Imagine, Experience, Articulate

By Joyce Wanja August 16, 2008 marked the drawing of the curtains on the 3rd annual Lola Kenya Screen film festival which was set to run for six days from the 11th of August. Everyone was busy here and there from the organizers to the participants to ensure that everything was set for the long awaited closing ceremony. It was one joyous and yet a sad moment for the participants; a happy moment because their efforts were to be awarded and a sad moment because they had to say goodbye to their colleagues. For a short while, they gathered and engaged themselves in a conversation that explored their journey from the beginning of the film festival and the challenges they encountered together with the ups and down they had. It was with no doubt that the training throughout the festival had made them even better people. The closing ceremony was scheduled to start at 5pm but was delayed and it eventually kicked off at 6pm. Parents, friends and film stars started streaming into the hall. This wa...

By Ogova Ondego The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance the growth of copyright development in Africa. Under the memorandum, SAMRO will provide assistance that will enable MCSK to fully protect and enforce the rights under its administration in Kenya. Though signed on August 8, 2008, this MoU came into force on August 1, 2008. Under the terms of the agreement, SAMRO will provide the following services to MCSK: * Hardware and software installations and support * Competency training and exposure * Coaching for middle and senior management * Assistance with licensing negotiations While a consequence of a new strategic approach, the MOU signed by SAMRO with MCSK is not the first of SAMRO’s extensive involvement in the development of collecting societies in Africa. In Botswana SAMRO is involved together with the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers...

Review by Ogova Ondego Though cinema was introduced to Africa—as early as 1896 in Algeria and South Africa, 1897 in Morocco and Tunisia, and 1903 in Nigeria—almost at the same time that the Lumiere Brothers are said to have pioneered it in France and the first feature film was made in South Africa in 1910, no entity known as ‘African cinema’ exists on the mother continent, so begins the 420-page Dictionary of African Filmmakers written by Roy Armes. Published by Indiana University Press in 2008, this reference book covers African feature film-making, listing more than 5400 films by more than 1250 filmmakers in 37 countries. Saying he has used the nationality of the filmmaker to identify and group the films, Prof Armes adds, “Certain films regarded as nationally significant in Africa have not been made by Africans. Even after the founding of the Misr studios in Egypt (where the first feature to be produced, Weddad, was directed by the German Fritz Kramp), foreigners have continued to pl...

By Rushel Rangala Being extra-ordinary, unique and different is not a bad thing. However this depends in what way this is in. Yes! Mr. Ogova ondego is one such man. Born in western Kenya, Ondego is a man who has a different perspective of life. Ondego grew up in Nairobi where he attended school and now works. His educational background is a success straight from high school up to university where he obtained post-graduate qualifications in mass communications. He also has specialised training in film production, arts and cultural journalism and criticism, organisation and management of socio-cultural events, publishing and writing for children and youth. Ondego believes that children have the right to be heard. This, he says, is what partly made him found the Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media platform for children and youth n eastern Africa in October 2005. Lola Kenya Screen, that specialises in children, youth, media and culture, equips young people with practical skills in journali...

By Rushel Rangala The third Lola Kenya Screen annual film festival is finally here. The six day event is going to be staged at the Kenya National Theatre, Alliance Francaise and several video halls in Kibera. Lola Kenya is a non- profit making organisation that deals with children and young people who aspire to journalists and film makers. The first day was rather cold and chilly but this never prevented the enthusiasm to glow vividly from the participants faces who seemed excited and in high spirits for the beginning of the festival. Pauline Atieno was actively supervising and co-ordinating the area by and by nine o’clock the film hall was ready and set for commencing of the day’s programme. The participants were in three categories, the children’s jury, the children’s press and the children’s production workshop. As the participants and other guests slowly and cheerfully watched the films, the three categories of participants were called one by one starting with the production worksh...

