Mombasa film makers are pushing for the introduction of the Mombasa Film Policy which they say will aid the growth and development of the industry.
Over the last six months, the film makers have been convening under the Global Opportunity Youth Network Mombasa to draft the policy with the aid of partners and a number of people from the legal fraternity.
John Kamau, the creative pathway associate at the network said that they have so far held four working group engagements with the film makers.
“The first convening for the working group was last year and the other three were held this year, we have been meeting in after two months. The next meeting will be next month,” said Kamau.
Kamau said that they have already they are in the process of formulating the third and final draft which will undergo a public participation before they present it to the county government of Mombasa for adoption
“We have so far done the first and second draft, we are now going to the third draft which will entail a public participation forum in our next engagement”
“This will involve presenting the proposed draft Mombasa film policy document to the public so that they can analyze it and give us pointers on what they feel is right and what they feel needs to be adjusted,” he said.
Kamau said that it was important to have the policy in place to help grow the film industry in Mombasa.
He said, currently Mombasa film makers experience a myriad of challenges that would have been properly addressed if they had a policy in place to help and protect them.
According to him, the issue of licensing needs to be centralized because for one to film in Mombasa, they have to acquire a number of licenses from different offices.
“Local film makers are also being charged very high fees as if they are foreigners, in Mcahakos county for instance, you pay only Sh1,000 to do a film there so long as you mention Machakos in your film. You can’t do that in Mombasa,” he said.
“We are trying to find ways that will make it easy for film makers in Mombasa to do business and create job opportunities,” he added.
Kamau said that they have partnered with the Coast Film Assocition, IP Garage, Alliance Francaise Mombasa, Swahili pot hub, Little Theatre Club Mombasa and the Technical university of Mombasa among others in the push to have the policy in place.
During his campaign trail, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir promised to scrap off charges imposed on film makers for them to film in Mombasa.
“One of the greatest hindrances of the creative economy is this unnecessary charges that we have. My argument is very simple, if someone takes a video and posts it that person is selling Mombasa as a preferred destination,” he said then.
“We will not hinder, but we will encourage those doing TV series to come onboard so that it is easier for them to tap in to local talents than saying they have to bring in talents from outside” he said.
He also promised to introduce the Mombasa Film festival which he said would bring in renowned film makers and producers and film making companies from all over the world to come and sample Mombasa and the local talents available.
“We have the Zanzibar Film festival taking place annually, we want to have a similar thing here where we get in foreign producers and directors to come in and notice our local talents. The startup capital you would have won will be the seed capital for you to fully venture into the industry,” he said.
