Gloria Anyango
12 May 2008
Kigali — Saturday evening was full of excitement at Jali Club Gardens. Here Rwanda joined the rest of the world to share stories of their experiences through the power of Film.
The Pangea event was being broadcast in 6 different sites at the same time around the world.
Nokia being the sponsor of the world event wanted to make a difference through Film.
The idea of 'Pangea Day' was started by Jehane Noujaim a film maker who worn the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) award for the best documentary.
The TED committee (which consists of some of the world's known figures like Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and C.E.O's of big companies like NOKIA among others) met last year at its headquarters in New York City, and this is when Jehane Noujaim requested for a day when the whole world would join together to watch short films that unite all, hence Pangea Day.
The question stands however; why of all African countries was Rwanda chosen? According to Pierre Gahitana the Kigali coordinator for Pangea Day, the responsibility of choosing the participating countries was given to Bill Clinton and he happened to choose Rwanda because it's a country he has close at heart.
An organization that deals with films had to be contacted here in Rwanda and 'The Rwanda Cinema' qualified for the position as the organizing committee. Eric Kabera the director of Rwanda cinema and Kigali Representative for Pangea day mobilized his work force which includes Pierre Gahitana and other members. They worked together with 'Events for Church' an international events organization to make Pangea day happen.
"One of the conditions for Rwanda to host this event was that every item from the music, venue, advertisements, and graphics to the guest speaker had to be originally Rwandan and local." said Gahitana.
Before the films were shown there was live entertainment from 'Dream band', which played contemporary Rwandan music that was so intense and captivating.
The crowd was huge and seemed to be having a great time and every time a live broadcast of Rwanda was shown on the projectors the crowd would burst with applause.
20 short (3mins average) films and 1 longer film by Jehane Noujaim (15mins) were shown. Different speakers were shown and there was live interaction between the sites, all being moderated by the host. "Jean Paul Samputu was the 'speaker for Rwanda' and he had to fly all the way from Atlanta for this event. This shows how committed he is to his country" said Gahitana.
"Nokia's OVI.COM website was launched today where Pangea Day sites can be viewed worldwide at the same time", says Gahitana.
He adds that, "Nokia distributed 10,000 N-95 phones globally so that new short films could be made due to the phone's ability to produce a perfect- picture and video. The OVI.COM website will make video sharing possible at any time and Rwanda has surely benefited from this venture. The basis of Pangea Day is to unite people globally through Film, Music and Speech, and I believe Rwanda has achieved much on this today", said a smiling Gahitana.
The evening was a success with no one going thirsty due to the provision of a variety of drinks and entertainment. Pierre Gahitana is hoping that Rwanda will host the next Pangea Day event next time round.
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