Profile of Benta
Oyugi
Where are you from?
I am from
Mathare, Nairobi.
When did you first think of becoming a filmmaker?
When I was in class eight, I used to watch films from Nigeria. I liked
these movies a lot and so I became interested in films. In Form One, I joined
the Mwelu Foundation after I was introduced by a friend. They do mainly
photography work, but also editing, filming and so on. They offer photography
workshops during the holidays, too. These workshops run at least for two weeks
and I took part in it to learn about photography.
In Form Two, I joined Mathare Youth. They host a festival, the Mathare
Youth Film Festival. I’ve been participating in it the past three years. For
this festival we were supposed to shoot short films about themes that were
given to us. We were groups of six and everyone had his own task. One was the
director, one was responsible for the camera and so on. Our films were shown on
the last day of the festival during a screening. I enjoyed this very much.
How did you find out about Hot Sun
Foundation's Hot Sun Film School?
Mwelu Foundation was invited by Hot Sun Foundation to the Tropfest Short Film Festival
workshop, so I went with them. At the
workshop, I met people from Hot Sun Film School. Furthermore, a friend of mine
had done the film training at Hot Sun and is now successful on TV. So I decided
to come to Hot Sun Foundation, because I knew it is a very good school and it
would give me the chance of gaining a deeper knowledge and developing my skills
in all areas that have to do with filming.
What do you like best about Hot Sun Film School?
The trainers
are very good and willing to share their knowledge. The facilities and the
equipment are good, too. The school has strict rules that everyone has to stick
to. If you don’t follow the rules, you go. I like this very much even though it
took me a while to adapt. But as I really want to do this training, it is
possible and ok for me. And it shows that Hot Sun Film School is serious and
professional. All in all, I feel supported to know my potential because the
school creates space which enables me to find out about it.
What has been your biggest challenge so far at Hot Sun Film
School?
The most
challenging was the scriptwriting because I didn’t have any experience and no idea of how this should
work. It was a lot of work to rewrite everything all the time. I also had to
take a lot of criticism which was hard for me. I had so many ideas, but it was
difficult to put these ideas into the form of a script.
What do you think is necessary to keep Hot Sun Film School
going?
I think most
important is that people stick to the rules and take them seriously.
What do you think the Kenyan film and media industry could
do to support young filmmakers?
They could
come up with workshops to encourage young filmmakers and to provide them with
training and experience. It’s the same with schools – they should go there and
encourage the students to become filmmakers because to most people becoming a
filmmaker isn't considered to be a good career. Furthermore, they could try to
raise funds to support people that want to become filmmakers and who have
financial issues.
What would you like to do after you have finished the
foundation in filmmaking?
I’d prefer
specialising in editing and camera work. And I definitely want to stick to
film.
What kind of films would
you like to make?
I’d like to
make short films and fictional dramas.
Why should people support Hot Sun Foundation on Global
Giving?
Because Hot
Sun helps youth in creativity and film and young people need a chance to bring
out their talents.
Why should Kenyan film industry professionals support Hot
Sun Foundation?
Because they should support young filmmakers to grow and therefore help the film industry grow.
Because they should support young filmmakers to grow and therefore help the film industry grow.
To support the great youth of the Kibera Film School, please visit our Global Giving Page
