories of micro-entrepreneurs to millions of viewers worldwide.
Proving the Future of Farming in the Land of Extremes.