By Mkala Mwaghesha
LOI AWAT,23, premiered her movie, Blind Sight, at the Alliance Française last month. She talked to MKALA MWAGHESHA about her amazing journey
Q: Tell us about Loi
LA: I am a lady who loves life, people and stories. I do not fancy avocados and olives. I just completed my last exam for an undergraduate degree at Daystar University awaiting graduation. For the record, I attended Pangani Girls High School.
Q: Where did you nurture your filmmaking skills?
LA: Nurturing is an on-going process really. I first learnt about filmmaking by research and practice. Google and the Daily Script were my first base of filmmaking education, and then I later got the chance to attend forums like Maisha Film Lab and Kenya Film Commission’s Screenwriter’s Workshop. Film festivals and forums like Lola Kenya Screen have also been a huge benefit as they have encouraged me to keep trying. I was also lucky to join Daystar at a time when there were a lot of people with a passion for filmmaking. I was a part of that community through one Joe Nancy Mararo. To date, I have been working in the TV industry for a year.
Q: Where do you get the inspiration?
LA: I have not quite identified what exactly inspires me. I would say people inspire me though, because everyone has a story. Some are more boring than others of course, but everyone has a story. People get me thinking and visualizing. Struggle and pain, the spice of life, also inspire me. I do not write a lot of happy-ending stories.
Q: Have you done other films before Blind Sight?
LA: Yes, I have done a student film, The Nairobi Report, which I wrote and co-directed, as well as Once Upon A Rhyme: The Documentary, where I was co-writer and production manager.
Q: Tell us about Blind Sight
LA: It is a film by Ian Kithinji about a socially ignorant guy who finds himself in a tight situation. It is a film that looks into the Kenyan youth social construct in a college setting. We shot it in 2011. It is a really a special project for me because it is one of the major projects I have worked on, and Ian is a blessing. I learnt a lot on that set, and had a lot of good times.
Q: What are your plans for the film?
LA: For now, we intend to screen Blind Sight in Nairobi, and hopefully soon, across Kenya. It will be doing the festival rounds as well, so when Film Festivals and Lola’s come around, look out for it.
Q: What challenges do you encounter in the projects?
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LA: The challenges are mostly crippled finances and time. Budgets are usually tight, while time is constrained because some of the cast is mostly students. We, therefore, have to work around people’s schedules to for successful shoots.
Q: How do you finance such projects?
LA: In my opinion, independent movies are made through networks and friendships. While some movies in Kenya get funding from various organisations, mostly multi-nationals and NGOs, in my experience with independent filmmaking here, resources come from badgering your friends to chip in and get credits and cutting deals with stakeholders with an exchange of publicity.
Q: What else do you do with your life?
LA: Production is like my whole life. My friends hate me now, because I often cancel on plans. I am currently working with Buni Media on The XYZ Show, and at Zebra Productions. I write every day of my life.
Q: What do you love about your film projects?
LA: Filmmaking is very interactive and challenging. It involves many people that hold the ship together, and I love teamwork situations like those. As for my own projects, I love that I get to have my voice by the world. Movies, for now at least, are not perishable.
Q: What advice do you have for budding filmmakers and actors?
LA: Just do it. There is always an excuse and what I hear a lot from people is that they are passionate about filmmaking but lack of money. So they hold back fearing to make a movie that compromises on quality. Just make something. My advice-borrow a camera, call your family or friend, and force them to act. Make something nice, and then make something better and then another better one.
Q: How do you spend your free time?
LA: I do not have a lot of it, but when I do, I use up most of it with friends just talking, laughing and sharing. I frequent Slam Africa Poetry Night, which happens monthly at Das Ethiopian Restaurant. I also go for movies every month with a social group called Movie Jabber.
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