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Recently, The Economist featured an article on Nollywood, Nigeria’s answer to Hollywood and Bollywood.  Although Nollywood is the world’s second most prolific film industry after Bollywood, many people I knew had not heard of it. Documentaries about Nollywood, like Welcome to Nollywood, depict a movie business that is thriving by featuring subject matter that might not appeal to Western audiences (from witchcraft to village rivalries), but that African moviegoers love. Unlike francophone African film, funded by foreign money and successful with literary/artistic types, Nollywood films succeed by capitalism.    

Sometimes, the term ‘Nollywood’ is used by Westerners to denote the African film industry in general.  However, each country in Africa has its own national identity and to the extent identity and film are linked, it doesn’t really make sense to lump the cinema of two African nations together. I set out to find out about the cinema of African nations other than Nigeria. 

Kenyan filmmaker, poet and human rights activist Ndungi Githuku offers the following insider perspective on Kenyan cinema and his work, which includes Score for Sajsa, nominated for Best Documentary in the 2010 Kalasha Film and TV awards. You can view Score for Sajsa on the Big Ideas Entertainment Facebook page.

Following is our online interview (My questions are in bold. Githuku’s responses to my questions are in regular type.):

You mentioned that you are an “artivist.”  What is an “artivist”?

I refer to myself as an Artivist out of my combination of Art and Activism.

Before I ventured into film I used music and poetry as a tool for human rights advocacy. I would, with others, compose poetry and music that we mobilized the masses with. I also acted in original plays that we took to the people in small towns and villages. At some point this became so popular that police would arrest us and sometimes the audience too. In one of the police crackdowns on our open air shows, I was charged with 'being armed and dangerous'. The exhibit produced in court was my prop! A stick.

In 2000, I was the first artiste to be awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award.

It is out of this usage of talent for a cause that I coined the word ARTIVISM.

What’s the importance of art and activism in your films?

Art for me is a universal language that connects people with their surroundings.

Art is the icing on the cake of any story. You can have great stories to tell but they only get better with the infusion of art and creativity. In my videos I always try to achieve the artistic touch way and above the given story. Art is supposed to make people comfortable when watching a difficult story. 

Activism is sometimes a difficult and revered subject where, out of the Kenyan experience, people tend to leave it for activists to handle. My aim is to make people get involved without fear. When human rights meetings or demonstrations are planed, I have many a times been invited to lead people in chants and songs. It is almost official now, in Kenya, for any given human rights activity to begin with the 'National Activism Anthem', a song we wrote in the early 90s.

How did you become interested in film?

I got involved in film almost by default. In the early 90s when the Moi-KANU regime was at its height of oppression, we would plan and excecute demos in the city of Nairobi. I was at this time involved through the Release Political Prisoner (Pressure Group). At some point I began to realize that our efforts would be covered by the media on the 'battlefront' only for them to be 'killed' in the editing room. This bothered me alot. I also noticed that most of our nobel causes were part of history in the making but not recorded. This fear of losing our history along the way alarmed me. I saw us making history and losing it at the same time, literally.

It was at this point that I asked fellow activists to think about investing in a camera, which after some convincing, was okayed. I learnt to film and march in the streets at the same time. I would film police clobbering us and this, I noticed, was with time reducing the beatings and brutality of the cops. They were wary of the camera. It was a non-violent weapon of the struggle for Justice! That's how I got my first camera. My film school was in the streets while marching for peace and freedom. 

I have never looked back since.

I noticed you have made some documentaries and music videos. Are you interested in the form of fiction or more interested in documentaries, and why?

I must say that I was more attracted to documentaries as they are personal. Documentaries tend to have a personal touch with the audience as stories are first hand information told to the audience.

My first documentary to make was Walking Shadows. This is a story of Kenyans who were arrested and taken to secret underground cells in a government building in Nairobi. The KANU regime was very secretive and its propaganda machine so powerful. The suspects would be denied fod and tortured until they confessed to their 'conspiracies' to overthrow the government. After their 'confession' they would be taken to 'kangaroo' courts at night and sentenced.

These stories of political horror were always disputed even by some of the survivors’ family members. It was this denial of a society that inspired the making of the documentary. Some of the characters said they were speaking for the very first time about their ordeal. It dawned on me that documentaries are also therapeutic and since then I refer to them as docu-therapy.