By Craig Kimu Toni Mushorobozi is a journalist from Uganda. He studied Journalism and Film at University. He also does a lot of filming, acting and directing. This talented and energetic journalist was born in Kampala Uganda. He is also a good storyteller because of his interesting childhood. Toni has also done a lot of short films earlier of which most of them are being shown in Uganda but he is hoping that they might be shown in Zimbabwe during its Film Festival later this year, he said. He is looking forward in making some films for the young ones especially something new and interesting. About the writer Craig Kimu, 15, a member of the Lola Kenya Screen 2008 Festival Press, is a student at Prince Edward School in Harare, Zimbabwe

By Esther Nyauncho The day kicked off at 8:00am whereby we watched different films at alliance francaise.The films were mainly about people who were judged wrongly by others or they have problems of there own. for instance the story worm head where a girl named Nia was discriminated against against because she hard dreadlocks. she happened to join a school in a foreign country ,where most of the people don’t know about dreadlocks instead they nicknamed her worm head. Most of the girls made fun of her and even refused to walk with her apart from one who choose to stick with her because her parents advised her to. Later on the other friends got bored and decided to join nias group so they went and talked to her and they realized Nia was friendly. This explains to us why we should not discriminate against people before we get to know them. Do not judge a book by its cover. About the writer Esther Nyauncho, 16, is a member of the Lola Kenya Screen 2008 Festival Press. She attends Loreto Co...

By lolakenyascreen.or.ke Hoppet (Leaps and Bounds), a film by Peter Naess of Sweden has won the 3rd Lola Kenya Screen Golden Mboni Award in Nairobi, Kenya. Hoppet beat a strong field of 24 well crafted, award-winning international films that competed in seven categories, including that of Best Children's Film whose grand prize is the Mboni that is split in three: Golden, Silver and Bronze Mboni. Saying this 86-minute Hoppet feature film that revolves around two brothers who flee US-occupied Iraq had spoken to their heart, the official jury, comprising four children from Nairobi and Kiserian in Kenya and Harare in Zimbabwe, described Hoppet as being 'hopeful'. "Despite their many struggles, the two boys finally achieve their goals and get to their final destination where they are re-united with their parents." This was the first time in three years that a Western film had taken the Golden Mboni. Ukrainian and Israeli films had received it in 2006 and 2007, respecti...

By Rushel Rang’ala As days went by the third day of Lola Kenya Screen festival slowly made its way.Unlike the previous days this day was definitely successful in terms of attendance and audience satisfaction. Although the weather was cold and threaten to prevent the day’s activities from taking place.The turn out was high and what triggered this from happening can only be well explained by the audience themselves. On Monday and Tuesday the number of people who attended was twelve and twenty one respectively.On Wednesday it tripled Tuesday’s number which was impressive. By nine o’clock the auditorium was set to go as the films were screened one by one. Laughter and giggles inhabited the auditorium making it obvious that every one was having a great time. Young kids who got bored easily due to screen translation and the film taking a long time. saw it fit to play and jump in the room.Not only did they cause disturbance but also a lot of distraction.All in all they say kids will always be...

By Bethsheba Achitsa Its yet another bright morning, the sun high in the sky but the weather is not steady. One time its hot and the next moment its chilly making everyone freeze. Determined to know more about our hosts; Alliance Francaise and the Kenya National theatre we divide ourselves nto groups of two and there we are off to Alliance Francaise. Walking nto the building along University way in Nairobi, the building stands adjacent to other buildings like view park towers and Goethe-Institut, we find the young Beatrice Wabwile who is the acting receptionist. She tells us the building was set up during the colonial era in the late 1940s. established with the aim of teaching French to Kenyans it also offers a venue where people can interact and know more about the French culture. The learning institution has grown with over five thousand students being enrolled every year. Alongside teaching French, it also hostys exhibitions, plays and other cultural events; that’s why Lola Kenya fe...

By Joyce Wanja, For one to bring clearly the message they want to convey on arts a culture certain procedures that are followed. One must be composed and understand the content of what they are writing. It should be relevant and of importance in that there should be a reason as to why the piece of article is being written, one should understand human history and for it to come out clearly, the events are divided into aspects such as renaissance period, reformation, mannerism, revolution, enlightment,romantism,modernism and post modernism. The goal of the art should be well understood and also the element of form which are interplayed to contribute to the goals of the content. The elements of work in a piece of article include form and content which simply means creativity and subject matter of the work respectively. The technique or procedure used which is the style that entails combination of elements in a piece of work plays a big role. The piece of work should have the theme which i...

