By Ogova Ondego
Published January 23, 2015
Eastern Africa’s motion pictures platform for children and youth kicks off events marking its 10 years of operation on January 26, 2015 with the monthly Lola Kenya Screen film forum (LKSff).
As has been the case since 2005 when what has become Nairobi’s premier critical motion pictures gathering began, the 82nd LKSff at Goethe-Institut shall bring together players in the motion pictures sector to screen and discuss three films and network thereafter.
Setting the pace for what promises to be a tightly action-packed but enjoyable evening shall be ABOUT NDUGU, a short fiction film by David Munoz of Spain that revolves around a boy from eastern Kenya seeking a wife for his US American foster father who has just been widowed.
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ABOUT NDUGU that is set in the semi-arid rural Ukambani region of Kenya shall be followed by THE GOD OF THAAI, a short documentary by Joseph Mureithi Karugu on Kikuyu traditional religion and THE PICNIC by Jackline Emali Asava, a short fiction on courtship and its unpredictable challenges.
Started 10 years ago under the ArtMatters.Info cultural journalism programme of ComMatersKenya consultancy with the support of Goethe-Institut, LKSff–that brings together filmmakers, film critics, film writers, students, scholars, policy-makers, funders, actors and actresses, social awareness groups, cultural agencies and other players with a stake in the film sector–s run every last Monday of the month at Goethe-Institut in the Nairobi Central Business District.
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During LKSff, selected films, usually those made in or set in eastern Africa, are screened followed by open and critical discussion pertaining to accepted standards of filmmaking. The aim of the discussion is to encourage filmmakers and explore ways of integrating film production in eastern Africa with other socio-cultural and economic sectors in order to come up with a veritable creative industry.
LKSff, one of the five–school outreach, mobile cinema, film forum, internship & mentorship, media & information literacy, festival–programmes of Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media festival, skills-development programme and marketing platform for children and youth in eastern Africa, is One of the first places where new films are seen and young talent spotted.
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The films exhibited and discussions arising from LKSff are reviewed and published by ArtMatters.Info with a view to promoting the films; the published articles are picked by film festivals, media schools and international funding agencies around the world; the articles are also picked by journalists and other mass media for reproduction.