In Zambia programmer Gertjan Zuilhof hooked up with two filmmakers: Joanna Vasquez Arong and Jakrawal Nilthamrong. And with Jakrawal's assistant Go: director of photography and philosophical martial-arts master.
Cameraman Go on the car. Joanna Arong Vasquez on the ground. To the right a glimpse of Jakrawal Nilthamrong. His cameraman like high positions. Joanna documented Jakrawal's shoot extensively.
First I would like to apologize to Jakrawal's girlfriend. While we were in Zambia she checked this blog everyday, but found little on her friend or on Zambia. The blog writer pretended he was still in Uganda or Malawi although he also had Tanzania already behind him. I can give some excuses. Why would I stay in my hotel room to write if I can come along on a fun film shoot on an exiting location? And although I was not really a producer (the filmmakers mainly produced themselves) the films in the making kept me busy. I had to go after local filmmakers. Filmmakers that were sometimes hard to find or to contact in a country that was new and strange in so many respects. Filmmakers that often did not even have a copy of their own film and were often surprised when I asked for a dvd. But the main reason why my blog writing is so behind is just practical. African internet can be slow beyond believe. Anyway. Back to Zambia and it's capital Lusaka. Lusakais a city of wall's and secret gardens. Every house and building is surrounded by a big brick wall, so it is hard to see the city that feels like a big suburb even in the centre. The Street of my Lodge in Zambia. Like a nineteenth century pastoral painting. Quite unlike most of Africa.
Joanna made a documentary portrait of the Zambian woman filmmaker Catherine Musola Kaseketi. Musola also organized the production of Jakrawal. She is a remarkable woman. In fact she is the only serious Zambian filmmaker. One of the few African woman filmmakers and I guess the only disabled woman filmmaker on the continent. She overcame a youth of poverty and child abuse and is now something like the unofficial minister of culture of her country. Joanna was mainly interested in her background and traveled with Musola to the places of her youth. Like to her rural school.
Joanna following the traces of the youth of Musola.
Musola is a very active if not activist woman. Apart from her filmmaking she is involved in all kind of grass roots activities. Clearly she did not forgot where she came from.
Joanna and Musola and Women Empowerment Group. In the middle with camera Joanna and to the right with crutch Musola.
Joanna found out that it can be complicated to make a cinematic portrait of a strong willed filmmaker. Musola is not only used to direct her own movies, but directs in fact also her live and the image of it. But Joanna is no less strong willed and this Pilipino based in Beijing knows a thing or two about manipulation. The confrontation of the two directors should be interesting. Jakrawal came with a quite different plan and quite different ambition to Zambia. While writing his idea about a movie within a movie, about letting an African director making a short movie and putting this movie and the process of making it in his movie - meta movie, yes - he saw the chance of making his commissioned short into a feature. Not that there was a feature budget, but more South East Asian movies have been made like that. So his first mission was to find an African director. When Jakrawal arrived from Bangkok in Lusaka Musola had already three candidates lined up for him.
After the Audition.
Go and Jakrawal having a talk in their secret language while getting their equipment together. Juan Watson Mututa became the director. Non of the candidates had much film experience, but Watson's idea turned out to be the best to realize within the budget. For Watson is was a nice opportunity to get some experience, in fact the productions must have been like an intense work shop for him. Not only was he director he also played director in the overall film by Jakrawal.
Discussing the Script.
Watson at the right in a discussion that was real and acted at the same time. Go and Jakrawal seen on their backs. In the middle the man who had a solution for every problem: Paul Luanga. The Unreal Forrest, the title of the movie, was like a feature film production in miniature. And although miniature it looked real enough and attracted quite some volunteers and actors who wanted to be part of it. There were no roles for women so the aspiring actresses had to do make-up or catering or leave, but they all stayed and would turn a small local village into a kind of spaghetti western set for a day. I have too many nice pictures of that event to give them all here (the opening picture on top was made at that occasion) and give you just Jakrawal's (or Go’s judging from the high perspective) black and white location impression of things to come.
Location of The Village in Unreal Forest.
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