Lately, however, I have been working on fiction. At the moment I am in the process of writing a fictional script about race in Kenya. It is going to be a romance/action film about a Black radio presenter and a brown (Indian) researcher. Fiction is good as in it has lots of room for 'artistic manipulation'. I have also acted in a TV series, Changes, which has been running on DSTV's M-Net channel. 

Which filmmakers have influenced you? 

As a young reader I came across the book God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene really loved the story. Sembene is a skillful African story-teller whose words formed pictures in this fast-paced novel. Later I read in a news article that Sembene had done a film, Moolade, and I was very excited. I did not watch the movie until many years later due to the weak distribution of African films. I was inspired by a film I had never seen but by an African writer/thinker and film pioneer that I have lots of respect for to this day.

Mira Nair is another of my inspirations. After her movie, Mississippi Masala, I have continued to be a 'follower' of her work including 'Water'. She tends to court controversy through love and she beautifully weaves sense through untouchable topics like race and prejudice. 
 

In one of your films, a musician talks about his first guitar. How did you get your first camera?

I have explained how I got my first camera in a question above. However, I have to mention that after my request to the RPP top brass, this camera had to be discussed by the National Excecutive Council and then presented to the General Membership meeting for approval. The organization sent Njoroge Murimi, a KQ pilot and member of the organization to bring it to Nairobi.
 

Do you have mentors?

My mentors are various. My mother is one of them. She has raised four of us, two girls and two boys from a very young age. She was 32 years old when my father died of a heart attack. Today, at 37, I still marvel at how she managed to bring us up single handedly.

I was also mentored by people I still look up to to this day.

Dr. Willy Mutunga is a lawyer and fighter for justice. He was detained without trial by the Kanu regime in the 1980's and has been steadfast in bringing progressive forces together. I credit him for teaching me the meaning of integrity in the struggle and approaching issues with a cool head. I have been a high voltage head that needed taming to be able to focus. 

How did you learn to edit?

I really do not consider myself a good editor. However I always like to load my work in the machine myself and start toying with the idea before the editor gets on the job. The few good editors that I work with in Kenya are normally too overwhelmed by work. By the time they 'break free' to touch my work I make sure that I have laid it on the time-line and started on it. Sometimes they rip it all apart and bring in fresh and creative ideas. 

I always respect other people's interpretation of my work but always make sure my original plot is not misplaced.

I work with particular editors who understand what am looking for in a film.

What do you edit on?

Final Cut Pro on Mac is my thing.

Tell us about the film industry in Kenya. Are there film schools? How do aspiring filmmakers learn to make films?

I am always shy of talking of a film industry in Kenya. An industry is a situation where you live off your work. Many filmmakers in Kenya do film as a side thing and focus on other business to bring food on the table. We can't really boast of an industry that thrives and stands on its own as a market. On the way of Kenyan filmmakers are political hurdles that make it not easy to film as much as we would like. Film licensing is expensive and high taxation of filming equipment does not make it easy for us. Sometimes we play cat and mouse with the city council askaris (officials) just to get a street shot in the city.

We have the Kenyan 'Nollywood' in the name 'Riverwood'. However it is not a shaker in economics or in long-term sustenance of filmmakers. 'Riverwood' are inexpensive films made along the back-streets of River Road in a day or two. They sell as quick as they are made to beat piracy and costs. The story plots are often quickly excecuted and hastily shot. They are sometimes shot in a day and edited the same night, hitting the market the following day. Some of the stories are powerful but get 'lost in translation' either during the shoot or in the edit room.

For the longest time we did not have any learning institutes of film in Kenya. The first fully fledged film school was started a few years after the death of Mohamed Amin, a pioneer photographer and cameraman. MoForce was started in his memory.

Some of the reknown Kenyan filmmakers including Judy Kibinge, Wanuri Kahiu and the Barua brothers have all studied abroad.

More universities have been introducing film studies lately.  
 

How do films get distributed in Kenya?

This is a very hollow area. Filmmakers depend on individual initiatives to have their films shown or sold. Sometimes we make deals with supermarkets to display and sell our work. They take a percentage depending on individual bargaining power and prowess.

