By Ogova Ondego
Published May 12, 2013
A new film festival with the motto, “Promoting African Documentariesâ€, has been set up in Nairobi, Kenya. The initiative, Film Africa Documentary Film Festival (Film Africa Doc Fest), brings to four the number of audiovisual media events held on annual basis in the commercial and political capital of Kenya.
The other festivals are the French-run European Film Festival (founded in 1993), Lola Kenya Screen (founded 2005) and Kenya International Film Festival (founded 2006).
Charles Peter Asiba, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Film Africa Doc Fest, says the first edition of the event will be held at Nairobi National Museum and Goethe-Institut from November 4 to November 9, 2013.
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“This will be the premier documentary film festival in the eastern Africa region,” Asiba, the Festival Director of Kenya International Film Festival, says. “We will screen documentary and short films from all over the world.”
Saying “The festival will offer an excellent opportunity for participants to share knowledge about cultural heritage of different communities at the international level while promoting intellectual dialogue and encouraging mutual respect through great documentaries and exchange of expertise”, Asiba adds that Film Africa Doc Fest “intends to celebrate the achievements of the documentary genre around the world, recognise exemplary performance and successes of documentary filmmaking, encourage innovation, creativity and intellectual interaction among film lovers, theorists, funders/financiers, producers, critics and students across the globe and finally applaud creative, dedicated, innovative documentary film teams and their achievements.”
Besides daily film shows at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi National Museum between 2.00PM and 9.30PM and outdoor shows in the evening in Mathare and Kibera slums, Film Africa Doc Fest also plans to host workshops and seminars. The East African Filmmakers Forum, for instance, is expected to bring together filmmakers, policymakers and festival directors from the region to discuss film development and access to funding.
“Participants will include the festival directors of Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), Burundi International Film Festival (Festcab), Rwanda Film Festival and Amakula Kampala International Festival, Lola Kenya Screen (Children film festival) and Film Africa Documentary Festival,” Asiba says in a statement released in Nairobi on May 8, 2013.
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“Other highlights of the first Film Africa Doc Fest shall be: Short films corner; Country Theme nights; East African Documentary Network (EADN); Student forum and competition; Access to funding and how to make a pitch for projects; Capacity building workshops; Launch of a one minute film project; and master classes “on technical handling of audiovisual equipment, script writing and development and interactive Q&A sessions with professionals,” Asiba says.
