Kenya’s film industry is not being promoted, says celebrated actor Oliver Litondo

 Oliver Litondo acting as Kimani Maruge in the movie 'The First Grader' [PHOTO: COURTESY]

Kenya: For Oliver Litondo, acting has been a source of livelihood and it is better to listen to him when he says that it is time to salvage Kenya’s film industry from the doldrums.

He is one of Kenya’s most decorated actors as he has bagged several local, continental and global awards including M-Net Hall of Fame Awards and Kalasha Awards for his roles in various productions.

He has grown from his roles on stage productions as a youngster to the big stage in his sunset days when he got a main role in The First Grader, a biopic of Kimani Maruge who started attending school at the age of 84.

Before he started getting roles in big budget movies, Oliver had been a common feature at the Kenya National Theatre and had roles in local television series, but he does not have very kind words for local theatre and film industry.

Many Kenyans who grew up in the 80s and 90s remember Oliver as a journalist and news anchor at Kenya Television Network and other local stations.

He feels that acting, or Kenya’s film and movie industry which is said to be doing well, is on its deathbed and a lot needs to be done to resuscitate it in order to restore the industry’s pride and heritage.

“It is all different here,” he says of the United States, where he currently lives. “Acting for TV, for theatre and for film are all different. My work with big film industry has taught me that.”

SCRIPT WRITER

He says that in Kenya, actors tend to over-act, something that does not happen in the US. “Here you don’t have to over-act. The huge lenses are very sensitive,” he says, as we chat in the lawns of his home in Bowie, Maryland State.

That Oliver is an accomplished rib-tickler is not in doubt and a man whose art has been recognised, considering that nowadays, he writes scripts for US production houses.

Apart from that, he looks for opportunities that should help in the realisation of Kenya’s potential as a big film destination, an opportunity that has never been tapped since independence.

“Looking at Kenya from a distance, I see immense and unique opportunities for both the young and elderly men and women who are interested in drama, theatre and film and creative arts, but their efforts have been frustrated,” he says. “Kenya has a lot of untapped talent which is either being sat on or ignored.”

What that means, he adds, is that numerous careers and dreams which could otherwise be nurtured are being ruined or simply cut short.

“The people I have talked to here in Hollywood and many involved in film production and the wider entertainment industry are very interested in what they can do for Kenya and Africa in terms of investment in film industry,” he explains.

He says many contacts he has made are “willing to bring their skills to Kenya and impart knowledge that can help us produce quality films for the global market.

“They are ready to offer training. They want partnerships and are keen on investing in Kenya’s film industry and build our capacity, yet we have not not strategically positioned Kenya to profit from this offer that will only work in our favour.”

RARE POTENTIAL

When Oliver says that, no one can contradict him, for, he has been in the industry for over 40 years and can pinpoint the opportunities which were not exploited, and which could have propelled the industry.

“Kenya has rare potential, ready human talent, unrivaled filming locations, varied geographical terrain, good weather which is summer all the time besides a rich cultural heritage in 42 communities,” he says as he wonders why these conditions have not worked for Kenya’s film industry.

“From where I sit, and from what I know, Kenyans are willing to work  and partner with visitors but the bureaucratic environment has not been conducive for the promotion of this arrangement.”

We were having this chat at the time when the US-Africa Summit was going on in Washington, and Oliver saw another opportunity that not only Kenya, but the whole of Africa missed as far as film industry is concerned.

He could not understand how the 50 African leaders who trooped to Washington, and specifically to the White House for dinner failed to take advantage of ready investment opportunities in their respective film industries.

“I realised that when African leaders were Washington DC, none of them talked about the film industry’s multi-million dollar potential which would come from very limited investment,” he says.”Well, while Kenya is asleep, Nigeria is minting millions of dollars daily by producing low cost movies but which have contributed immensely to the growth of Nollywood.”

Favourable climate

Even as he says that, figures from the Kenya Film Commission, which contracted Emerging Market Economics Africa to conduct a study on the local film industry, portray a profitable industry, even though there is not much to show for this much-touted progress.

The study found that direct earnings by the industry increased from Sh 281 million in 2004 to Sh 357.6 million in 2009, and that according to the Kenya Revenue Authority, the industry is estimated to have injected Sh 1,925.36 million in the economy in the financial year 2009/10 through local and international earnings.

Oliver believes that “we can create instant jobs for the youth who are leaving schools and colleges. We have investors who can take them on board in a three pronged strategy where they earn, train and work.”

He also says that he had a chat with President Uhuru Kenyatta in Washington DC and “I am glad he has his eyes trained in that direction and is willing to work with young people in Kenya to promote talent in the film industry.”

But what worries him is that people are not taking advantage of the favourable climatic conditions to make Kenya a preferred filming destination or to make movies.

“In Kenya, you can film for 12 months continuously without disruption by the vagaries of weather unlike in the US or Europe where winter and dangerous storms make them work for fewer months,” he says.

“I have been to Ghana to work with Kwaw Ansah, the producer of Love Brewed in an African Pot and I saw the potential as well as opportunities he has created and which Kenyans are missing. It is time we got our act right.”

Kwansa has four floors of studios in Accra where he shoots and hosts several TV productions concurrently. Thus, he offers employment opportunities opportunities to many young people. “It is time Kenya replicated some of such cool ideas,” he says.

Discipline is essential

Oliver asks the Kenyan youth to develop a thick skin to handle disappointments. “For example when you audition and do not get a role, that does not say anything about your inability, but possibly only that a preferred candidate was a better fit for the part.”

But he warns that “discipline is essential in acting and other creative arts, and an aspiring actor must be a disciplined person, since discipline is required to perfect your work in effectively portraying the character you are assigned.

“Being original in an actor’s portrayal of a character is key to success. It is not advisable to mimic how others would portray the character you are assigned. The actor has to give serious thought how to portray the assigned character from the actors’ own perspective.”

Oliver has enjoyed immense support from family and to write that the arts have been good to him is an understatement. He met his wife, Beldina Auma in the theatre.

“We met at the Kenya National Theatre stage, in a play he co-directed with Alakie Mboya,” reveals Beldina, a communications expert who works in a US office of a global financial institution. “A year later, we met at my work place when Oliver came to meet my boss over some journalistic assignment. We started dating from then on, co-habited for a few years and eventually got married.”

Apart from the stage production in which they met, they acted together in Gordon Parks’ Bush Trackers, in which Oliver co-starred with Joy Thom.

“I had a minor support role,” says Beldina, who adds that hard work and focus is essential to success in acting like in any other profession.

“For women, beauty is not essential to acting or to being a successful artiste,” she says. “Whether you are attractive or not, focus and industry are paramount.”