Year in Review

December 11, 2006: I jet in back from South Africa, just in time for Jamhuri Day (December 12). It’s soooo good to be back in Kenya. The future seems full of possibilities! 8 months to the first ever Kenyan rock film fesival.

January, 2007: I meet with the audiovisual attaché at the French Embassy regarding a venue and films for the first ROFFEKE. A very kind man. He tells me of the Musique en Scene series which features artists like Les Nubians and a couple of French rock bands. He refers me to someone at the Alliance Francaise.

February 2007: I meet with a very helpful lady from the marketing department of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The KICC would be an awesome venue for ROFFEKE!

March 2007: I meet with most of the ROFFEKE founding members for the first time. A lovely (and lively!) group of people. Also, in this month, I learn of a certain rockumentary called Afro-Punk, which is about African American punks.

April 2007: David Hughens, the director of Elvis’ Grave gives ROFFEKE permission to screen his film on the night of Elvis’ 30^th death anniversary.

May 2007: I go for a meeting about ROFFEKE at the Kenya Film Commission.

June 2007: Shiku, one of the founding members of ROFFEKE tells me about “Girls Rock”

July 2007: I write the script for the short film “Black Genes”. Another ROFFEKE founding member, Kagure Njagi, shoots and edits it.

August 2007: The first ever ROFFEKE is held at the Pavement club.

September 2007: I attend a scriptwriting workshop that takes place during the Kenya International Film Festival. The workshop was facilitated by Gaston Kabore, a filmmaker from Burkina Faso and the founder of a film school called “Imagine” (www.imagine.bf).

October 2007: I attend a scriptwriting course at the Godown Arts Centre. The course is facilitated by Charles Liburd. As part of the course, we watch Die Hard 4. There is one scene in the movie where they show a part of Flyleaf’s music video for “I’m so sick”

November 2007: I think I’m so sick of ROFFEKE. I wrestle with giving up.

December 2007: I am getting restless again. The airport is beckoning me again. A few days to the general elections. I will vote for the first time. I am disillusioned.

Remembering Freddie Mercury (and World Aids Day)

Mama, ooh, I don't want to die

-‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen.

“The video made by Queen in 1975 to accompany Bohemian Rhapsody is generally regarded as the first conscious use of music video to promote a pop single.” (Keith Negus, ‘Producing Pop’, pg 93).

‘After Freddie Mercury died [on November 24, 1991], ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was re-released, with all the profits designated for a British AIDS charity, the Terence Higgins Trust. The single which had made Queen rock legends was at number 1 just six days later. In death, as in life, Freddie Mercury proved that he was a hard act to follow.” (Alan Hall, ‘Secrets of the Stars’).

Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar (Kenya’s neighbour), in September 1946 to Persian parents who named him Farokh Bulsara. Freddie took the name Mercury because he thought that, like the liquid metal, he would “spill over the world like no-one before me.”

“As the disease grew steadily worse so Mercury devised new ploys to disguise its ravages. He wore thick make up to hide the blotches and lesions; he padded his clothes out to make his body appear to be more nourished than it really was.” (Alan Hall, “Secrets of the Stars”).

Freddie’s statement signed hours before his death in November 1991:

“I wish to confirm I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth. I hope everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”

Who wants to live forever,
Who dares to love forever,
Who dare who dare,
Who wants to live forever,
When love must die

Wiyathi Halloween Gig!

Date: Saturday, 3rd November
Time: 1pm
Place: Trackers (opposite Yaya Centre)
Bands:1. Last Years Tragedy
2. Navarone.
3. Ueta
4. Bloodshed.
5. Seismic
6.M2O
7. Murphy's Flaw

Cancellation: Afro-punk screening

Due to some technical difficulties, the Afro-punk screening is cancelled until further notice.

Afro-Punk screening

Problem: lack of venue and projector/screen Solution: Have the film fest in an internet cafe!

On the fourth floor of Norwich Union House (opposite the Hilton hotel) there is an internet cafe that has 74 computers. This is where I have decided to screen Afro-punk. (I wish I got this idea one year ago. Would have saved me a whole lot of stress, time and money!)

They charge 1 shilling per minute. Afro-punk is about 66 minutes so anyone who is interested in watching the documentary will be required to pay 60 bob for the use of a computer.

I plan to screen Afro-punk on the 21st of October (Sunday at 3pm, Norwich Union House (opposite Hilton hotel), fourth floor. You will be required to pay 60 bob for the use of a computer.

