SOUTH SUDAN: Jollywood, South Sudan's nacsent film industry slowly takes shape with locally produced films.

Record ID: 437142

  • Title: SOUTH SUDAN: Jollywood, South Sudan's nacsent film industry slowly takes shape with locally produced films.
  • Date: 18th February 2013
  • Summary: JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DIRECTOR ON FILM SET SETTING UP SCENE VARIOUS OF DIRECTOR AND CAMERA MAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARY KADI MANOHA, FILM DIRECTOR SAYING: "The title Clash of Cultures, we have many cultures from all over the place. We have south Sudanese coming in from Europe we have south Sudanese coming in from America we have south Sudanese coming in from east Africa and the fact that they come from this deference places, they come with their own cultures here, they do not come with the south Sudanese culture that we know and its expected of us." ACTRESSES FILMING SCENE KADI DIRECTING SCENE WITH THREE ACTRESSES (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARY KADI MANOHA, FILM DIRECTOR SAYING: "They do not have the capacity, they do not have the funding. In fact the government as a people they are not really interested because film is not really their priority at the moment. So we have this film industry, it is struggling on its own to come up with what they can." MORE OF FILMING ON SET (SOUNDBITE) (English) STELLA KONGA, ACTRESS SAYING: "I think it's a good story because it's something we see happening actual. Ok though it's fiction, but you know happens all around Juba. Because we have people, South Sudanese who've been all over the world and they have come back and there is South Sudanese who have been here. Of course you know people come with different cultures and you know definitely there is gonna be a culture clash because we don't understand each other." VARIOUS OF MANOHA AND EDITOR IN THE EDITING SUITE FILM MAKER ALEX TABAN WALKING PAST SCULPTURE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALEX TABAN, FILM MAKER SAYING: "We can try to get them out of that motive of frustration, traumatised situations, take them to another level through filming, through films and stuff like this. Tell them how we need live together, we need to look to new life. How do we build our nation and this can only happen through the film industry because the film industry plays a role bigger than the government. I'm telling you people can come and talk and try but in a film when you watch you feel it."
  • Embargoed: 5th March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Sudan
  • Country: South Sudan
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWP91LA0QCBQCP159A134PT7N
  • Story Text: Think of African cinema and most people imagine Nigeria's infamous movie industry - Nollywood, the world's third biggest film industry and famous for its storylines around sorcery and scandalous love-triangles among other popular themes.
    But some of the magic of the silver screen is being recreated here in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
    South Sudan seceded from Sudan less than two years ago following a peace deal that ended a brutal 1983-2005 war that killed some two million people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad.
    The independence drew hundreds of thousands of people back to their native country, where they are dealing with the realities of re-building their country and their lives.
    Budding film makers are using film to document what they are facing in the world's youngest nation.
    Film director Lucy Kadi Manoha is on the set of her short-film "The Clash of Cultures", which chronicles a group of young people who grew up in more liberal western countries and returned to South Sudan after independence to find that they are in a homeland they hardly know.

    "The title "Clash of Cultures", we have many cultures from all over the place. We have south Sudanese coming in from Europe we have south Sudanese coming in from America we have south Sudanese coming in from east Africa and the fact that they come from this deference places, they come with their own cultures here, they do not come with the south Sudanese culture that we know and its expected of us," said film director Lucy Kadi Manoha.
    This short five minute film is being produced with the assistance of a German Non-Governmental Organisation and will be shown at international film festivals along with one other fictional short and three short documentaries.
    Enthusiasm for documenting the twists and turns of building a new nation from scratch is high, but the government has many other challenges on its plate and limited resources.
    A year ago the government shut down their oil industry which made up 98 percent of state revenues.

    "They do not have the capacity, they do not have the funding. In fact the government as a people they are not really interested because film is not really their priority at the moment. So we have this film industry, it is struggling on its own to come up with what they can," Manoha says.
    These budding film enthusiasts chose to explore the social conflict between westernised "returnees" and more traditional South Sudanese who stayed throughout the war.
    Beyond the perceived immodesty of their clothing, "returnees" say they often feel ostracised by those who grew up here or who fought in the war, adding that they feel like strangers in their own land.

    "I think it's a good story because it's something we see happening actual. Ok though it's fiction, but you know happens all around Juba. Because we have people, South Sudanese who've been all over the world and they have come back and there is South Sudanese who have been here. Of course you know people come with different cultures and you know definitely there is gonna be a culture clash because we don't understand each other," said lead actress Stella Konga.
    Film maker Alex Taban says that films are a powerful tool to bridge cultural gaps and foster understanding, especially by focusing on home-grown issues.

    "We can try to get them out of that motive of frustration, traumatised situations, take them to another level through filming, through films and stuff like this. Tell them how we need live together, we need to look to new life. How do we build our nation and this can only happen through the film industry because the film industry plays a role bigger than the government. I'm telling you people can come and talk and try but in a film when you watch you feel it," Taban said.
    Taban's latest work is 'Decide', a 20 minute film about a school-boy who is lead astray by friends and drops out of school to smoke and drink.
    After the death of one of his friends he finally seeks redemption from his father and decides to turn over a new leaf.
    With independence, South Sudanese have started exploring and defining their own identity at the intersection of African, Arab and, increasingly, international influence.
    It will be many years before Jollywood can compete with Nollywood, Bollywood and Hollywood, but starting from somewhere, South Sudan is taking one of many first steps.
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