Kenya: Reinforcing Africa's film industry

In July, 66 young film professionals from the areas of cinematography, production, directing, scriptwriting, film editing, sound engineering, lighting and acting were coached by international film celebrities under the leadership of German film director Tom Tykwer and his production company, One Fine Day Films.

Similar workshops for African filmmakers took place - also in Nairobi - in September 2010. "Last year we had 56 participants in seven disciplines. Now there are 66 filmmakers and eight fields of specialty," says DW Akademie project manager Michael Tecklenburg. Film acting has been added to the categories of training.

"It's fascinating to be able to take part," says actress Mumbi Maina of Kenya. "During film production it's usually impossible to collaborate so closely with the director, cinematographers and all the others on the set. This is great!" Camera operator Christian Gakombe from Rwanda agrees. "It's fantastic to be in such close contact to so many filmmakers from different countries," he says.

There were also some prominent guests during the two-week training sessions. A delegation from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the annual Oscars, spent three days contributing to the workshop. Among the high-profile names were Spike Lee's production designer Wynn Thomas and actress Alfre Woodard from the TV series "Desperate Housewives".

All of the workshop participants have experience in the film industry. They and the project partners - DW Akademie, One Fine Day Films and Ginger Ink - share the goal of strengthening African film-making and helping it achieve an international breakthrough. Tecklenburg says, "On the one hand we want to promote the arts. On the other hand we want to reinforce the entire film business in Africa."

"Nairobi Half Life" is the name of a film that was created during the joint project last year. It is scheduled to appear in movie theaters soon. Shooting for the second film is to begin in mid-September.


The "One Fine Day Film"-Workshop project is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Filmstiftung NRW and the Goethe Institute in Kenya.