By Judy Joy Mugechi
Published August 13, 2010

The  official  opening  of the 5th annual Lola  Kenya  Screen  film  festival  was  such  a nice  event  that  will  remain  engraved  in  one’s  mind  for  such  a long  time. First  there  was  the  screening  of  movies  from  morning  till  evening. Many of the  movies  were  made  by  children  and  youth and so  it  was  a  nice  idea  by  Lola  Kenya  Screen to  showcase  these  movies  since  the move will help  the  youth  and  children  realise  their  abilities  and  goals in life.

Among the movies we watched and the one that I  really enjoyed most was Lost and Found, a short animation film produced by directed by Philip Hunt and Sue Goffe of the United Kingdom. The film revolves around a young boy who finds a baby penguin on his doorstep. Thinking it must be lost, he decides to take it home even if that means rowing all the way back to the South Pole. He prepares a boat and packs his food for the journey. He starts out early in the morning taking the penguin with him.
In the evening it starts to rain in torrents; they experience a storm and wild winds. His map gets blown away by the wind and the boat is carried away by the water, drowning them. After the storm calms down they lie on top of their capsized boat unconscious.

An octopus appears and puts the boat properly with his tentacles he gently places the penguin and the young boy in the boat. They finally row and reach the South Pole but it becomes difficult for the duo to part ways. The young boy decides to take the penguin with him back home. This film taught me about true friendship.

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Many of the films screened were superb, heart warming and thrilling. They were also emotional that they easily caught the attention of the audience that included young people like me, parents and even teenagers.

In the evening, just when the official opening began, people were entertained by dances from Talent Empire. The songs and dances were great to watch. The choreography and  rhythmical and vigorous dancing vigorously wowed the crowd that had gathered in the Concert Hall at the Kenya National Theatre.

Dr Simon Peter Otieno, founder of Talent Empire, said the group is located at Kayole One Primary School in the densely-populated eastern part of Nairobi. Talent Empire is a group that nurtures talented children in dancing and video production.

After this people were also informed about Mwelu Foundation, another group that nurtures the talents of young people in filmmaking, life skills and Photography.

Lola Kenya Screen director Ogova Ondego said that while some people invested in stocks and others in politics, “we at Lola Kenya Screen invest in our children.” It was with his in mind, he said, that Lola Kenya Screen was founded in 2005 to showcase films alongside equipping children with the skills in filmmaking, creative journalism, events planning and presentation, and film judging.

After the speeches refreshments were provided for the people attending the official opening of the Lola Kenya Screen festival.

The fifth Lola Kenya Screen that began on Monday August 9, 2010 will run for six days with the closing ceremony being on Saturday, August 14, 2010. The festival will have showcased more than 100 films from 38 countries and in 33 languages over the six days.

Whatever has got a beginning definitely got an end. This marked the end of day one.

Judy Joy Mugechi, 14 years, attends Pangani Primary School in Nairobi. She wrote this article in her capacity asa member of Lola Kenya Screen Children’s Press skills-development programme.