Lola Kenya Children's Screen Productions Nominated for Africa Movie Academy Awards 2009

Lola Kenya Children's Screen Productions Nominated for Africa Movie Academy Awards 2009

Films made by children aged 6-15 years during Lola Kenya Screen film production workshops have been nominated for the all-Africa Movie Academy Awards set for Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, on April 4, 2009.

Nominated for Best Animation are LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS DANGEROUS by Adede Hawi, Samora Michelle and Karama Ogova (2007); MANANI OGRES by Joseph Hongo, Marcus Joseph, Norrick Joseph and Samuel Musembi(2007); and CHEPRONO (2008).

Whereas LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS DANGEROUS and MANANI OGRES were made under the guidance of Finnish tutor Maiki Kantola with the support of the Danish Film Institute, the latter was made under the facilitation of Egyptian Dr Eid Abdel Latif with the support of Africalia of Belgium.

Also nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject) is SANTOS THE SURVIVOR, a film on how an orphaned child survives in Nairobi made by Rupinder Jagdev in 2008 during a Lola Kenya Screen film production workshop—Children and Docs—facilitated by Dutch documentary filmmaker Duco Tellegen with the support of the Jan Vrijman Fund/IDFA of The Netherlands.

Lola Kenya Screen founder and director Ogova Ondego, who is attending the 21st Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), was elated with the nomination that was announced on March 3, 2009 by AMAA CEO Peace Anyiam Fiberesima.

''This nomination affirms that Lola Kenya Screen is on the right track. Though our films are made by children over a four-day period on zero-budget, yet they are able to successfully stand alongside those made by adult professionals. This nomination has emboldened us and given us more confidence to trudge on deeper into the jungle that is African filmmaking,'' Ondego, who produces Lola Kenya Screen productions, said in a statement.

''I thank our partners spread across the world for the support they accord us. We shall forever be grateful to ComMattersKenya of Kenya, Goethe-Institut in Kenya, The Danish Film Institute of Denmark, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and Jan Vrijman Fund of Holland and Africalia of Belgium.''

Lola Kenya Screen films have been shown on all continents and won awards along the way.

More information about the Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media initiative for children and youth in eastern Africa is available by phone 78547017 (during FESPACO period, March 4-12, 2009) and also at www.lolakenyascreen.org and www.artmatters.info

New Fiction Gives Hope to the Homeless and the Internally Displaced

By ComMattersKenya Press

A book that seeks to give hope to the internally displaced people has been published.

Though the book, titled From Terror to Hope and targeting children (10-18) and youth (19-24) reads like a re-enactment of the post-December 2007 election violence in Kenya, writer Ogova Ondego insists it is a work of fiction and that "any resemblance to persons, events or localities is coincidental." This story is not only entirely a work of fiction, he says, but "the names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of my own imagination or used fictitiously."

But many are unlikely to buy this disclaimer or poetic license as the setting of the book bears uncanny resemblance to the the cataclysmical events that rocked Kenya between December 2007 and March 2008 after a disputed presidential election in the country pitted president Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity against those of prime minister Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.

Indeed the introduction to this ComMattersKenya-published book, penned by G Wamaitha Kinyanjui, a leading children's rights lawyer in Nairobi, appears to place From Terror to Hope in the Kenyan context when she writes: "...a book I feel has come at the right time when our country is recovering from the effects of the post-December 2007 election violence experienced between January and March 2008, when many men, women and children were killed, maimed or displaced due to their ethnicity."

Kinyangui goes on to describe From Terror to Hope as "a beacon of hope in the midst of despair."

Revolving around the life of a 12-year-old boy and what xenophobia puts him through, writer Ondego, who specialises in issues related to children, youth, creativity, media and culture and whose 2005 children's book, Braggart's Day, did quite well on the market, writes, "When I looked behind, what had been my home was engulfed in flames and a continuous chorus of gunfire, anguished cries and moans, and the smell of cow dung, millet, sorghum and grass-thatched huts blended together in a sad potpourri of sorrow, shattered dreams and a bleak future. What had I done to God, at 12, to deserve this fate?"

Ondego says "From Terror to Hope is likely to move any one,including journalists who are never known to show emotion openly, to pull out their handkerchiefs and wipe away a tear or two as they 'listen' to the protagonist. Perhaps wondering why some people suffer so much misery."