There are only 70 computers available.Anyone who wishes to come watch the documentary should send an email to roffeke@yahoogroups.com. Put "Afro-punk" as the subject. In the body of the email, write how many people you intend to bring along. If you're coming alone, write "none".

For more information about Afro-Punk check out www.afro-punk.com For more information about the venue check out www.browsekenya.com

Review: Murfy's flaw gig (from back to front:-)

10. We all huddle together. Waiting for the sun to come out again.:-(
9. Navarone is forced off stage. By the rain.
8. Navarone comes on stage. I won't try to describe how they played because no words can do them justice. You had to be there. All I can say is that Navarone renewed my faith in the Kenyan rock scene. Hearing and seeing them play reminded me why I put up with all the nonsense in this scene. By the way, NAVARONE'S DRUMMER FOR PRESIDENT!:- )

Read the rest of the review here. And here are photos of the gig

Murfy's fLaW October 6th Gig

Jozie posted this on Kenya Rocks:

You're all invited (begged to come) to Murfy's fLaW gig on Saturday 6th October at The GoDown Arts Centre from 2pm to 6pm.

The format is pretty simple. There are two bands playing, Murfy's fLaW and M20, AND there's going to be an open mic session, so if anyone else is interested in playing a couple of songs, please feel free to sign up.

Entrance is FREE, so come, buy some drinks, sit in the sun and enjoy yourselves.

Kitchen Party

I met Samba Yonga at a 2004 scriptwriter's workshop held in Cape Town. It was such a joy to discover that not only did we share a passion for all things film, we also were passionate about rock 'n' roll in general and Alanis Morrissette in particular:-) Below is a synopsis of the short film that she (Samba not Alanis!) directed.

Synopsis

KITCHEN PARTY

Duration: 28 minutes

Directors: Milumbe Haimbe and Samba Yonga (Eris Progeny Films)

Producer: Anna M. Phiri
Language: English

Country: Zambia

In a restrictive society where a young woman’s pride lies in acquiring stability, a home a husband and children. Madison, a young aspiring musician struggles to find her identity when she resists taking up her expected role and takes her own path.

Madison’s cousin Leonisa is getting married, Leonisa was a person who shared Madison ’s dreams of becoming a musician a person who somehow along the way had left the dream that they shared with Madison for a more sensible lifestyle. Getting married. Madison still held on to the dream of becoming a rock musician and persevered she sent a demo to South Africa and she is called for a meeting with them her challenge is to raise money to get to the meeting which is scheduled on the same day as her cousins wedding. A wedding she expected to attend without fail.

Defying her traditional and family roles Madison works hard to achieve her goals against all odds. The story embarks on a journey that reveals how one person’s ambition alters ones perspective on what direction one should take in life. Set in modern day Africa , the story glides through the intricacies of the rich African tradition and how it retains and at the same time loses its authority in an ever-changing society.

The film explores how traditional norms confine a person and puts them in a prison that they themselves do not see and how breaking free from this freedom is looked at as disrespectful and unusual.

Biodata

Directors Biography

Born in 1979, Samba Yonga is a Zambian who has a Diploma in Journalism from the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce in Lusaka, Zambia. After working at the nations largest paper for a year, she moved into TV and radio productions and has worked on a number of local radio and television programs. She attended a scriptwriter’s workshop funded by Deutsche Welle Television in Germany and facilitated by South African film maker Dermod Judge, where her idea for a documentary was selected as one of the best ideas and she was selected to attend the Sithengi Film Festival in November 2004. It is her first full directorial project. She recently worked as trainee assistant director on the set of Zambian director and filmmaker Catherine Kaseketi’s “SUWI” film project. She has also worked extensively on two film projects. ‘What makes a Zambian’ which is a documentary and also co-written a short film called ‘Kitchen Party’.

The most common reason why Kenyan rock bands break up

In the West, rock bands break up because of creative differences or death of a band member. In Kenya, the most common reason why bands break up is that a band member is leaving the country to go to the West for further studies! Yet another Kenyan band has succumbed to this phenomenon and is looking for new band members. This was posted on Kenya Rocks:

Hi,

Am in a local rock band.It has suffered a bit of loss in manpower. We need new members asap. We have gigs coming up. We are looking for a good drummer,lead guitarist (plus of course, he must play rhythm also), and a keyboard guy. All these guys must be preferably working class, over 21 and have atleast 2 years playing experience. (we can make exceptions though - anyone can try. you'll never know!) A great voice is an added advantage.

