By Lola Kenya Screen Press
Published January 19, 2009
Lola Kenya Screen movie platform for children and youth in eastern Africa is calling upon practising Kenyan filmmakers interested in television drama for children to apply for participation in her hands-on film production workshop in August 2009. As with film submission and skill-development programmes participation, the deadline for application is April 15, 2009.
Lola Kenya Screen has also released Africa.i.Motion and Docs for Today and Tomorrow, the films made during her 2008 production workshops by children, youth and practising filmmakers.
Africa.i.Motion, made by participants from Kenya, Zanzibar, Uganda and Zimbabwe in a workshop facilitated by Egyptian academic and filmmaker Eid Abdel Latif, is a compilation of five short animations with well loved and haunting music by Hellen Akoth Mtawali and her Afrizo singers.
Africa.i.Motion could mean ‘Africa in motion’ and also ‘Africa emotion’ as the films made are not only lyrical, poetic and playful but were also made during a period of socio-economic and political turmoil and turbulence in the eastern and southern African nations like Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The shorts-conceived, scripted, shot and animated by the children and youth-are Darkness in the Light, Mabadiliko Change, Cheprono, Mama Africa, and Mzalendo Patriot. 
The filmmakers are Crystal Ndolo, Charmaine Ndolo, Charlene Ndolo, Mina Ogova, Celestine Mwashagha, Stephen Miriri and Joseph Miriri of Kenya; Bakar Othman Bakar of Zanzibar; Bree Manuel Tonga of Zimbabwe; and Tristan Tani Zitoni Kayonga of Uganda.The compilation was realised through the support of Africalia of Belgium.
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Docs for Today and Tomorrow is the second compilation of short documentaries for children and youth made by practising filmmakers under the guidance of Duco Tellegen of The Netherlands in 2008. It contains BROTHER-brother by Sheila Mulinya, Journey to Pamoja by Solomon Mwendwa, Santos the Survivor by Rupinder Jagdev, Home Alone by Samson Karuu, I Survived by Yonnie Andal and The Public Speaker by Susan Mwangi.
Docs for Today and Tomorrow was made possible by the support of the Jan Vrijman Fund/IDFA of Holland.
Other films made by children and youth at Lola Kenya Screen include the Kids for Kids Africa grand prize winners Films by Children for Children (2006) and African Folk Tales Animated (2007).
While Films by Children for Children was made under the guidance of Antonia Ringbom of Sweden/Finland, the tutor for African Folk Tales Animated production was Finnish Maikki Kantola.
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Documentaries on the Lola Kenya Screen initiative include Audiovisual Reigns (2006), The Celebration (2007) and The Circle (2008).
Clips from Lola Kenya Screen productions, that have been screened all over the world, are on http://fr.youtube.com/user/artmattersinfo/
Viewers can also access these films through lolakenyascreen.org, artmatters.info, speakafrica.org and several other sites.
Meanwhile, Lola Kenya Screen has between December 2008 and January 2009 been presented on the South Africa-based satellite television M-Net, Kenya’s K24 Television, Radio China International (RCI) and Radio France International (RFI).
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Some of the children and youth who have participated in the Lola Kenya Screen skill-development programmes ‘Film Production, Creative Journalism, Film Jury, and Programme Planning and Presentation (MCs)’ since 2006 shared their experience and showcased their talent to the world.
