“The anonymous walk unnoticed into the kingdom of heaven.” Someone, once.
Nairobi has become weird again. Weird in that, everyone is an intellectual until their intellect is brought to bear, and then the haters emerge. I happened to attend the Nairobi Film Festival last week and I say happened because when I woke up on Wednesday, I didn’t know I would be heading to Prestige Plaza and hobnob with Nairobi’s elite in film. And by elite, I mean Kenyans who put in work to create something of their own hands. A slow news weekend produced some emphatically dumb tweets not that long ago regarding the film festival and I am compelled to lay out the case for why it’s amazing that we have a Nairobi Film Festival while I take a jab at a movie I haven’t watched because why would a Kenyan pander to the identity politicking Left to get an Oscar nod?
[Disclaimer: IMDb stats have me watching more TV shows and less movies from 2006 onward, for perspective]
First Piece of Evidence: SupaModo
This film kicked of the Fest for me. Everyone was gushing about this movie. I watched it as well, and though some parts were relatable as a movie – I was wholly lost on what the big deal was about. Touting to be a Kenyan movie, this superhero may be a movie for a generation to which I do not belong. Which is why it is important for these types of film have a screening home.
Second Piece of Evidence: New Moon
After the screening that I attended of this film, there was a Q&A and a fraternising of sorts for moviegoers by the organisers where the director, a Ms. Phillipa, had the opportunity to be asked the most banal of questions regarding her 7 year project that she “never thought would ever be screened in Kenya”. It was a moving piece of art hitting multiple uncomfortable notes that would naturally stir conversations if not at the very least self-reflection (and possible future screenings). One of the movie-goers in the Q&A admitted that she had always wondered what hairstyles are prevalent among hijabis and for more on that: go watch the film!
Third Piece of Evidence: Shorts, Shorts and Shots!
Dresscode: shorts. Event: Screening of Short films. Afterparty: Shots! A brilliant bit of brainwork by the organisers of the filmfest who upon the film screenings completion invited the seated audience to accompany the directors, organisers, cast and crew alike to a mixer set up for us. Freebies for attendees and fun behind-the-scenes conversations was my evening.
Fourth Piece of Evidence: Kenyan film consumption.
There are no statistics here because the self-evident…is. While quoting epic movie lines is a thing among film nerds, I cannot quote a single Kenyan movie line, let alone name a Kenyan movie for every finger on my hand. This is a business people, and not just on the consumption side. The art industry enjoys some sense of immunity against questioning the motivations of say a certain project, however, without the sex scenes in Spartacus, viewership would be more or less a drop-off throughout the seasons. Take Hollywood as an example, without the MCU, there wouldn’t be funding for vanity projects like Shape of Water. Without something that the audiences want to see and talk about, the mediocrity being peddled as art in Kenya shall remain simply that – mediocre, but at additional risk of no butts on seats.
Fifth Piece of Evidence: The Looming Tower
A fascinating TV series around Al Qaeda and the bombing of September 11, starring Jeff Daniels (of The Newsroom fame) whose first episode culminates in the Nairobi bombing of 98? Why aren’t we taking control of our own narratives? I understand that the government of an LEDC has bigger things than to fund films for psych-warfare (eg US DoD role in Top Gun and American Sniper) but I do think we have some smart people in the Kenyan film board who can do more for the industry than slap a ban on a film to create buzz. That’s basic marketing. The reason we are seeing more films shot in the Far East is because they have tax-incentives for people shooting there. And I can go on and on.
Closing Statements
With the kind of international attention Kenya has received, from Uncle Barry to Eddy Gathegi to Nyongo’s daughter to Rafiki getting a standing ovation at Cannes (for being a Kenyan lesbian version of Romeo and Juliet, or did I not say spoiler alert?), the marketing of Kenyan potential has been done. Why do we insist on embarrassing ourselves with the kind of subpar material we put out in film, on the stage and now on streaming sites. The film industry in particular needs the support of film fanatics attending events like Nairobi Film Festival at the very least, fanfare at the most. Our mentality that copywriters can double as scriptwriters is pocket-pinching bullshit. Stage actors and film actors are not the same thing. The #ifikiewazazi photographers cannot frame a shot, which is why they shoot titillation, as opposed to capturing art. This is the time to do better. For a people without hope deserve worthy distractions.
One last thing, I’d avidly read Potash’s blog over a decade ago. Down to the last punctuation he put up, all those many years ago, developing a voice. The first time I watched Nairobi Half Life all I saw was Potash, without knowing of his involvement in it until the credits rolled. Beauty requires pain, and the fostering of artistic voices is something that Kenyatta University has proven quite capable of (not an endorsement worth much from here but hey). Let us support those who make something worthwhile, especially platforms for entertainment, and make sure that they create something that a Malaysian (for instance) would associate with. For the Kenyan experience is worth capturing and retelling in books and blogs and everything in between, but especially in film.
-Exuent Pyro-
Codified Expressions 