Holla @ me for more info.

For more info: kenyarocks@yahoogroups.com

Remembering 9/11

I watched you bravely bear

I was on a break from University so I was watching one of my favourite cartoons, Johnny Bravo. Suddenly I was interrupted by a newsflash; smoke was billowing from a building. “Big deal,” I muttered. “Bring Bravo back!”

“The sting of foreign killer bees from the air”

After five minutes, I began to get really impatient. “What is taking them so long? They should be returning to the scheduled programming by now!” As I was sitting there, fuming, watching smoke billowing from a building, a plane appeared on the TV screen…and flew right into a second building! I sat up.

So you dropped down to your knees

Amid prayers, profanities and pleas

Reluctantly taking with you thousands

Hoping that in time we would understand

I couldn’t understand it. How could a human being plan such a horrendous attack on his fellow human beings?

(Here is the rest of the story.)

Quote of the week:-)

"To be involved with a festival and be a programmer, you have to love film…. I mean love it like a girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife. You have to love it, warts and all."
—Matt Dentler, South by Southwest Film Festival

Quote is from a roundtable discussion with three programmers of major U.S. film festivals.

Black Genes!

“I did it! Now to edit.”

“It” is the short film (with a rock theme) that Kagure Njagi - yet another ROFFEKE founding member - asked me to help her write:

“Hey! I got Mostafa to be in my production, but I have no idea what the production is…HELP!”

So I helped. We met at the bomb blast park to discuss the way forward. We brainstormed about the concept and she finally came up with one that we both liked. And though I was swamped, I agreed to send her the script by evening the next day.

3.30pm the next day. I still hadn’t sat down to tackle the script. The truth was, I was afraid and was suffering from self doubt: “Who are you to write another script when you haven’t even finished typing and proof-reading the one you started four years ago?”

But at 4pm, I killed that nasty, accusing voice, prayed to my higher power and hoped for the best. Two hours later, I emerged with the script! Four days later, Kagure shot the film:

“I did it! Now to edit.”

And yesterday, Kagure sent me two promo pics for BLACK GENES.I am soooooo proud of her!:-)

Guerilla Film Festival! (The gothic side of ROFFEKE):-)

Yesterday, I was stuck in between two worlds, film and rock. Which is understandable since it was supposed to be a rock film festival. Turned out to be more of a rock BAND festival.Anyway.

I had to cut Bloodshed's wonderful performance short. We were running behind schedule and the management was insisting that I show the first movie, Elvis' Grave. And since it was supposed to be a rock FILM festival....Anyway.

The motto of the festival is Friendship, fun, freedom. I made friends. I suppose some people had fun. But I thought there was very little freedom. And it's difficult to be friendly and have fun without freedom. So now I'm going to concentrate on the freedom aspect of the festival. Freedom is...messy.Dictatorial. Undemocratic. Guerilla-ish. People. I will have my festival. And this time, things will go my way.

*putting on war paint*

No more miss nice guy:-)

Um, if anyone has anything good to say about yesterday, please let me know. Don't bother mentioning the negative aspects. They will be forever etched in my mind. They will be fodder for my guerilla warfare:-)

Benta!

Ok, so Cajetan Boy invites me to the premiere of Benta, a Kenya film for which he had written the screenplay. And the invitation was very clear that the dress code was "strictly black tie". Woe. Weeping. Gnashing of teeth. The last time I wore formal was on my Graduation Day. About five years ago.I didn't have 'formal shoes' so on Friday I went shoe shopping. A very traumatizing experience! It was so traumatizing that I bought myself three novels just to make myself feel better:-)

So anyway, Sunday, 12th, the day of the premiere. I reach the venue, Kenya National Theatres and what is this I see? Only about two other people are wearing formal. AND I'M ONE OF THE TWO! ALMOST EVERYONE IS WEARING CASUAL!!! To make matters worse, I see Cajetan and he's wearing casual! Cajetan, ushindwe!:-)

Fast forward to about an hour later. I'm sitting in the darkened theatre watching Benta. My formal outfit (including my short skirt which is riding dangerously up my thighs) is forgotten. Everything is forgotten. Because this movie Benta is the best Kenyan movie I have watched so far!

