AFRIFF 2023 | In conversation with Ochieng Oneko
© 2023 Ochieng Oneko
I had the opportunity to speak with Ochieng Oneka while his film 'Seems Like Old Times' was presented at the latest edition of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Lagos, Nigeria. We established the importance of making your debut in short films and the humility of the creative process in its approach. See how cinema in Kenya is growing thanks to the talent of ambitious young creators who share their creations with the world.
Your film, recently featured at AFRIFF in Lagos and was released recently. Could you share the inspiration behind it and the story you aimed to tell?
Well, the corny elevator pitch is “it's the story of the last time I saw the first girl I fell in love with” The writing of the film was sort of my way of trying to make sense of that relationship, how I want to remember it and what I want to take away from that experience.
To better understand your artistic journey, could you share a bit about your background and how your personal experiences have shaped your approach to filmmaking? What brought you to make films?
In my work I'm always talking about things that I'm wrestling with personally. This film ‘Seems Like Old Times’ is about a break up. My last film ‘Not Yet Uhuru’ was about struggling with being African in Paris (where I went for university). My next film is about my grandfather and I. All this work is autobiographical to one degree or another so my personal experiences are very much at the center of my artistic approach. The approach is to take whatever is going on and write about it until it makes sense. It's getting a bit embarrassing to be honest so I think I'll delve into pure fiction when I'm done with the one about my grandfather.
I don't know what brought me to filmmaking. I decided I was going to be a filmmaker when I was seven and haven't truly questioned it since. Watching a really good film was always a visceral and cathartic experience for me and now making them feels like growth and reflection. A way of making sense of my life.
As a filmmaker from Kenya, what cultural elements or stories do you find particularly compelling to showcase in your work?
I just want to explore life as I see it. When I told my friend I was working on a big documentary about my grandfather who was a freedom fighter, he joked that films about freedom fighters and their descendants should be a subgenre of films from the global south and he’s right. It feels like the film I should make about myself and about Kenya, especially because I'm going to be honest about my opinions and experiences.
In the middle of developing that film, I came up with this love story I wanted to tell but I felt a bit embarrassed to make it. I haven't really seen a Kenyan, or even African, love story on screen that made me say “oh that's just how it feels for me.” I think they exist in Kenyan literature and music but I haven't really seen it on screen.
I remember talking to a fellow filmmaker and him being very excited about the film about my grandfather but being quite lukewarm about the romance. It felt foreign to him. In a sense, he was right. I was influenced by all these great romance films about white people falling in love in New york. But this was the best way I had to talk about my lived experience.
That's what I want to showcase in my work. My lived experience. I want to talk about the country's history with colonialism, but I want to do it from my perspective and talk about how it affects me. Here. today. I want to talk about what colonial history makes me think about in an election year. And then I want to go and talk about how lovely it was to kiss that pretty girl I once knew. It's all me. These are all Kenyan stories.
Can you provide a glimpse into the filmmaking process of your project? Any memorable experiences or challenges you'd like to share?
This was an interesting film to make. My first narrative piece in kenya. I did not have the budget to make this thing so the process was hotdogs, handshakes and favors. That was the biggest challenge but it was the beautiful thing about making this film.
I had my script, my camera, a little bit of money and a friend who was a couple of years ahead of me at film school. And I had heart. We made the film at my aunties house. All the crew members were a friend of a friend or a friend of an actor who came to audition. Didn't have money to pay anybody but I offered them food, transport, and a good set. They agreed and a lot of crew members offered their personal equipment. We all had a good time making the film, we made something that we’re proud of with the little resources we had, we formed some good friendships and working relationships.
Maybe it was a gift. Everyone had a day job that they were doing during the week and this was non-
paying work they were doing on the weekend. The only reason anyone had to be there was they really wanted to be. It was a good time.
© 2023 Ochieng Oneko | On set of ‘Seems Like Old Times’
Your film has the opportunity for international exposure. How does YouTube and public platforms help to showcase your work?
I'm not sure what I want the film to do, I just know I want to put it out. The film premiered at the Durban International Film Festival and later screened in Lagos at AFRIFF. Both of those are honors, I can put those leaves on the poster and call myself an international filmmaker but nothing has really come out of that yet. I’m sure something will come indirectly and in its own time but as for right now, my daily life and the short term future of my projects is just the same. So I'm trying to appreciate those things but not place pressure and expectation on them. It’s that expression “Give and let god”
I’m approaching the film's release on youtube just the same, maybe people will watch the film internationally, maybe not. All I know is that I'm gonna put out the film the same way I made it; with the resources I have. I’m gonna promote it on social media, put a little bit of money into that, hopefully people around Nairobi and around kenya see it. It came from the heart, I'm offering it to the world. If “success” and opportunity comes, that's wonderful. If it doesn't, we already got some good practice making films on hot dogs and handshakes. We keep it pushing.