The soft cover book retails at Sh250 (about US$4, excluding shipping). It is currently available directly from ComMattersKenya Ltd.

Braggart's Day, that targets upper primary school pupils and received rave reviews in the media, is the story of Fadhili, another 12-year-old boy who trdges deeper into a dark forest in spite of the dangers lurking behind the sky-clutching trees, octopus-like creepers and man-eating plants in order to secure a cure for his ailing younger sister.

The foreword to Braggart's Day is written by Silverse Anami, the director of culture in the ministry of national heritage and culture: "This humorous and expressive story," Anami writes, "helps to strengthen the threatened intangible African cultural heritage. Students of social sciences, environmental studies and philosophy will find it useful."

While Sunday Nation described Braggart's Day as "an enthralling children's story relying heavily on traditional idiom", Standard said, Braggart's Day "is a fast-paced story whose riveting drama and universal themes capture the imagination of children and adults alike."

An ArtMatters.Info (http://www.artmatters.info/) article.

Call for Participants in Lola Kenya Screen 2009 Skill-Development Programmes

Lola Kenya Screen, the annual audio-visual media platform for children and youth in eastern Africa, is calling upon interested children and youth who are knowledgeable, opinionated and interested in film, journalism, creativity and cultural events to apply for participation in its four skill-development programmes during the 4th Lola Kenya Screen to be held in Nairobi between August 10 and 15, 2009.

Selected candidates will serve as members of:

• Film Selection Committee

• Film Jury• Film Press

• Programme Planning and Presentation (MCs) team

• Production Workshop

Ideal applicants must be:

• Aged between 6 and 16 years old (9-18 years for production workshop)

• Knowledgeable about film• Interested in audio-visual media works

• Able to understand, speak and write in English

• Able to think, type and submit between 500 and 1200-word articles on the activities at the festival daily (for film press)

• Able to work under strict deadlines

• Supported by their parents/guardians

Interested children and youth must write an application letter including the following:

• Intention• Expectations

• School

• Age

• Email address

• Telephone, preferably cell/mobile, contact

• Physical address

• Letter of permission from parent/guardian

Successful applicants will be guided through the skills of appreciating and judging films, reporting on events, and planning and presenting of creative and cultural events, and in the making of film before and during the festival.

Stories filed by members of the festival Press will be published daily during the six days of festivities on the lolakenyascreen.org and lolakenyascreen.or.ke websites and on the internationally-acclaimed pan-African creative and cultural portal, ArtMatters.Info.

Applications are sent to:

The Director

Lola Kenya Screen

Philadelphia House, 4th Floor

Tom Mboya Street/Hakati Road junction

P O Box 20775-00100 GPO

Nairobi, Kenya (EA)

Tel 254 20 315258/ 2213318 (o)

Cell 254 733 703374 and 254 722 486531

Email: director@lolakenyascreen.org.

Parents and guardians are requested to assist their children in applying for this opportunity that seeks to nurture their creative talent and potential and gives them international exposure. As in the previous three editions, offers are on 'fist-come-first-served' basis. However, preference is given to previous participants in Lola Kenya Screen programmes.

The deadline for application is April 15, 2009 at 5.00 PM EAT (14.00 hours GMT/UTC).

More about Lola Kenya Screen

Lola Kenya Screen, a movement established in October 2005 to explore, identify and nurture creative talent among children and youth in areas such as journalism, filmmaking, arts appraisal and appreciation, and organisation and presentation of cultural and creative events, has since 2006 helped add 31 child filmmakers, 14 journalists, 13 film judges, 7 MCs, 15 producers of television drama for children and youth and 6 producers of documentary films for children and youth to eastern Africa’s creative and cultural spectrum. It has also enabled children and youth to create 20 short animation films and six short documentaries that are being showcased around the world and collecting awards and accolades along the way.

Lola Kenya Screen has showed more than 1200 best possible international films for children, youth and family from 71 nations representing all the continents in various genres, formats and lengths between August 2006 and August 2008.

Now a recognised and respected international brand on issues related to children, youth, media and culture, the Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media initiative has been presented as a case study in countries such as Belgium, Holland, Germany, South Africa, Senegal, Finland, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, among others.