So why am I mentioning a non-rock themed movie like Benta on a rock film blog? Yes, Benta doesn't have a rock theme but it touches on some of the same things that we Kenyan rock fans are struggling with. There is the class issue. Benta is a househelp working for an upper class family. Rock in Kenya is considered 'upper class' music. There is the problem of cliche's. Benta is hardworking, intelligent and perceptive. But her employers consider her to be just a stereotypical househelp. Kenyan rock fans are stereotyped as 'trying to be white'. Or being 'devil worshippers'. Which brings me to the other issue that Benta touches on. The hypocrisy of the church. It's Benta's church-going employers who treat her like a non-human being. It is the church that is most critical of ALL rock music, whether Christian or not.

Enough said. It doesn't matter whether you like rock or not. If you like good quality, entertaining movies that don't preach at you but still manage to put their point across about the social ills plaguing this great country of ours, Kenya, then Benta is the movie to watch.

BENTA

SIX SHOWS ONLY.
18TH and 19TH AUGUST:

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE.

10:00 AM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM

CHARGES--- ADULTS 300/=.STUDENTS:200/=

ADVANCE BOOKING HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Similarities and differences between April 22 Trackers gig and August 11 Ueta gig:-)

Similarities:
1)At both gigs, the first songs played were by my favourite bands!Trackers gig, Murphy's Flaw played Otherside by RHCP. Ueta gig, Ueta played 'Meant to live' by Switchfoot! Woooooo! In between us helping Ueta sing the song, Mercy said to me that she was seeing the music video in her mind's eye. You know, the walls falling down etc. People. Bands. That's the power of a good music video. Not only are videos good for promoting your songs, they also ensure that you stay in Mercy's - I mean people's - mind long afterthe establishment has stopped playing your songs on the radio:-) (Or way before the establishment realises that they need to be playing your songs on the radio!)

2)LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY!!!:- ))))))))

3) Girl power! Tracker's gig. Murphy's Flaw. Girl power! Ueta gig. UPSTREAM! Wooooooo! They did that beautiful song from "A walk toremember" Love that movie! Love that song! Love Upstream!:-) As Kagure (yet another ROFFEKE founding member) and I were helping Upstream sing the song, Kagure told me she hasn't watched the movie. Kagz, again, GO WATCH THE MOVIE! I highly recommend it:-)

Differences
1)Metanoia did a hip hop thingy.Wasn't bad actually. They reminded meof Outkast. And I think Outkast have the rock 'n' roll spirit, even if they don't do rock music. 'Hey ya' is pretty close to rock, I think. Very Beatle-esque, don't you think Daudi?;-) But I digress.Loved Metanoia's breakdancing lol!

2)There was CRUNK???! Yes you heard right. Crunk. At first I thought I had misheard the MC (who did a very good job MC-ing by the way) but Mercy assured me that yes, coming up next was Crunk. My spirits sunk.But then this dude does his crunk thing and it is sooo full of energy that it's almost...rock! Almost. But not quite:-) I was glad when wewent back to rock but I must admit that Jesse ALMOST made me like Crunk. Almost. But not quite:-)

3)Then it was time for Moses and Ueta. Or was it Moses and Metanoia? It doesn't really matter cause all I could see was Moses. He has GREAT stage presence and has a lot of fun on stage. Well done Moses.There was a lot of other great stuff. The girl with the AMAZING voice who sang that Evanescence song. The group that rapped, can't remembertheir name. etc etc. We left early, at around 6.30pm so maybe someonewho stayed longer can tell us what happened next?

Tahi (THANK YOU!!!) filmed the gig so those who weren't there, you can watch it on DVD. We will try and screen it at the festival, if things go my way, which for the past few days have not been going my way.Anyway. Thanks Ueta. Thanks Nairobi Baptist. I had a lovely time! I almost didn't come cause, well, I was in a mood.:-)But I'm glad I did!

Veni, Vidi, VENUE!!!

Finally! ROFFEKE has a venue! Joy! Jubilation!

Venue: Pavement (was also the venue for the launch of Kenyan chapter of Future Shorts)
Day: 16th August 2007 (the 30th death - oh excuse me - "disappearance" anniversary of the King of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley.)
Time: From 7pm
Entry fee: Ksh 300

Hope to see you there!

Special thanks to Elijah Kahara and the Kenya Film Commission.

Excerpt from Interview with David Hughens, director of Elvis' Grave

Mildred Achoch talks with David Hughens about film, music and schizophrenia!

