Filming in Kibera

On Thursday I started my work with the film Nairobi Slam. Whilst still in Manchester, I had arranged with a guy, Nathan, that I would help out after Tamara here had forwarded an email from him asking for volunteers. The short film is set in Kibera, one of Nairobi’s slums in the south of the city and is about a young boy who has to choose between being a good kid or a life of crime. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but you can probably guess the end of the film.

My job was to use my camcorder to get rough footage of what was being filmed. Because it is being shot on film and not video they won’t be able to see the results until they get back to America and process it. So in the mean time they can refer to my footage to evaluate the scenes, action and performances while watching out for continuity errors.

Although a low budget film, there is still a big crew involved including the director, cinematographer, sound, wardrobe & props, assistants, drivers and caterers. The day starts at 6am, which means getting up at 5am and finishes around 6pm – a long day, but it goes fairly quickly as we are so busy. A 2-minute scene can take all day to film after all the setting up, retakes and different angles. Delays often happen while we wait for a noisy train to go past, curious people gathering round to disperse or the right weather. But while that all makes the day sound tedious it is actually a lot of fun. The crew has quickly got to know one another and there is a lot of time for conversations and joking around.

Kibera itself is an amazing place. Hundreds upon hundreds of tin shacks are heaped upon each other. The streets are full of market stalls, bars, running kids, guys pushing along makeshift wheelbarrows piled high with bottles or timber. The people are fascinated with the film and we often have a huge audience gathered round watching what is going on. The children love having their pictures taken, which makes it tricky to get a natural shot as they will all gather round excitedly waving.

By the way, if you happen to see The Constant Gardener which is out at the end of this month, you will see some scenes also shot in Kibera. The same guys who are working on the sound for Nairobi Slam also worked on this film!

Despite the obvious poverty that can be seen here, people here are generally very friendly, and I feel much safer here than in downtown Nairobi. Tonight we are starting the first of three days of night-shooting, so maybe I will see another side to Kibera. Stay tuned to find out more soon…