Lola Kenya Screen

Zanzibar, Tanzania, July 25, 2006

Lola Kenya Screen, a film festival, film production workshop and audiovisual media market for children and youth set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, has released its line-up of jury, Press and film screening.

The birth of Lola Kenya Screen has been warmly received by various players in the audiovisual media sector attending the 9th ZIFF Festival of the Dhow Countries (July 14-23, 2006) in Zanzibar.

During a training seminar for film festival organisers in East Africa facilitated by Joy Mboya of The GoDown Arts Centre in Nairobi, Lola Kenya was praised as carving a niche for itself by selecting its mission and target audience with lots of care; that it had identified a niche market. various players described it as an event whose time was long overdue.

Lola Kenya Screen was also praised at the East African Film Forum that brings together film professionals from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Both the East African Film Forum and the seminar on festival management were sponsored by the British Council in Tanzania.

The inaugural Lola Kenya Screen will be held at Alliance Francaise and Goethe-Institut in Nairobi, August 7-12, 2006.

At the centre of the events making up Lola Kenya Screen that stands for ‘watching film in Kenya’ in the widely-spoken Bantu languages will be children and youth who will serve as film judges, reporters, events presenters and filmmakers-in-training.

In its commitment to uplift the standards of the arts and culture in eastern and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands through journalism riding on the platform of audiovisual media, ComMattersKenya, under its ArtMatters.Info project, has given children and youth the opportunity to serve on children’s film Jury, children’s Press, events presentation, and as participants in a practical animation film production workshop through which they will make five short films to be showcased around the world.

The Children’s Jury will select the Best Films, while the Children’s Press will file daily journalistic reports on Lola Kenya Screen and publish them on ArtMatters.Info (http://www.artmatters.info). The others will present events and learn how to make films. About 35 children drawn from across Kenya will participate in the official Lola Kenya Screen programme.

Here, we introduce some of the children and youth who have already been selected for the August 7-12, 2006 events.

Euan Nesbitt, 11, Mombasa
I go to Braeburn Mombasa International School. I often get top marks in my literacy exams, so I am capable of writing a report, and my teacher who has 30 years of teaching experience says I have a wide range of vocabulary. My classmates and I made a short video in fifth year to promote Mombasa. Last year I helped my friend Josh shoot a movie. And I watch a lot of movies that most kids my age would find boring or uninteresting. When Josh gets back from boarding school this holiday, we are going to edit his film and make the soundtrack.
I am looking forward to next year, when my classmates and I are going to compare movies in our literature classes. I like watching movies from around the world and would like to be writing reports on the same. It would also be great to learn more about making films and get a chance to make another one in the Lola Kenya Screen film production workshop.

Madline Awuor, 13, Naivasha
 I’m a pupil at Kabati Primary School in Naivasha. When I grow up I would like to be a journalist and so my working for the Lola Kenya Screen Children’s Press is a golden opportunity to get a taste of it. Although I’m learning in Naivasha, which is not very far from Nairobi, I will be available for the festival in Nairobi since schools will be closed for August holidays. I will perform my best. I’ll learn more and interact with other children from Nairobi and other parts of the world.

Melissa Akumu, 11, Nairobi
I attend Nairobi South Primary School. I am I am tall, dark, and a little bit fat with long dark hair. I am good in English and would like to gain more by participating in the festival presenting events and assisting in the Child Press. I am talented and possess the originality Lola Kenya Screen is looking for

Mina Ogova, 8, Ngong Hills
I am 8 years old and in Class Three at Greenyard Junior School in Ngong Hills. I’d like to serve on the jury because I enjoy watching films and talking about them. I also look forward to learning the art of appreciating films. I’d like to become a filmmaker so as to make good films for African children, youth and adults.

Esther Njeri, 8, Nairobi
I am in Class Three at Good Testimony Junior School located at Nyayo Estate in Embakasi.

David Nesbitt, 8, Mombasa
Last holiday, my brother Euan and I helped a friend make a short movie; I am usually the narrator in school plays because I have a loud clear voice. I am also good at noticing things. Last month my class went to visit Kikambala Primary School. In assembly, my friend Jamie and I had to explain our poster showing the school and how it is different from our school. At Kikambala, the students don’t have a lot of things we have but it is very clean and very quiet. I would like to learn more about children in other places from the films.

Alexis Baluka, 11, Nairobi
I am in Standard Seven at Nairobi Primary School. I love watching movies and whenever I watch them, I enjoy telling my mother about their content. I am suited for the role of the jury because I feel I judge fairly and give good advice. I also anticipate meeting new people. I am excited about Lola Kenya Screen Film Festival for children and youth in which I will serve on the film jury, children’s Press and as events presenter.

Edwin A Onyango, 16, Nairobi
I am a student at Uhuru Secondary School. I am passionate about film and widely knowledgeable of films, both practically and technically. I fluently speak and write English. I work under little supervision and under strict journalistic deadlines.

Samora Michelle, 10, Nairobi
I am in Class Five at Nairobi Primary School. We are fifty-three pupils in my class and I am one of the top ten performers. I would like to join the children’s film selection committee, children’s film jury and children events presenter.
I think I will contribute a lot to the Lola Kenya Screen festival because I like watching and understanding films. During weekends, I usually watch films from different countries. Those films help me in English. I expect to learn how judges select best films and I also want to differentiate different accents from different parts of the world. Most of all, I want to enjoy myself.