By Craig Kimu Today I woke up expecting nothing good and exciting not that I was in no mood of fun but some things are just unexpected. When I arrived at the Alliance francaise because I did not want to miss some interesting movies that were being screened. Talking of interesting movies I watched this Finnish movie called the Mystery of Wolves. This movie is about two young children who unexpectedly come across two young cubs. It happened that for these cubs to be lost there was an incident that had occurred earlier. Salla the twelve year old girl loves nature and enjoys the wilderness which is why she feels at home. This girl lives with adopted parents in a Finnish village where her father works as a soldier. Unexpectedly Salla’s biological mother Leila returns to the village after a ten year absence and that shocks and scares everyone. But it upsets Salla especially. Salla turns up with her best friend a boy who lives close to her house when they come across the two young cubs they i...

By Mary Gesare No dream falls into a person’s lap, there’s always a price to be paid in terms of time, discipline, effort and perseverance. That is what we learnt after having one on one with MEIKE STATEMA. MARY: Describe yourself or who exactly is Meike Statema.? MEIKE: I am a 32 year old lady living in Holland and working with IDFA International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, which is in collaboration with the Lola Kenya screen festival. MARY: Did you ever plan doing or being what you are now? MEIKE: Of course, I talked to Mr. Ogova about the workshop, we both had ideas and came up with a schedule for the workshop. I also came with some firms for kids to watch during the festival. MARY: What is your greatest lesson in life that you would like to share with us? MEIKE: Always be open and listen to others, never judge anyone and try to think positively. MARY: Who is your role model? MEIKE: My mother. MARY: Do you like reading books? If you do why? MEIKE: Yes, because they are a great i...

By Mary Gesare Sometimes in life we only look at what we don’t have and forget about the good things we have, but a time comes when we have to seize the moment and enjoy life to its maximum. Let us not live our life complaining about what we don’t have instead embraced what you have and never let go. This is a documentary about a teenager by the name Yu-Ming who uses a camera to record what his daily life is like. The story starts at school whereby they have to wake up early in the morning and there is someone to wake them up. They meet in the dinning hall and most of the time it’s the soccer team which is always there. They take breakfast and later go to the football pitch to play. Yu-Ming says that he likes football very much and that’s why he’s always practicing it, the only problem they have together with his friends is concentrating in books and at the sometime play football.Yu-Mings roommate and also a friend nicknamed fatty is always a joker, during music lessons he makes fun of...

The Best Is Forbidden By Esther Nyauncho On the fourth day, at Lola Kenya Screen, Toti a fourteen year old Maasai girl, tells of her struggles since she was young. As she explains you can see same anger in her eyes. When she was eleven years old, her mother told her that she would be married off. Her family badly needed the bride price cattle to survive. It was only five days to go after which she would be married off, she decided to run away with the help of her mother. This made her small sister to be married off instead of her. She is now happy with herself, because she is going to school and will be able to complete her studies and pursue he career. Many of the other girls want to follow her, some of them ask her for directions when in a similar situation. However some women fight with her because they she encourages their children to run away and she is destroying their culture, which has been their from the post. After she finishes school she wishes to help those who are behind h...

By Bethsheba Achitsa Young, energetic and smiling faces are what greet when you walk into the production workshop at the Lola Kenya Screen festival. Beaming with radiance are these young minds all set to become future filmmakers? The production workshop facilitated by Eid Abdel latif an award winning filmmaker and academic who also heads the animation department at El Mania university in Cairo, Egypt. At the end of the festival the children and the youths in the production workshop will produce a film comprising a story, poem and song. The children have a great time as they draw, model and learn to make a film. Children, ever dreamt of being a film maker? Then Lola Kenya festival would be the place for young the new thing that the participants have had to learn so far. This refers to the art of making models appear as real characters. You could simply do this. You need clay dough, wire to make the characters move, cameras and recorders, and there you are a filmmaker. Alongside, the ch...

By Mary Gesare Everyone likes being accepted and appreciated regardless of their color, nationality,ability or disability. Being rejected is one of the most unfair things that can ever happen to a person. Here is a story that tells you how painful it is to be rejected. The film starts in a train whereby a single woman by the name Molly McBride together with her son Peter are escaping from their country South Africa because it has been politically torn apart. In the train they meet the train attendant who is unfriendly to them and that’s not all, it’s just the beginning of what they are about to encounter being a mixed race in a foreign country. They settle in a small village in Botswana, peter is afraid that he’s never going to cop with life there as a foreigner but his mother promises him that everything is going to be fine. After settling in, Miss McBride decides to go and look for a job as a teacher so that she could be able to sustain herself and her son. Luckily, she is employed a...