It looks like you use the same kind of technology that independent U.S. filmmakers use. What camera do you shoot on?

I shoot on a Panasonic HVX 200 and Canon 7D.

Who is your audience? Who are you making films for and why?

My audience is generally the youth and the general public in under-privileged backgrounds.

I do open air shows in slum areas where information flow is low. We conduct discussions after the screenings.

In one of your films, a music producer that you interviewed talked about how each artist needs to make music for his own country. Do you make your films for the Kenyan people specifically?

I do not restrict my films to a particular audience. All the same, my work is inspired by my surrounding. While I agree that artistes have a responsibility in shaping opinion on country and society they belong to, they must not restrict and confine themselves into a box.  Every year for the past four years I have been show-casing my films in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They do appreciate the films from Kenya and also relate with them even though the socio-political aspects of the two countries are different. Human beings are a species who have hidden interest in fellow humans. People always want to know what is happening to others whether in the same country or otherwise. My wish is to have my films shown in Kathmandu, Mongolia and Alaska. I would like them to be shown all over the world.   

Do you see film as way of establishing national identity?

Film is an identity. When you watch a Ugandan film for example, it should be able to establish some Ugandan character. Films are a form of identity just like other forms of art including music. South African music is a good example of this. When you hear Reggae music the first thing you think about is Jamaica. Like-wise, film is a tool of identity. Lately, African filmmakers have been incorporating regional talent for a wider reach. There is a growth in diversity in African film and my hope is that this kind of regional collaboration will take African talent and image to the international stage. I foresee a time when European and American filmmakers will work with African artistes instead of 'faking' African accents in their films.  

What is Big Ideas Entertainment?

This is a Kenyan media production company that produces films (fiction) and documentaries. They have a facebook page-Big Ideas Entertainment. B. ideas Ltd was formed in 2003 by a versatile team of young documentary and film professionals with an aim to provide solutions to audiovisual media needs by fostering new trends through combining effectiveness and creativity in communication.

Their aim is to create and develop new and original ideas that address issues in an entertaining way, use abundant Kenyan talent to produce films and documentaries and create a workforce that can sustain the industry and encourage a new innovativeness of corporate communications among Kenyans.

How do you show your work? Can you show them at movie theaters?

For the longest time it was really not easy to show your films in Kenya. The only channel has been through the Kenyan Film Festival. However I find it limiting coz it's an annual event and the audience is very limited. With my first film, Walking Shadows, I was frustrated by the Kenyan television networks who wanted me to pay big money for the documentary to be aired. They were the ones to pay! Things are changing a little bit now and a government policy has been passed to have 80% local content.

After my frustration I started taking the film to communities where armed with a projector, home sound system and a white bed sheet I would project the film. I later had to slow down owing to resources required to sustain the project.

At the moment there is a friendly cinema theatre, Silverbird, which gives a percentage on box office sales. It leaves the filmmaker with little money but at least your film is shown to the public. 

What kind of infrastructure is there for making films? Is there any governmental assistance to filmmakers?

We have very minimal infrastructure for making films in Kenya. The government does not give much assistance to us. When shooting in the streets for example, we have to dodge city officials. I call it guerilla filmmaking. The government zero-rated taxation on filming equipment after we lobbied as filmmakers. This has not been implemented. We still have to pay for licenses for any shoot that we undertake.

There’s been a lot of news about Nollywood. Do you think that the name “Nollywood” describes the kind of films you make? 

Nollywood does not describe the films we make in Kenya. The only similarity would be the mode of marketing with the 'Riverwood' films. Nollywood films are mainly stereotypical with subjects ranging from witch-craft to deceit and religion. They rarely pay attention to detail. This is however not to mean that they do not sell. Nigeria is the most populous country on the African continent and though their films are not necessarily professionally done, they have an industry. There is a ready market for their film.

What are some differences between typical Kenyan films and typical Nigerian films?

