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Kenya: Great Movies to Inspire Healing After Violence
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The Nation (Nairobi)
22 March 2008
Posted to the web 21 March 2008
Tim Kamuzu Banda
Nairobi
Like most sectors of the economy, the film industry has for the past three months been hit hard by the post-election violence.
However, the next week or so should see a resurgence, with great movies due to be released. They are have been produced under the new Sinema Pamoja Initiative (SPI), which aims at fostering peace and national unity.
According to Sheila Mulinya, a producer and SPI member, the effort intends to use the movies to reassure Kenyans that the industry is alive and well after all, and that with peace, greater socio-economic benefits can be enjoyed by all.
One of the movies which is titled Wale Watu (those people), is directed by Cajetan Boy of Et Catera Production. It tells the story of Paul (Reuben Odanga) and Mary (Miriam Itirash), who are from different tribes but madly in love. Their families have a close relationship and everything looks well as they prepare to tie the knot.
However, with the breaking out of the post-election violence, one family loses a clinic and a loved one through arson, and relations between the families get strained. Peace eventually prevails though, but at what cost?
"It is a normal story of two people whose plans were disrupted, and I know that there are numerous Kenyans out there who were caught up in such situations," says Cajetan Boy.
Another, the work of producers Robbie Bresson and Mburu Kimani, is two stories in one titled Pieces for Peace. Movie lovers will remember the two for Help and The Race which they directed last year.
They were also in the team sponsored by the Kenya Film Commission and M-Net for an exchange programme with Nigeria's renowned Nollywood film industry last year.
One story -Pieces of Peace - is based on the life of two ordinary Kenyans living ordinary lives. They are suddenly thrust into the scenarios connected with and surrounding the post-election crisis.
The other -Tough Times - scripted and directed by Mburu Kimani, is the story of a couple, Rono (Josephat Zia) and Wairimu (Nice Githinji), who desperately want to marry, but are torn apart by their families' tribal prejudice.
According to Mburu Kimani, the film will touch many Kenyans, especially those who were caught up in the mayhem of Eldoret and other parts of Rift Valley province.
"These are real issues, but at the end of it all, the audience will appreciate why we should co-exist with one another in peace," says Mburu Kimani of the film that has been shot in Nairobi and Kikuyu town.
LR 45, scripted and directed by Robbie Bresson, is about a family fighting over the control of its only asset - a piece of land. But, given the violence, they are in goods again.
Paul Makumi as James Makwere and award-winner Andrew Muthure who plays Stanley, are the main actors. It was shot in the scenic Nderi area, near Sigona in Kikuyu, and Nairobi.
"I want Kenyans to reflect on where we have come from and how our lives were almost torn-apart, and the way we can value peace and national pride," says Bresson whose last film Help was a runner-up at the Kenya International Film Festival.
The movie highlights the effects of historical injustices and prejudice, institutionalised neglect and disregard for human rights.
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And Why Now? is the work of director and producer Guy Wilson of Ginger Ink Production. It captures a scene on the January 5, nine days after the elections.
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