By Rushel Rang’ala As days went by the third day of Lola Kenya festival slowly made its way.Unlike the previous days this day was definitely successful in terms of attendance and audience satisfaction. Although the weather was cold and threaten to prevent the day’s activities from taking place.The turn out was high and what triggered this from happening can only be well explained by the audience themselves.On Monday and Tuesday the number of people who attended was twelve and twenty one respectively.On Wednesday it tripled Tuesday’s number which was impressive. By nine o’clock the auditorium was set to go as the films were screened one by one.Laughter and giggles inhabited the auditorium making it obvious that every one was having a great time. Young kids who got bored easily due to screen translation and the film taking a long time. saw it fit to play and jump in the room.Not only did they cause disturbance but also a lot of distraction.All in all they say kids will always be kids,and...

By Nancy Musyimi Another lovely day in Kenya, where the climate is hot and cool. Lola’s workshop kicks off at around nine in the morning. I salute my colleagues and we catch up on the previous night’s happenings. The director Mr.Ogova greets us and leaves us with the day’s instructions, “Go to the Alliance Française auditorium and do your work,” he says. My colleagues choose to sit at the front of the auditorium where it’s most uncomfortable for me. So I remain desolate but vigilant at the rear seats. The first film was full of art. There were mouldings which had been animated. The origin is South America. This was most fascinating for me as I later came to know the pros and cons on the production. They were actually real mouldings made by children contrary to my thoughts. The theme was very captivating though. It was about learning to be helpful and friendly; to love your neighbour as you love yourself! The second one was titled, ‘Max’s words.’ The theme was on finding out what you lo...

By Bethsheba Achitsa After a long wait, the 3rd Lola Kenya screen festival kicked off at Alliance Fraincaise, Kenya National theatre and several video halls in Kibera. The event runs between Monday 11 and Saturday 16 August, 2008.scheduled to begin at 8.00 am the event did not start off as scheduled due to few hitches. The event held annually, has attracted participants from Zimbabwe and the Eastern Africa region. Among the guests are (id Abdel Latif who is the facilitator for the production workshop), Duco Tellegen and Meike Statema. The festival whose theme “peace-building for a just and sustainable future reflects what happened in various African countries. With the aim of placing audiovisual works in the hands of the children, participants in the skill development programs see the efforts made by the event and preach peace in later years so that we have no issues of internally displaced persons as witnessed in Kenya this year. The films showcased on Monday the 11th at the Kenya Nat...

By Joyce Wanja He is jovial, optimistic and full of determination. He has a huge passion for film and zeal to make a difference as far as film is concerned. And he is facilitating the children’s film production workshop at 3rd Lola Kenya Screen in Nairobi, Kenya. He is Eid Abdel Latif, a professor in the field of film. Born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1968, Dr Latif attended Shubira Military School and thereafter the College of Fine Arts. He established an animation department at El Minia University, which is the only one in the Middle East. He has won 12 international awards for his documentaries which are running in Germany, France and many other countries. These include, Chin Idia festiva, international youth creation in Germany, Grand prize of the international , First prize of graphic in Cairo, First prize in of painting in Cairo, Prize of the best documentation among others. He has done many films for children and has launched an annual animation film festival called Miniton in Egypt. Th...

By Rushel Rangala They say that goodness comes from the heart and is a self-driven virtue. Ms Meike Statema is a beautiful lady from Holland who loves to help and upgrade young people from a low status. She is the coordinator of the Lola Kenya film festival. This is an organization that deals with young people who aspire to be journalists and filmmakers. I had a one-on-one session with her which revealed what young people mean to her. She has a good initiative for children and works towards developing an identity for young people. Besides having a great insight on languages, she likes good food, dancing and definitely working in the media. She also works with IDFA, an organisation that deals with international films. This is a clear indication of her love for film and her un-ending support towards this. One of the things that Meike hates and has always been against is the way parents and adults control young people. She says this is hindering the growth and development of talent in yo...