Bongodox premiere - a dream coming true

Kibisi, Saturday evening:
150 smiling faces, all looking deeply fascinated at the same screen. I can’t stop smiling; this is what I’ve been waiting for, a dream coming true. I admit that there have been times where everything seemed impossible and days where I just wanted to give up and throw the computer out of the window. This Saturday evening at the Bongodox premiere, all these things are forgotten. I close my eyes, trying to capture this epic moment. Against all odds the team managed to create something special, which will set an example and be an important step on the way to a better future. “And now ladies and gentlemen…” today’s master of ceremony is shouting in the microphone “it’s time for food, drinks and dancing to celebrate the fantastic work of Bongodox…” Half an hour later the dance floor is bouncing and full of happy feet... Pamoja tunaweza - together we can!

Learning by doing

LearningIt has been weeks since I have updated the website and first half of the Bongodox project is about to end. We still have two weeks to finish up the documentary before I’ll be heading to Denmark and by now three people from the team are working hard on the editing. Film editing is all about learning by doing and every little step counts. We started from scratch with the most simple computer skills such as how to double click and how to open a file. After two weeks they’re now able to control the editing program by them selves. That’s more than impressive, especially if we consider under which circumstances the group is working. Daily power cuts and a computer which shuts down the editing program at least once an hour. The solution is a huge patience and constantly Ctrl + S (save). If everything goes as planned we’ll have a big premiere next week at Bongo Camping, at the big screen… Tupo pamoja (we are together) - Ctrl + S…

A team to be proud of!

Wednesday 12th of May; afternoon:

It was one of those days where I doubted if I ever would be able to leave this place. The sky was blue in blue and the sun was about to turn my nose into a sun dried tomato. I was sitting in the shadow of a palm tree in a shamba (garden) near Katumba, trying my best to be as invisible as possible. Around me the members of Bongodox were getting ready for shooting; moving chairs, checking lightning and preparing the last questions for their interviews with Mr. Bosco, an HIV affected man. If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t believe that just 3 months ago these people couldn’t tell the difference between zoom, frame and focus. Now they were acting as they had been doing this for years, confidentially and concentrated, working as a team. A team fighting for the future lives of the Tanzanians, and definitely a team I am more than proud to be a member of.

With only one month left to finish our film there is no time to waist. The computer finally seems to cooperate which means that from now on it’s all about editing. Indeed a challenge to kill a lot of darlings since we have footage enough for several documentaries.

Building trust to make a difference

How to tell a story about the deep impact of HIV in Tanzania? It is not an easy task, but none the less it is what the Bongodox group is trying to figure out these days. After weeks of research they have chosen three important characters/families for their film: An orphan who lost her parents to HIV, a HIV-affected family and a not affected family. Unfortunately the HIV-affected family just bailed out, but the group works hard to find another affected family, who is willing to take part in the film. We are definitely not in lack of HIV-affected families in the area, but it is troublesome to make people talk openly about their life with HIV. It is a process of building trust and making these people realize that they can make a difference by telling us their stories.

The next couple of weeks the group will follow the three families and learn the basics of filmediting. At the same time the local mucicgroup, "Kisamakibo", will be working hard on getting ready for recording the song "In the village" for our film.

Ready for the next step

The last couple of weeks the group has been doing research and interviews about HIV in the nearby HTA’s (High Transmitted Areas). The members have been on their own, getting familiar with the video cameras and meeting people in the streets and at the local bars. We have had several screenings (at our fantastic new tv!) and there is no doubt that we are ready to move on to the next step of the filmmaking process. Everybody is confident with the video cameras, so now we can go on to choose our main characters and plan the most important elements of our film. Hopefully we will be able to start recording next week.

Bongodox party
After spending my Easter at the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar with my mother, I returned to Kibisi to have a great party at the campsite for the members of Bongodox and their families. It was African slow cooking from the early afternoon, preparing delicious local dishes at the fireplace, and enough food to leave even the most hungry men full for days. Some said it was the

best meal they have had for years.

And of course, no party without dancing! As soon as people finished eating, everybody was at the dance floor. Fifty people, old and young, dancing as if this was

the most important thing in their lives. An incredible and wonderful experience!

This was definitely not the last Bongodox party.

Pamoja tunaweza (together we can)

The Bongodox team!












From left: Luka, Eddie, Katrine, Maulidi, Inganile, Michael, Francis, William, Godfrey and Imani

Our first fieldtrip

Few weeks ago no one from Bongodox had ever used a video camera. Now I hear discussions about framing, zooming and locations all over Bongo Camping. Many mistakes are made, but I also see huge smiles when they suddenly realize they have made a well working scene. So far they have worked on their basic skills of filming and how to make a proper video interview. The first challenge of shooting was in the nearby village of Katumba. They made a couple of small interviews with villagers, asking them questions about their experience and opinions about HIV. This went much better than I had expected, and the following screening brought good reflections on learning. But one thing is to meet people in the neighbourhood, where everybody is familiar with each other, the real challenge was this Monday - our first fieldtrip.

We visited a group of HIV affected people and our most important lesson this day was to be well prepared for shooting film in pouring rain. My appearance created a lot of attention and many discussions of whether we had to pay for filming people. I tried to be as invisible as possible, but it is quite difficult to hide a “mzungu” with blue eyes in Africa.

We have fantastic news about our budget since we had the oportunity to go shopping for a tv, a computer and Bongodox t-shirts this week. As soon as possible I will uploade a picture of the group in our new uniform. Until then you can enjoy the pictures of our videoexercises at the campsite.