What exactly is your musical background?
I pursued a musical career for about 13 years as a singer/songwriter and guitar player. You can check out the last band I was putting together at what's left of the website: http://www.pureethyl.com/

I checked out your online portfolio. Love the "Kiss meets Cash" poster for Pure Ethyl!

Thanks for the compliment. I was living in Nashville when Johnny died a few years ago and I
had always wanted to try and meet him. I think he would've gotten a big kick out of that picture.

So what's the status of Pure Ethyl? Does the band still exist?

Pure Ethyl died when I left Nashville 3 years ago. After 13 years of pursuing music, I finally got tired of ramming my head against the bloody brick wall.

Have you directed any music videos?

When you watch Elvis' Grave, you will see that there are several "music videos" within the film, so I guess I have directed music videos.

Do you think it's easier/better to start out as a feature/shorts film director then go on to directing music videos or vice versa?

I think shooting shorts or music videos is the way to start. They cost less money and take less time and they tend to be more experimental (forgiving in their adherence to a strict set of rules), unlike a feature length narrative. Plus, it is easier to find a band that wants a video and is willing to pay for some of the cost while giving you a chance to play around with your style. My big thing is I believe you should always tell a story, so the idea or script is king. It must be absolutely rock solid. The script is the most important part. It is like the foundation of a house or the drummer in a rock band -- without which, you don't have diddle. There are so many films that are style over substance and I don't really care for them. Give me a good story every time. So, make sure you tell your audience a story every time you shoot, whether it is a music video or a feature.

Part of your bio reads: “David was only the second person to make a homegrown feature film in Alabama, and at the age of 22, the youngest to do so.” Has this situation changed in your hometown?

The number of filmmakers in Birmingham has grown in leaps and bounds since I shot my film in 1989. And I believe it is directly related to the Sidewalk Film Festival --
http://www.sidewalkfest.com/. I wish it had been around back when I was starting out. The guy running the festival called Elvis' Grave the Grandfather of independent films in Birmingham. High praise for little ol' me.

How would you describe yourself?

I often tell people I'm schizophrenic -- I'm not really, but I do have many sides to my personality. That way, "we" are never alone -- always someone to talk to! I feel like it is really good for "creative" types to be this way, because it gives you a lot to draw from. If you have many different interests, you are more likely to experience many different things.

Afro Punk Various Artists / CD / 2006

Not only did Mathew Morgan - Afro-Punk Director James Spooner's business partner - give us permission to screen Afro-Punk, for a very minimal (almost free!) fee, he also gave us a copy of the Afro-Punk compilation CD.

(Review from logoonline.com)

"Afro Punk may be misnamed as a compilation, but it contains utterly great music. In fact, the tunes here range from the new punk-metal (the opener "Protoculture (Sankofa)" by Cipher), to hardcore ("Kémite (Kahi)" by D-Fe), to melodic punk ("Are You Still Working at That Café?" by Yaphet Kotto, not the actor) to new wave futurism ("Space Dancehall" by Eternals) to emo ("Dance in Blood and Pretend It's Snow" by Fitts and "Boot" by Tamar-Kali) to post-punk and garage rock (" Not Ready" by Slack Republic). And there's much more here in this dizzying, dazzling sampler. This is a compelling and utterly engaging listening experience form front to back, especially for those punters who have the "shuffle" option on the sound box. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Not forgetting folk punk ("Loose lips" by Kimya Dawson) I didn't even know folk punk existed!

1. “Protoculture (Sankofa)” by Cipher

What sardony.

This alien bitterness I'm fed. Deuteronomy Chapter 5, Verse

10, "I bestow mercy down to the thousandth generation, on

the children of those who love me and keep my

commandments.” They round them all up. They ordered us

dead 100 thousand, thousand men, women, and children.

Shackled like chattel. Beat 'til we bled. And they all said

so if you wanna burn yourself remember that I LOVE YOU

and if you wanna cut yourself remember that I LOVE YOU

and if you wanna kill yourself remember that I LOVE YOU

call me up before you’re dead, we can make some plans instead

send me an IM, i'll be your friend

16. “Loose Lips” by Kimya Dawson

3. “Are You Still Working At That Café?” by Yaphet Kotto

(they'll never take us all alive;

i work too hard to deal with this shit)

subversive living leaving scars

citizens are tearing a part of you;

this wasn't in the job description

Girls Rock!

