INT. NIGHT. KIGALI, RWANDA
Patti Bonnet and I met for brunch earlier today to get to know each other a little better and to talk strategy about our workshops! Afterward we took a short walk a few blocks around the hotel and noticed this area seems to be attractive to a number of foreign embassies. It was a VERY quiet Sunday afternoon for the most part until we found ourselves at a major intersection with many small businesses and a traffic circle which stood opposite a wonderful view of the countryside.
Its quite interesting to pick up little differences in the culture. For example, not one man I saw wore jewelry, and all were dressed in what we would call "casual"--no shorts, long sleeve shirts open at the collar, shoes. One would expect there to be a large number of motorbikes as they are so fuel efficient, but as it turns out most are taxis. The drivers wear vests with their license number stitched on and they carry an extra helmet for the passenger!
A few hours ago we finished a formal/informal meeting followed by dinner with our State Department colleagues who will be with us for the rest of our journey here. During the meeting we had teh pleasure of meeting the director of the Rwandan Film Festival (Pierre Kayitana)---and what an interesting young man he is and what a remarkable story he has to tell!
The Festival is in its 6th year and in each of the preceding years, they've focused on films from different countries. They made great strides in attracting broad audiences for their films (the actor/activist Danny Glover was a recent guest), and with the support of the Ministry of Sports and Culture, the festival Board of Directors, and various partners--Eric Kabera (the founder and chair), Pierre and a staff of about 15 young people have worked hard to create this very impressive venue for films--a tremendous success story, not only about programming a successful two-week event, but also helping to create a Rwandan film industry from the ground up. (Interestingly, the first week of the festival is spent driving into the surrounding countryside and using an inflatable screen to project the works to audiences, most of whom would not have access to these stories as there are no formal theaters in Rwanda. This is something these folks are working on as well!)
They've had Canadian, French and a few other European film companies come and produce their films in Rwanda. And why not? The temperatures are pretty constant (62 at night and 85 degrees during the days), the rainy season lasts only a few weeks, and winters are very mild. Just as importantly, there are few restrictions for filmmakers to enter the country with their equipment and work. Little to no fees exist for the most commonplace in-country support (even the Police feels its their duty to assist filmmakers when the need crowd control!) And there are roads to nearly every part of the country. Of course the landscape is incredible, and the Rwanda Film Institute (major organizer of the Festival) is helping to create the talent pool that will support film and filmmaking in the Country for many years to come.
They are also planning to step up their game--move their instructional capabilities from the workshop model to a diploma/degree curriculum. They've invested in a new (potential) location for the school and have even found a splendid vantage point nearby to erect a "HILLYWOOD" sign across a the crest of the hill. And believe it or not--most of the people involved in this effort are in their 20's. What a wonderful time to be in on the ground floor of creating the first-ever regional center for filmmaking in this part of Africa!
Well....tomorrow is the big day! We're up early and on the road by 7AM headed to Butare (40+ miles away) to begin our first workshops at the School of Journalism at the National University of Rwanda. We've asked all the questions we could think of and our State Dept. crew has provided us with all the information they have.
So---ACT TWO begins!
Patti Bonnet and I met for brunch earlier today to get to know each other a little better and to talk strategy about our workshops! Afterward we took a short walk a few blocks around the hotel and noticed this area seems to be attractive to a number of foreign embassies. It was a VERY quiet Sunday afternoon for the most part until we found ourselves at a major intersection with many small businesses and a traffic circle which stood opposite a wonderful view of the countryside.
Its quite interesting to pick up little differences in the culture. For example, not one man I saw wore jewelry, and all were dressed in what we would call "casual"--no shorts, long sleeve shirts open at the collar, shoes. One would expect there to be a large number of motorbikes as they are so fuel efficient, but as it turns out most are taxis. The drivers wear vests with their license number stitched on and they carry an extra helmet for the passenger!
A few hours ago we finished a formal/informal meeting followed by dinner with our State Department colleagues who will be with us for the rest of our journey here. During the meeting we had teh pleasure of meeting the director of the Rwandan Film Festival (Pierre Kayitana)---and what an interesting young man he is and what a remarkable story he has to tell!
The Festival is in its 6th year and in each of the preceding years, they've focused on films from different countries. They made great strides in attracting broad audiences for their films (the actor/activist Danny Glover was a recent guest), and with the support of the Ministry of Sports and Culture, the festival Board of Directors, and various partners--Eric Kabera (the founder and chair), Pierre and a staff of about 15 young people have worked hard to create this very impressive venue for films--a tremendous success story, not only about programming a successful two-week event, but also helping to create a Rwandan film industry from the ground up. (Interestingly, the first week of the festival is spent driving into the surrounding countryside and using an inflatable screen to project the works to audiences, most of whom would not have access to these stories as there are no formal theaters in Rwanda. This is something these folks are working on as well!)
They've had Canadian, French and a few other European film companies come and produce their films in Rwanda. And why not? The temperatures are pretty constant (62 at night and 85 degrees during the days), the rainy season lasts only a few weeks, and winters are very mild. Just as importantly, there are few restrictions for filmmakers to enter the country with their equipment and work. Little to no fees exist for the most commonplace in-country support (even the Police feels its their duty to assist filmmakers when the need crowd control!) And there are roads to nearly every part of the country. Of course the landscape is incredible, and the Rwanda Film Institute (major organizer of the Festival) is helping to create the talent pool that will support film and filmmaking in the Country for many years to come.
They are also planning to step up their game--move their instructional capabilities from the workshop model to a diploma/degree curriculum. They've invested in a new (potential) location for the school and have even found a splendid vantage point nearby to erect a "HILLYWOOD" sign across a the crest of the hill. And believe it or not--most of the people involved in this effort are in their 20's. What a wonderful time to be in on the ground floor of creating the first-ever regional center for filmmaking in this part of Africa!
Well....tomorrow is the big day! We're up early and on the road by 7AM headed to Butare (40+ miles away) to begin our first workshops at the School of Journalism at the National University of Rwanda. We've asked all the questions we could think of and our State Dept. crew has provided us with all the information they have.
So---ACT TWO begins!
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