In 2008 Lola Kenya Screen attracted participation from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, with all participants coming in to watch the wide variety of films from 56 nations and to be equipped with skills for making films, appreciating and judging audiovisual media production, presenting programmes and filing daily reports on the festival.

Presented by ComMattersKenya in conjunction with Goethe-Institut in Kenya, the partners of Lola Kenya Screen in 2008 included Africalia of Belgium, the Jan Vrijman/IDFA of Holland and Kenya-based ArtMatters.Info.

A Lola Kenya Screen (http://www.lolakenyascreen.org/) Article

Tanzania Launches Swahili Fashion Week

Tanzania marks the launch of its first ever Swahili fashion week in November 2008 on the theme, Discover what makes Africa Beautiful.

Starting this year as a two day event, the Swahili Fashion Week will be spread over November 5th & 6th at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam. Established and up and coming designers will showcase their ensembles on the first and second days, respectively.

This inaugural event will see the Face of Africa Models 2008 strut the ramp ride in Dar es Salaam on November 5, 2008.

The Swahili fashion week is the brainchild of fashion designer Mustafa Hassanali.

“As one of the premier designers in the country it has always been my vision not only to further my creations in Tanzanian Fashion but also to promote the industry on the whole. Tanzania has so many established and budding talented designers that the Swahili Fashion week was a much needed platform to enhance African fashion eventually placing it on the global map,” Hassanali says.

Prashant Powar, director of Roundtrip Tanzania Event that sponsors the event, says, “The Swahili Fashion Week is symbolic of Tanzania’s rich cultural heritage coupled with innovative style. It is not only a verdant platform for established designers but a promising stage for aspiring designers who need the right opportunity to tap their audience. Swahili Fashion Week is not only about creating a world class event but carving a niche for the fashion industry on the whole. At Roundtrip Events we believe in magnifying brand experiences- the Swahili Fashion Week is sure to do that and unveil what makes Africa beautiful!”

Hassanali and Roundtrip Events Tanzania are working together to make the Swahili Fashion Week a globally celebrated event scaling greater heights with aview to affiliating it to other international fashion weeks.

It is expected that South African Jan Malan, as official show director, will add value to the profile ofthe Swahili Fashion Week.

An ArtMatters.Info (www.artmatters.info) Article

South Africa Hosts International Copyright Conference Ahead of the 2010 World Cup

South Africa will on October 16-17, 2008 host legal experts from around the world when the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) holds its legal committee meeting in Cape Town.
Hosted by the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), the conference will see top legal minds discuss global issues and developments concerning the protection of creators' rights & the omni-present topic of Copyright.
CISAC is the international governing body for collection societies suchas SAMRO, representing 222 authors' societies from 118 countries andindirectly representing more than 2.5 million creators across variousartistic disciplines. Its legal committee, composed of lawyers working for member societiesacross the globe, provides legal information, assistance and advice to CISAC members and statutory bodies through their relevant collectingsociety.
Some 35 international delegates from CISAC member societies are expected in Cape Town for the meeting in Cape Town.
Yavi Madurai, the SAMRO general manager in charge of marketing, says her organisation wants these delegates to appreciate the value of South African music and culture by ensuring that all entertainment for the welcome cocktail function and gala dinner are all proudly South African by acclaimed Cape Town-based South African artists.
Joel Baloyi, the SAMRO's general manager in charge of legal and governance services, will be among the keynote speakers. He will address the matter of legal challenges to the administration of copyright in South Africa and all proceedings will be translated into English, French and Spanish.
"Each country has its own legislation and governance and when it comes to music administration, we all grapple with different challenges," says Madurai. "The committee members will be sharing their variousexperiences so that we can learn from each other in terms of successesand failures and try to find solutions to common global legal issues inrelation to collecting societies."
In a media release, Madurai says this international legal conference is another opportunity to put South Africa on the world map, particularly with the 2010 World Cup imminent.
"From a music point of view, 2010 is going to be huge for this country, and this is a chance to showcase what South Africa is all about and what we can deliver."

