Tytti Ollila, text and picture
Anna Shepherd, translation
Nakai Matema, Caroline Kamya ja Brighton Tazarurwa.
- An African film sees things through African eyes and captures an African way of looking at the world. The film may be filmed outside of Africa, or even made by others than Africans.
This is how Brighton Tazarurwa, a director from Zimbabwe, describes African cinema. Tazarurwa, along with Nakai Matema from Zimbabwe and Caroline Kamya from Uganda, have come to the Werstas auditorium to speak about African cinema.
Not for money, but for a burning passion
Not many documentary films are made in Zimbabwe. According to Tazarurwa this is due to the political situation.
- This morning I walked around Tampere with my videocamera. In Zimbabwe this would be the same as carrying a weapon. You need permission from the government in order to film. Documentaries are based on facts, and in Zimbabwe facts are very political. Telling the wrong facts leads to your disappearance, Tazarurwa states gravely.
Budgets are nonexistent, but we have learned to cope with them. A big part of financing for films comes from the Dutch embassy. Large companies also take part into financing.
- In Zimbabwe nobody makes films for the money, but out of a passion for films. Because it is so small, the director’s financial reward is mainly a symbolic gesture, says Tazarurwa.
Caroline Kamya's short film Rockamilley is a story on Elvis Presley -imitator in Uganda.
- We don’t have expensive equipment and we can’t afford big film crews, but the most important thing is to learn how to tell stories that interest people. If people don’t find the story interesting, there is no point in making the film.
Zimbabwe people love films
According to Matema, many people from East Africa don’t want to see East African films. In Zimbabwe the situation is different.
- Zimbabwe people love films that are about them or which have been filmed in their country. It doesn’t matter if the film is rubbish, they’ll still love it, says Matema with a smile on her face.
When a short film is ready, it is shown to an audience. After the screening the viewers can talk with the filmmakers and tell them what they thought of the film. After the premiere films circulate around African film festivals, and they are given to the national television channel for free use.
Ugandan cinema takes its first steps
- Uganda doesn’t have professional filmmakers, nor studios or the technology. If you want to make a film in Uganda, you have to get everything from outside, sighs Kamya, a pioneer of Ugandan cinema.
Nevertheless, Kamya sees the future of Ugandan film as a bright one. Her production company IVAD Productions has set up a school called Uganda Arts and Media Academy where young people are given the chance to learn about filmmaking.
- I hope I can be the pioneer who turns the situation around. I want to find a permanent home for the Academy and get our government to give us the same support as it gives foreign filmmakers. The Last King of Scotland was filmed in Uganda. Our government allowed the filmmakers to film freely in our country and didn’t tax them. It is much more difficult for us to get permission to film, says Kamya.
- I would like to see more positive things featured in films about Africa. We have the same joys and sorrows than people in other countries. Africa is much more than famine and catastrophes, says Kamya.
More information about Zimbabwe cinema www.ziff.co.zw, IVAD Productions www.ivadproductions.com and Uganda Arts and Media Academy www.ivadproductions.com/uama
Updated 10 March 2007 18:59