Kenya has some diversity in their filmmaking. The market, as explained earlier, lacks. Wanuri Kahiu, for example made the first African Sci-Fi film, Pumzi. Majority of films here are also influenced by politics. Kenya is a growing democracy and there are always issues-politico happening around us each day. One of the latest controversial films on Kenya politics is a fiction, The Rogue Priest, by Bob Nyanja, based on a true story of an assassination of a vocal catholic priest. In Nollywood films you rarely see films based on political issues e.g. the military regimes that have ruled and terrorized Nigerians for decades.   

What would you say characterizes Kenyan film?

One of the things that characterize Kenyan films is the language. Kenya has two official languages, Kiswahili and English. There are more than 50 other languages which once in a while characterize our films.

Kenya is also internationally recognized for its breathtaking landscape. We have a coast and the Great Rift Valley as a natural asset. There are many game reserves in the country which are rich in wild life.

In the film Battle for the Sacred Tree by Wanjiru Kinyanjui, for instance, the rural setting gives away the Kenyan character with not only the landscape but also the costume and language used.  

What film is a prototypical Kenyan film?

I would not hesitate to mention Pumzi, by Wanuri Kahiu. It is the first Kenyan Sci-Fi film.

What kind of research have you had to conduct to make your films?

Before any film I always researched on the subject matter. Before shooting Walking Shadows we talked to former prisoners way before commencing. We were able to get hold of dates and documents referring to the dictatorship crackdown on dissidents.

We also conduct informal research with people 'on the ground' in way of gauging interest in the topic. It is always important to know what people think way before shooting. 
 

From where have you gotten ideas or inspiration for your films?

My inspiration comes from the people. I am always interested in focusing on small issues that many choose to ignore and blow them out on screen. One of my current projects is Nusu Nusu, a documentary about mixed-race Kenyans. Our second vice president after independence was a Nusu Nusu but society still largely refers to mixed race people as Mzungu, meaning white!

Barack Obama is one of these and I hope to interview him along the way (can you hook me up?? LoL) 

How does your work in human rights influence your films?

Coming from a human rights background, I am always concerned about what is stereotype and what is not. I always advise on how to describe characters as opposed to labeling them. For instance I never hesitate to correct stereotype words or character like 'hookers' to commercial sex workers.  

My human rights background influence is very key to my films. There are few filmmakers in Kenya and indeed around the African continent who dwell on human rights influenced stories. 

What are the human rights causes that are most compelling to you?

Police brutality is very rampant in Kenya. In this beautiful country of legendary women and men, police have the right to execute suspects on the spot. Lately there have been rampant killings of young men by police in Kenya. Young people are currently the most endangered species then the rhino!

Police are the judge and jury when it comes to 'keeping law and order.' Issues of political thuggery are also key in my work.

Every five years, during the general elections, human displacements are always prevalent.

Candidates always create a scenario and violently eject communities whom they deem to support the 'other' opponent.

 
Who is your favorite African filmmaker?

Senegalese Sembene Ousmane and Kenyan-Ghanian Willie Owusu.

What separates African cinema from cinema from other countries around the world?

African cinema has its own African character in terms of issues that we deal with on a day to day basis. The stories in African cinema are different from other continents. Language, proverbs, riddles and sayings and landscape also characterize African cinema. 

It will be rare to make Hollywood-like action films in Africa with cars crashing and characters cursing.

Budgets are also on the lower scale in comparison with other places be it Hollywood or Bollywood. 

In Africa, the art of our traditional story-telling skills, 'orature', drive our cinema.   

What are some common themes in African films?

Religion, traditional values and love triangles. Social-political themes normally take a back seat for fear of repurcussions.

What are you currently working on?

Nusu Nusu, a story of Kenya in Black and White (research and scripting stage), Dedan Kimathi, a music video about the legendery Kenyan freedom fighter (just completed), In Search of my Father, a documentary that follows Rosemary, who was 11 when her father, a popular Kenyan politician was assassinated in 1975, (half-way done).

I read that you are also a poet. Which poets do you like?

Pablo Neruda is one of my most treasured poets.

I also like the works of Benjamin Zephania, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Maya Angelou. 

Do you have any poems you could share with a United States audience?

I have a few pieces that can interest a United States audience. In particular I have one that Remembers not to Forget sheroes of the world including Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks.

Having been to the States several times before, I acquainted myself with the art of Spoken Word which has influenced my poetic delivery.

I also love to involve people using chants and sing-alongs.