But my real hope is just that if there are people out there who like this sort of film, I hope the film will find them somehow.
Short films are often considered a gateway for filmmakers. How do you see the format of a short film as an entry door to the world of filmmaking, and what opportunities and challenges does it present for emerging filmmakers, especially in the context of your own journey?
That's an interesting question today. I remember a production professor of mine told us “you guys think you’re gonna take your short films to the big festivals and have a cinderella story because that's what happened to your favorite filmmaker in 1995 but that's not how it works anymore” a bit blunt but there’s some wisdom in that. More often than not, that plan doesn't work. Everyone has their own path and it does still work for a few people, but I think those people are very fortunate.
Obviously, short films are a great place to build skills before you make a feature but I kind of like to think of them as an art film on their own. Writers are comfortable oscillating between short stories and novels. Musicians make albums, singles and EP’s. Filmmakers want to make short films and then abandon them for features but short films are cool. As much as I'd like to make features, I hope to keep making short films for a long time. The audience becomes more niche, they don't really make money, but there’s still a lot you can do in short films. It's an interesting size for a story and a place to try things out.
What do you hope audiences will take away from your film, both in Africa, and globally?
Perhaps that we Africans also watch movies, drink beer and fall in love. On the continent we have more stories than just political corruption, drought and famine. The stories you see about struggling africans are true but we also live in cities, fall in love and hang out. We ought to remember that and appreciate it as part of who we are.
Looking ahead, what do you envision for the future of Kenya cinema, and how does your work contribute to that vision?
It's hard to say. I have a lot of hopes and a lot of people have a lot of hopes. I am certain we can't carry on in the way that we have been because it's not working. The film scene seems fragmented between commercial nonsense that no one likes and interesting art films that no one watches, they just screen at festivals and die there.
When i came home from paris and said i wanted to make movies, a lot of people whispered in my ear “why do kenyan films look like that.” As much as we Kenyans like to say we are making progress, we all understand that there is a gap in the way that filmmakers are thinking about things. The cameras are not the issue, we have Hollywood level cameras being used in Kenya every single day. The actors are not the issue, we see non-actors give great performances all over the world. I truly think there’s an issue in the way we think about ourselves and what we think Kenyan cinema can be.
Cinema is really the most lacking art form in Kenya. We have great music, great paintings, great photography, great literature but we have hardly any great movies. We have a few, but only a few. We truly need to come up with a new vision. Not every commercial film needs to be poorly crafted and not every art film needs to be esoteric. We need a new way and I really think young people in this new era of social media, artificial intelligence, mirrorless cameras and phones that can shoot in 4k are going to be the solution. But only if we stay true to who we are.
© 2023 Ochieng Oneko | Ivy Wangui in ‘Seems Like Old Times’
Could you share your insights into the current state of cinema in Kenya? What do you see as the opportunities and challenges for the Kenya film industry, and how do these factors influence your work as a filmmaker?
It's an interesting period because we know we can't carry on the way we have been and no one is really articulating a vision for what cinema will look like that I believe in. At the same time everything is changing, just without direction, in my opinion. Netflix and Showmax are starting to fund, produce and acquire Kenyan content. No one seems to be paying attention but Netflix is also trying to get filmmakers educated in many ways. The film commission is giving out money and trying to see how to position themselves. Docubox, The east african documentary film fund, is growing, doing wonderful work and finding more and more success. Independent cinemas like unseen and motion cinemas are coming up in Nairobi. Filmmakers are coming up with new ways of screening their films in social halls and schools as well as distributing them online on demand. More and more Kenyan films are getting into international film festivals. Things are happening but as far as i can tell, no one is quite sure where we’re going.
As far as I'm concerned, it's a good thing that money is floating around and people are speculating about how to grow the industry. I’m not a businessman, I'm just going to keep watching what's going on, keep working on my films and keep attempting to deepen and clarify my artistic vision and hopefully I'll find a way to carve my own space as all of this change is occurring. I am going to give and let god.
What's next for you in terms of filmmaking projects, and are there particular themes or stories you are eager to explore in your future work?
Getting this little romance film out and seeing how far I can push it and then working on this documentary about my grandfather. He was a freedom fighter who left behind an unfinished autobiography. I am writing him a series of letters and using his autobiography as if it was a series of letters to me. Through this lens, I'm having a conversation with my grandfather about Kenya's past, present and future, what his life meant and what my place is in all this.
After that, we’ll see.
Seems Like Old Times
| By Ochieng Oneko
After being away in Paris for a few months, Barack arrives back in Nairobi and gets a call from Malaika, the last person he wants to see. His ex-girlfriend begs him to spend just one more day together.
Watch here : Seems Like Old Times (2023)
