Kenya hosts region's first gay film festival

A scene from the film titled "Fluorescent Sin" : An international collaborative short  film that chronicles a drag queen having a nervous breakdown at a Nairobi transport station. PHOTO | CORRESPONDENT |

By SAMANTHA SPOONER in NairobiPosted Tuesday, September 13  2011 at  15:49

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Kenya has made history by hosting the region’s first gay film festival.

The event, titled the OUT film festival, showcased films, features and documentaries on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) issues in Africa.

Organisers said it presented an opportunity to depict the lives, stories of love and challenges that homosexuals face.

The festival was organised by Gay Kenya in conjunction with the Swiss embassy and Kenya’s Goethe Institute, which also hosted it.

Founders of Gay Kenya say it was formed to help advance the visibility of the community, challenge the negative perceptions that exist and bring to light the abuses the community endures.

The gay film festival organisers said they had initially catered for an audience of 60 people, but ended up having to turn some away after more than 200 showed up.

Most of the audience were young Kenyans, but approximately 10-15 per cent were foreigners.

Most were students, interested in the cultural side of the festival and local productions, although curiosity was also a great factor for the attendance of many.

Films featured were from India, Kenya, Uganda and Germany and there was a special appearance by Lionel Baier, a renowned Swiss filmmaker, who showcased his La Parade.

SA film going to Fantastic Film Festival

Sapa | 08 September, 2011 13:24

The movie 'How to Steal 2 Million' was 'quick and easy' to put together for director Charlie Vundla. File photo.

'How to Steal Two Million', South Africa director Charlie Vundla's compelling debut feature film, has been selected for this year's Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the US. The festival runs from September 22 to 29 2011, and is held in Austin, Texas.

"Fantastic Fest is a hugely popular film festival so this is excellent news for everyone involved in the movie," says Jeremy Nathan, producer of How to Steal Two Million.
"The festival specialises in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and action movies from all around the world. The organisers aim to choose only the best international films, so their selection is a wonderful accolade for How to Steal Two Million, and especially for Charlie Vundla as this is his first feature film."
In the tradition of the heist movie, it has an intricate plot woven around the characters' attempts to formulate a plan, carry it out, and escape with the goods.
The film tells the story of Jack (Menzi Ngubane), who has spent five long years in jail after being arrested for robbery. His partner in crime and best friend Twala (Rapulana Seiphemo) never got caught and Jack never talked. When he is released, Jack decides to go straight.
He wants to start a construction business, but after being rejected for a loan he must find another way to get money. An opportunity presents itself when Twala suggests they rob a home where the take is worth R2-million. The film also stars Terry Pheto, Hlubi Mboya and John Kani.
According to Helen Kuun, CEO of Indigenous Film Distribution, How to Steal Two Million performed 15% better than Jerusalema did on its opening weekend. "This is most encouraging. The film's attendances were also 7% higher at Ster Kinekor cinemas this past Tuesday than on opening Friday.
That means word-of-mouth is working and that audiences are responding well. It's great to see that South African films are becoming increasingly popular."

Tunisia festival revives dream of united Maghreb

At the Cairo International Film Festival last year. The Maghrebian Film Festival at the city of Nabeul, in the north eastern part of Tunisia opens today, September 7, 2011. Photo | SAMIR ABDEL HAMID | CIFF |

By HASSOUNA MANSOURIPosted Friday, September 9  2011 at  10:44

Filmmakers in the North African region have a comeback film festival. Renamed after the region where it will be screening, the Maghrebian Film Festival is scheduled to open at the city of Nabeul, in the north eastern part of Tunisia, to screen between September 7 and 11.

This is seen as a sign of cultural and political revival, in a region where festivals and other cultural productions have been highly censored by governments.

Since last January, North Africa and sections of the Arab world have experienced revolutionary protests that have shaken the power bases, loosening up earlier realities in a way that has widened spaces. This festival is one such space.

Set to screen at the events are professionals from all the countries in the region- Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Mauritania- but Egypt, whose Cairo International Film Festival was put off as a result of an economic crunch that has hit the country, will is not be participating officially.

Initially Nabeul Film Nights, the event is entirely dedicated to the cinema of the Maghreb as a way of bringing the region under one; of a dream that has been differed over the years, especially due to conflicting interests by leaders.

With a freer environment thanks to the Arab Revolt that has swept through the region, bands of artistes seem to be pushing the regional dream, going back to the initial regional plan of a united Maghreb.

At the screenings under different categories in the festival, debate on region's identity is expected to dominate the festival headlines. Inclusion of co-productions between Maghreb and Europe and the Berber identity issue are some of the provocative items on the programme.

Email: mansourihassouna@yahoo.fr

Television producers in town for meet

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By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Wednesday, September 7  2011 at  19:08

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More than 400 people from various parts of the world are gathered in Nairobi for this year’s edition of the Discop Africa conference.

The conference brings together television content producers, distributors and content buyers to provide a platform for pushing sales of content.

This year’s event will target Kenyan and the rest of Sub Saharan Africa consumers, at prices of between $200 and $500 depending on the nature of content.

According to Patrick Jucaud founder of Discop, which has been operating for 20 years, the African edition ensures that African consumers can negotiate for fair content prices and get more African content.

“We have been keen on the African market since 2008 when we held the first conference in Africa. Next year we hope to reach a deal where African countries can buy sports content at fair prices, as these have remained above the reach of most consumers,” he said.

This is the third time Kenya is hosting the conference held twice a year. Other countries that have hosted the conference include Ghana and Senegal.

Kenya has remained preferable, as the hub for reaching out to the rest of the East African region.

Other than generating revenue for the hospitality sector, the event also sells Kenya as a tourist destination.

Ghanaian films come under criticism

http://www.africareview.com/Arts+and+Culture/Ghanaian+films+come+under+criticism/-/979194/1189416/-/p7p1nm/-/index.html

Ghana’s growing film industry which has been named “Ghallywood” is struggling to find its place in the theatres. Photo:Courtesy/ GHANA CONCIOUS |

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE in AccraPosted Sunday, June 26  2011 at  18:26

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Ghana’s growing film industry which has been named “Ghallywood” is struggling to find its place in the theatres. The industry has been censured by the government and a cross section of the public for not promoting the country’s culture and for churning out pornography.

However, spokesperson for the producers, Socrates Safo, has dismissed these criticisms saying they are borne out of clear misunderstanding of the industry.

“Times have changed and those who criticise us have refused to understand that the film industry across Africa used to be owned by governments to promote propaganda,” Mr Safo told Africa Review.
The old Ghana Films Industry Corporation (GFIC) was owned by the government and things were done differently. “But within the past decade, private film producers have found new ways of marketing their products and so, it is not fair that we should be condemned for what we are doing,” he added.

“If I spend my money to produce a film, the government has no business to tell me what to do,” Mr Safo said.

He went on to highlight that there are no laws in place to guide the industry and as a result, private producers are investing in what the audience wants to see.

“We should not be expected to promote the country’s culture if that is not what the public wants to see.”

On the screens

The film industry in Ghana has to contend with products from neighbouring Nigeria which has also been aptly named, Nollywood. It has been argued in some quarters that Nigerian films are better produced than Ghanaian ones. An assertion that Mr Safo was quick to dismiss when he said the market in Nigeria is huge while Ghana’s film industry is still facing several challenges.

“Our television stations seem to be screening more Nigerian films because they simply buy them from the streets.”