John Kariuki
29 June 2008
opinion
Nairobi — FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, Kenya has lost a film project to Tanzania. The BBC comedy series, The Calais Rules, which was to film at Nakuru has been relocated to Arusha with shooting scheduled to start next month.
According to Jenny Pont, a veteran film agent and a commissioner in the Kenya Film Commission, this particular loss could be due to the fact that Nakuru was a flashpoint in this year's post-election violence.
It is easy enough to blame the unfortunate events that visited the country early in the year for this particular relocation, but the industry needs to start thinking long and hard about how to counter threats that are becoming too obvious to ignore.
Previously, South Africa, and to an extent Morocco, were viewed as the only real rival filming locations to Kenya. There is more competition now.
"Tanzania has the potential to attract the kind of movies that were previously shot in Kenya," says Jim Shamoon of BlueSky Films Productions.
These are mainly movies that require authentic African and wilderness scenes - mostly in game parks - which both countries have in abundance.
Here, Tanzania's approach of centralised management is favoured by film makers. Shamoon points out that a single agency with uniform rates and standard regulations manages all filming at Tanzania's parks.
This makes planning easy. Kenya does not have such an agency nor are its rates uniform.
Kenya also loses out by failing to market its scenery. For instance, South Africa has a comparatively well-funded film commission for every region in the country. What is more, it offers monetary incentive to film makers - it pays for 20 per cent of the film budget.
OVERSEAS, EVERY CITY HAS a commission that undertakes its own marketing for their region independently from the national body. In such cities, the authorities offer a wide range of incentives including free parking and logistical support.
In Kenya, sadly, the marketing of film locations is under the still heavily underfunded Kenya Film Commission.
"We do not expect our government to compete financially with South Africa but there are simple things it could do," said Shamoon.
He cites the current cumbersome visa procedures as an example, in addition to the impunity with which unscrupulous dealers pirate artistes' work.
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