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...."

Jozie's logo

"Friendship, fun, freedom" is ROFFEKE's motto. I think my idea for the film festival logo is a bit militant. Oh ok, a lot militant:-) I think Jozie's logo idea is much better than mine, more in line with ROFFEKE's motto.

Thanks a million Got Jenn!

Got Jenn really helped me out by sending me a link that contained almost everything I needed to know about organizing a film festival (http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/publications/practical/howto/started.html)
She’s saved me a lot of research time so I can now move on to the next stage of the planning process.

Thanks a million Got Jenn!

Ronnie Mutuma's logo!

Thanks Ronnie for your logo!

Maasai shield and two crisscrossing electric guitars?

Message posted on Kenya Rocks

So here's a new idea for the logo: On the Kenyan flag there is a Maasai shield and two crisscrossing spears which represents the defense of freedom. How about instead of the spears, there are two crisscrossing electric guitars?:-) It will be like saying 'The Kenyan rock fans defend their freedom to listen to rock by using rock as a weapon':-)

Again, I'm no artist so I don't even know if it is possible to produce this idea on paper but I leave it to the artists of Kenya Rocks to prove me wrong...or right:-)

Logo for rock film festival

Message I posted on Kenya Rocks:

Calling all those who, unlike me, are NOT artistically challenged:-) A logo is needed for the rock film festival. Think "Kenya" , "Film" and "Rock 'n' roll" Post your ideas on the group and the members will vote on the best logo.