STORY 2~ OUR ART IS SACRED It was midnight. Circa 2004. I could not stand being in that huge Karen house anymore. I couldnt get a taxi, and so I called an actor, whom I wasnt close to then, and who was by then one of the very few actors who had cars, to come save me. That desperate. He drove all the way from Westlands and rescued me, taking me to my slum home, and for the next several weeks became my chauffeur, counsellor whenever I got depressed in Karen.And a friend for life. You see, this house was a storylining hide out but was actually a hell hole. When some of us crawled into this industry a decade plus ago, enthusiastic, young and with the usual misguided thinking we could revolutionise the industry, there is something that was there that I dont see any more. We would sit in storylining sessions and FIGHT. yes, sometimes physically.(this was criminal i dont condone it) We tore scripts to shreds, people would CRY AND WALK OFF seeing ideas nit picked and holes poked. But would come back and see the other persons POV. And churn good scripts. After the scripting,we became enemies in regular life but whenever someone worked on any other show, we would call the same fellow enemies to look at the scripts and tear them apart, and go off to decide whether to change things or not. Actors then, rehearsed before they got on set, researched character, and during shoots really competed with each other in terms of all rounded delivery. (two current international actors were notorious then, for competing who would come to set with all lines crammed, who would do a one take, who would get a well done from the director. Then in the evening would brag over a drink. Heck, one came on set during a seasons read-through having crammed ALL 13 EPISODES, not looking at his script as everyone else thumbed through the pages,prompting the other to complain he was a show off,and that he would in turn show him how to deliver when we get on set. it was to say the least, kiddish. When episodes aired, we would sit in bars, restaurants, kenchics, social places and watch how wananchi reacted to watching our shows. And see what worked and what didnt. I was horrified by this group of writers actors directors etc hence my depression those days, but slowly learnt from them to take criticism, All of us went our different ways to different shows but always, despite the wars we fought, we SMSed each other what we thought of each others shows. Actors genuinely criticised each other. We would be on location shooting project X, then stop and turn on a telly to watch a different project Y which a writer/director/ cameraman.actor was also in, and at the end literally critique, say what worked what didnt, sometimes with heartbreaking comments. But we never called each other haters even when we internally felt pained. We were not friends, but we were our brothers keepers, popping up at screening sessions and talking our minds at the end, sometimes with embarassing comments but which we respected as someones opinions. I can confidently say now, NAME ANY ICONIC TV SHOW/FILM SINCE 2002, it has directly had these guys involved. These days all I see mostly is gossip and name calling when people voice ideas on sets or about shows. We all want praise and hype even when it leads to dark pits. You can fool and be fooled by your peers, but cant fool the millions of audiences out there. Once aired, you dont have the luxury to explain to Mandera guys what you explain to your buddy. The film explains itself. Is it a wonder some shows are lacking in some ways that can so simply be corrected if guys care to listen instead of whipping out flags of patriotism and hobble along on crutches of learning curves? Learning never stops, but again basic learning rudi kindergarten. From script to edit, once it airs no excuses, learn from reactions and better yourself. Now these hostile guys are doing international stuff. Flying our flag to living rooms in Africa, while back home, there is now a call to not comment on local productions but instead forgive errors because these they are still learning and oh, at least we are doing something so we should all just shut up and be patriotic and not point out diaper level shortcomings.. Talking of learning, this reminds me when I attend workshops etc eg. film Africa et al workshops and see how each department thoroughly slaves to LEARN and vigorously work to remove mistakes before films come out. Did you hear Nairobi Half Life say hey we are learners forgive us? Because on the whole, there was very little diaper level errors to remind us the whole team was of trainees. (some might argue some crew had experience, but believe me it was like a highschool footballer being thrown into UEFA championship and made to produce a quality none had worked on before). Why cant we replicate the same rigourous work in our shows everyday? Patriotism means wanting the best for the ngao na mkuki flag of Kenya, not psycophancy. We wail and shout when athletes lose gold,silver is not good enough for Kenya. We shout about rugby and volleyball and Gor and stone AFC coaches. Heck, we become British patriots calling for Wenger to be sacked. Why are we defensive when the same is done to us? Or are the arts in Kenya sacred and critiquing a blasphemy that needs to be stoned? Well, my art is sacred. Just that sacred means different to many, for some it means dont attack, for some it means making every best effort to make it as clean and pure as one can. If you love good art, strive to produce good art. When stoned, pick the stones and use them to build a better work of art tomorrow. The audiences are waiting. By Director Simiyu Barasa
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:00:01 +0000