December 2015 – January 2016 were not the best times for this project. I was stuck in the biggest patch of Film Board mud incapable of getting anywhere with the permit I had applied and paid for. As my partner put it at the time, this was stressing me out as it was testing … More Unseen Heroes
You know you need a break when you start thinking there is wisdom to be found in Donald Rumsfeld. As the holiday season is upon us and I am trying to wrap up as much as possible before going on leave, it is Rumsfeld’s idea of known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns that are … More Known Unknowns
In an intense working environment it is always good to have some light relief. Light relief on our preparatory trip to Tanzania came in the small but perfect package of our driver Jackson Kilo and his battered and breakdown-prone Toyota Noah. Jackson likes: Congolese songs that last a minimum of 20 minutes (often then repeated); … More Jackson Kilo: Driver Hero
Chips mayai is a classic Tanzanian street food and also, in my opinion, and underutilised cure for hangover/broken heart/bad week/good week in the rest of the world. It is chips in an omelette, sometimes topped with pili pili or tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes and onions. A good stall will ask you how runny or … More Tupac, Marion Cotillard and Chips Mayai
The working name for our lead character is Pili. We decided on the name after meeting many Pilis from Miono, Bagamoyo and Mbwewe over the last two weeks. We tell the story of the everyday risk of HIV/AIDS through Pili and therefore we have introduced the character to lots of groups of women as we … More ‘Pili is everywhere,’ Cecilia
Hello! Director Leanne here. With the key element of our film being authenticity, I knew early on that I wanted to work with non-actors on this project. I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t a daunting prospect as a director. Getting the performances you want from actors with years of formal training and experience … More Workshopping by Leanne
Care and treatment centres were established across Tanzania as part of the push towards the realisation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These centres were established to provide clinics to distribute antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS, counselling and support, and services for mothers and babies. Given these two key services they are … More Staking out the CTC and our first Casting
My Swahili is kidogo sana. My Swahili teacher in 2005, Edith, was entertaining with her tales of Kenyan life, but less of a grammar and vocab disciplinarian. I have all the essentials – I can say please, thank you, can I have a beer, can I have some water, no I don’t love you, sorry … More Lost in Translation
Charles, Leanne and Nkwabi The Tanzania College of Arts was established in Bagamoyo 1981 as a centre of excellence to promote drama, music and dance in Tanzania. Never to overlook a portentous sign, 1981 was also the year I was born so I decided this must be love before I even entered the main building. … More A TaSUBa Gem
Zephania is Trans Tanz project manager and currently my right hand man for getting to where we need to be over these three weeks of recce/pre-production. Anstey is our translator supremo and a budding human rights lawyer. Both are a welcome tonic to a day of jumping through hoops for a letter. It also helps … More Logistics Dream Team
Not Another AIDS Film 