Kenya Film Commission Newsletter July 2008

The 3rd Edition of the Kenya International Film Festival (KIFF) was held between 22nd of October to 1st of November 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Kenya International Film Festival Trust (KIFFT) has been mandated by the government to organize the Annual Festival under the stewardship of a Festival Director as part of efforts aimed at developing the Kenyan film Industry. KIFFT seeks to create a local and regional audience by showcasing films that are not necessarily distributed in the local cinemas or televisions. The Board of Trustees for the Festival consists of six (6) professionals among them is Filmmakers, Media Consultants and performing artists.

This year’s Festival was a competition amongst filmmakers internationally with special interest in the African Region that “celebrated our cultural diversity”. The previous Festivals have been held with the support of the Embassy of France in Kenya, the Kenya government, Goethe institute, Italian institute of culture and the Kenya Film Commission as well as other corporate sponsors. This year there were a few newcomers who sponsored and supported the Festival- AFRICALIA, NUMETRO and CITIZEN TV.

The main objective of the Festival was to promote a Film Culture in the African Region; especially in Kenya by screening locally made films along side internationally acclaimed blockbusters.
Apart from screening films, the festival hosted various workshops and round table discussions. The following are some of the workshops that were held:

1) CRITIQUES WORKSHOP - Journalists and news editors gathered to discuss ways in which to critique film works.

2) SCRIPT WRITING WORKSHOP: For the youth and budding script writers

3) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WORKSHOP

4) THE HISTORY OF Kenya’s FILM INDUSTRY EXHIBITION:
This was co-ordinated by The Department of Film Services (DFS). They showcased the history of film development in Kenya from the colonial era to date.

5) CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP - Several seminars held under this workshop were:

Directing workshop” by Mr. Newton Aduaka, a Nigerian filmmaker based in France.
Film Critic workshop” by Philip Kemp, Film Critic from the United Kingdom (UK)
Production Management” by Ms Claude HAFFNER a French filmmaker based in South Africa
Actors Lab”, -by Madam Tracy Bing from America and “An association of actors”, - coordinated by Peter king.
Working Progress” by Hugo Vvijdag

6) STUDENTS FORUM
The programme was designed in way that the students were able to interact with filmmakers after watching the films.

Some of the guest during this forum were:

A presentation by Mr. Cieplak Artur Piotr a lecturer Cambridge University – UK
A presentation by Madam Claude HAFFNER, a script writer, producer and a mentor
Debate on African Cinema moderated by Catherine RUELLE
Presentations by East African filmmakers whose films are in competition

7) RED CARPET SCREENINGS
This was done in collaboration with NU-METRO, ALLIANCE FRANCAISE AND GOETHE INSTITUTE. Among the films to be premiered are;

A Kenyan film by Steve Ominde and Sagwa Chabeda, - Formula X
Ugandan film
Malawian film
KEN – collaboration between Kenya and South Africa

8) THE ARTIST CAFETERIA
A forum where Artists to brainstormed and interact with fellow artists, at the Goethe institute. East African Filmmakers were able to engage in a debate on issues affecting film making in the region.

9) WOMEN PANORAMA
Women in the film industry were able to discuss issues affecting them in the Film Industry. This forum was moderated by Ms Tracy Bing from United States of America.

10) REGULAR FILM SCREENING
There were daily screenings taking place in three (3) venues; KENYA CULTURAL CENTRE (KNT), GOETHE INSTITUT and ALLIANCE FRANCAISE from 10.00am to 10.00pm at all the venues. The films were selected from over 250 films that have already been received.

11) COMMUNITY SCREENINGS
The community screening were held in slum areas of Kibera, Kangemi and Mathare in collaboration with the Film Corporation of Kenya.

The community screening project was funded by AFRICALIA and other corporate organizations.

12) EAST AFRICAN FORUM
The Festival invited Regional filmmakers from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Burundi to participate in a forum. The participants were able to discuss audiovisual matters in the region.

13) MAISHA LAB, UGANDA- at KIFF
MAISHA LAB in collaboration with KIFF ran a training workshop for professional filmmaker in film production. The workshop was held at Kenya Cultural Centre (KNT) and from a 12th October until 19th October at the Alliance Francaise from 20th to 31st of October 2008. The workshop included subjects such as Scriptwriting, Editing and Directing.

At these workshops, there were experts from USA who shared their views and made recommendations for the African Film Industry.

14) THEME NIGHTS
The theme nights were all about networking for filmmakers during the festival.

They were:

Italian evening at the Nu- Metro, Westgate – were two films by an Italian Filmmaker were screened. The audience was able to celebrate and enjoy Italian cuisine and a cocktail.
Mexican evening at the Alliance Francaise, there was a screening of a Mexican film in the presence of the director. The audience was treated to Mexican cultural food and drink after the screening.
German night at the Goethe-institut. A classical German Film was watched and interaction with other fellow enthusiasts happened thereafter.
French night at Alliance Francaise- Film screening of Ezra by Newton Aduaka, Q&A, cocktail
Kenyan night sponsored by the Kenya film commission at the Nu-Metro Westgate.
International Audience were treated to a taste of Kenyan Food and Cultural Music and then they viewed a Kenyan Production by Riverwood 20 in collaboration with Third Force titled “ KEN “

15) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WORKSHOP

The Kenya Copyright Board in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Kenya Film Commission facilitated a workshop on intellectual property at the Nairobi Safari Club. The programme included presentations from Nigeria Copyright Board and East African countries:

Copyright and related Rights in the film Industry, enforcement of copyright, challenges and successes by Mr. Edward Sigei
Music and Film Industry by Mr. Maurice Okoth, General Manager of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK)
The role of Actors in the film Industry, by Mr. Peter King , The chairperson of the newly formed actors Guild
The role of the Kenya Film Commission by Mr. David Maingi CEO Kenya Film Commission.
Experiences from the Film Industry in Nigeria
Growing the film Industry; Nigerian Experience, a representative from Nigerian Film Commission
The role of Censorship board in nurturing the film industry- Kenya censorship board and Nigerian censorship board.