This was posted by Shiku on the Women and rock forum. Shiku is studying Sociology and Psychology at Kenyatta University. We're working on a "Sociology of Rock" project. :-)She is a ROFFEKE founding member and a member of both Kenya Rocks and Kenya Punk. But most importantly, we are both members of the goth club of Kenya - the home of Kenyan 'weirdoes'.:-)

It was very weird the way this happened. I knew about the rock 'n' roll camp for girls and I had made a note to contact them regarding movies about girls/women and rock. But with my hectic schedule, this kept being moved further and further down my to-do list until it was forgotten. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I read Shiku's post on the Women and rock forum! Thanks Shiku!

'Hey, here's film about a rock and roll camp for girls. i quote form the website."The finished movie focuses on Laura, an articulate Korean adoptee obsessed with death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth-addiction, homelessness and gang activity; Palace, a sweet-seeming 8-year-old with a heavy metal sneer, and Amelia, who's writing a 14-song cycle about her dog Pippi. Forming bands, writing songs and playing a gig in one week, these girls and the rest of the camp engage in an experiment in empowerment that will leave no-one unchanged."

I haven't watched it yet tho i'd love to!here's the link.

http://www.girlsrockmovie.com/Flashsite/launch.html'

My top ten moments at the Sunday 22nd April Trackers gig

1.Murphy's Flaw: They opened with a not-so-flawless but still recognizable version of "Otherside" by RHCP. I love RHCP so personally, I thought it was a good way to start the show.
2.Murphy's Flaw: Did a Swahili rock song! It can be done!:-)
3.Murphy's Flaw: I noticed that with the exception of the lead singer, all the other band members were chicks. Girl power!
4.UTANOIA!: That's what someone labeled the band merger between Metanoia and Ueta. Brilliant stuff. I was very impressed.
5.LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY!
6.LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY!
7.LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY!
8.LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY!
9.Who's the lead singer of Navarone? He has very pretty hair:-)
10.LAST YEAR�S TRAGEDY!

At the show, I finally met Paul Maina – popularly known as mambono – another founding member of ROFFEKE, and a member of Kenya Rocks. Paul has been with Kenya Rocks since the very beginning when there were only about 10 members. Now we are over 70 members.

During those early days, I remember asking him whether he was a Bono fanatic like me since the latter half of his username is “bono”. No he’s not a bono fanatic. He is more of an Oasis fan. Though he was so moved by the video for “The saints are coming” (U2+Greenday) that he wrote a wonderful review of it.

April Fool?

Four months to go...

Sunday was the first of April. And on Sunday I received my very first positive reply from a filmmaker. So I can be forgiven for thinking that Mr. David Hughens , the writer and director of Elvis' Grave , was making an April fool out of me.

It was too good to be true. And so I sent a reply, half-expecting that I would never hear from Mr. Hughens ever again. But surprise, surprise! I am not an April fool!

Indie rocks!

It's time to change strategies. Clearly, I'm getting nowhere fast, chasing after "the establishment". It's time to approach independent filmmakers.

Afro-Punk?!

A documentary about African-American punks?! I never would have guessed! Thanks to Jack Abok - the guy who introduced me to Nirvana, the guy who came up with the name Kenya Rocks - I am now aware of the Afro-punk movie/movement.

Bomb Blast Park meeting

I HATE meetings! But this particular meeting wasn't so bad because of:

1) The Place. The meeting took place at the August 7th Memorial Park: "The gentle undulating hillocks and well-tended lawns lend their charm to the Memorial Park as do the two little sitting areas, made up entirely of thick vines. A fountain bubbles in the centre of the park." Looking around, you wouldn't guess that back in 1998, it was the location of the U.S Embassy and the site of the horrible terrorist attack which killed more than 200 people. "A sculpture made up of debris from the blast dominates one side of the park - striking and poignant at the same time."

2)The People. It was great meeting the founding members of ROFFEKE: Josephine - architect, bass player for Murphy's Flaw and designer of ROFFEKE'S logo; Shiku. And Michael Kaburu, who I must admit was the mastermind behind the meeting (too many M's in that sentence?:-) Mike is an accountant. Gulp. I respect anyone who chooses to study accounts WILLINGLY.:-) When he's not playing with numbers, Mike plays guitar for "Edge of Reason". Like me, Mike is a big fan of Christian rock.

Thanks Mike!

FRUSTRATION!

Excerpt from the message I posted on Kenya Punk

"....Right now I'm busy chasing after American companies, asking for their permission to screen their films. A very frustrating exercise...."