New Book Unearthes the Cultural History of Australian Film

Australian Post-War Documentary Film: An Arc of Mirrors
Author: Deane Williams
ISBN: 9781841502106 Hardback: 230x174mm
Price: £29.95/ $60
URL: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/ppbooks.php?isbn=9781841502106
The post-war period in Australian cultural history sparked critical debate over notionsof nation-building, multiculturalism and internationalization.
Australian Post-War Documentary Film tackles all these issues in a considered andwide-ranging analysis of government, institutional and also radicaldocumentaries. As a whole it is a thorough study of the international flows of film culture.
Williams illustrates these themes by critiquing the keyfilms of the era, including the seminal The Back of Beyond, often cited asthe greatest Australian film of all time.
Australian Post-War Documentary Film retells film history by reading these documentaries as part of a nexusof international, and particularly Australian filmic, written and dramatictexts, with close attention to textual analysis.
The book will appeal to anyone interested in international cinema, the way that it theorizes theperiod and offers a host of international comparisons, widening its ideasto the fabric of cultural production that surrounds all art works.
Topics include: The Intertextuality of Three in One, The Neo-Realism of Mike andStefani and the Realist Film Unit and Association in Australia.

Lola Kenya Screen at 1st Africa Broadcast, Film and Convergence Conference and Exhibition

The Lola Kenya screen audiovisual media initiative for children and youth in eastern Africa has been presented at the 1st African Broadcast, Film and Convergence Conference & Exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Lola Kenya Screen programme, that has in 2008 been presented in Belgium, Germany, and Tanzania, among other venues, was delivered on September 24 in a session that looked at case studies from Kenya, Morocco, South Africa and the United Kingdom to see what can be achieved with the right strategy. "Through the case studies," the conference programme said, the conference looks at what the role of Government funding can be and how limited resources might best be spent."

Addressing the conference, Lola Kenya Screen founder and director Ogova Ondego traced the journey of its founding in 2005 to the first three festivals and went on to share the vision of this platform beyond 2008.

The 3rd Lola Kenya Screen, that ran August 11-16, 2008, equipped 10 children with filmmaking skills, three with programme presentation skills, seven with cultural journalism skills, and six with analytical skills with which to critically appreciate creativity.

While five short animations were made by the children, six child-friendly documentaries were made by practising filmmakers during Lola Kenya Screen 2008.

More than 300 films from 56 nations were screened at the Kenya National Theatre, Alliance Francaise and in select video halls in the Kibera informal residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Presented by ComMattersKenya in conjunction with Goethe-Institut, Lola Kenya Screen 2008 was supported by Africalia of Belgium and the Jan Vrijman Fund/IDFA of Holland.

But perhaps the greatest honour to Lola Kenya Screen was in Little Knowledge is Dangerous, a production made by children in 2007 winning the grand prize at the Kids For Kids competition in Nairobi in August after winning a special jury prize at Jugend Medien Festival Berlin in Germany three months earlier. The films continue on the festival circuit around the world.

The 1st Broadcast & Film Africa Conference, on the theme ‘Broadcast & Film Convergence in the Digital Age’, ran at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi CBD September 23-25, 2008.

Among the organisations that participate in the conference and exhibition were African Broadcast Network, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Film Commission, Nation TV, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GTV, Ghana Telecom (IP-TV), Wide Net, African Telecoms, Media and Technology Fund, Hi-TV, Trend TV, Sonatel Multimedia (VoD TV), Big Ideas Entertainment, Mediae, Discop, Multichoice, Setanta Africa, MTV Networks Africa, Al Jazeera Network, Voice of America, A24 Media, Scopus Video Networks, MediaMerx, BT Media and Broadcast, Globecast, Kenya Data Networks, Broadcast Solutions Inernational, Adobe, Saracen Media, Steadman Group, Southern Africa Direct, Zanzibar International Film Festival, Africalia, UK Film Council, Altech UEC, Canis Media, Southern African Media Development Fund, Standard Group, Skyfire Group, Google, Rwanda TV, Broadcast TV and Film Training Centre, Nigeria Radio, Rancard Solutions, Mobile Planet, Television for the Environment, SuperSport Africa, Digital Development Communications, Earthly Creations, AdGroup, Kass FM, Film Corporation of Kenya, Metro TV, TV3, Joy FM, GT-One Touch, SABC, CTV Tanzania, African Films and Music, Gambia Radio and Television Services, and Multimedia Broadcasting.

A Lola Kenya Screen (http://www.lolakenyascreen.or.ke/) Article