Thursday, December 15, 2011

Hustlers Release A New Video.



I was lucky enough to meet the Hustlers while in Kibera working on Matatu Express. Not only did I get an amazing interview with these three incredible Hip Hop musicians, they gave me a tour of Kibera and welcomed me into their homes. Once I heard their music I was so blown away by their talent - one thing led to another, and they ended up doing the soundtrack for Matatu. I still keep in touch with them and last week Hustlers front man Sururu let me know they just released a new video. Check it out below, and show them some love by liking their Facebook page, and listen to more of their awesome music on their Reverbnation page.


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Kenya Int'l Film Festival: Re-Cap.


Once again, I've been sidetracked by a number of other projects on the go, so apologies for only being able to re-cap on the Kenyan Premiere of Matatu Express. Unfortunately I was not able to attend, but I'm very happy to report that my brother John Hogan was able to, along with Peter Opudo, my guide and Still Photographer for Matatu. Both of them were invaluable in getting the film completed, so I'm really thrilled they were able to make it to the premiere. By all accounts, the audience apparently loved the film, and clapped at the end, which is all I could have hoped for!

Someone in the audience reached out to me about a week after seeing my film in Nairobi. Her name is Simone Bazos, and she is a filmmaker working on a documentary profiling Pamoja FM, one of the great organizations profiled in Matatu. The movie is called The United States of Kibera - check out her site here, and the trailer below to learn more about it, and go here if you think you'd like to help out with a donation. Remember these are stories that need to be told, and it's tough going for indy filmmakers so dig deep, and keep spreading the word about Kibera!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Matatu Express Arrives to Kenya!


I am super excited, elated and happy to announce that Matatu Express has made it into this year's Kenya International Film Festival. The Kenya Premiere of Matatu Express will take place
Saturday October 29, 2011 at 3:30PM in Nairobi at the Century Cinemax Prestige Theater.
Click here for the Kenya Film Festival and view the complete 2011 program here.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Matatu Express Gets A Nod From PhotoJunkie!



Matatu Express was singled out as one of the films to look out for in this years NXNE festival. Check out the post and find out which other movies made their mark by clicking here.

NXNE Recap.



It's been an extremely hectic summer, and I'm only now able to give a quick recap of the world premiere for Matatu Express. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to it. I have to say it was a success, and I'm really happy and proud to have been a part of it. I won't lie - I was a nervous wreck for the two weeks leading up to it, but once the day came, it was just a such a relief that I was finally fine. The film certainly seemed to be well received, and I had a great Q & A session after the second screening. I feel really lucky and honoured as well, because my film opened up for a really neat film called Made in Birmingham, which is a documentary that chronicles the rich musical history of Birmingham. I really enjoyed the film, and will soon be writing about it in my other blog Digitized Graffiti. The above photo courtesy of NXNE is a brief chat I had with Made in Birmingham Co-Producer Jez Collins between screenings. Thanks to NXNE and the NFB and everyone that came down to the screening!

Daniel Dache's "Above The Storm".



Daniel Dache is founder of the Bridge of Hope, and was kind enough to give me some time for an interview featured in Matatu Express. Daniel has worked extensively with orphans in Kibera who are HIV positive. He's also just recently written a book, called Above the Storm, which appears to be a faith based perspective on his extensive experience. His book is launching this Sunday July 17th at 10AM local time, and will air on Citizen TV available on DSTV in Kenya. Congratulations Daniel.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Matatu Express - World Premiere at NXNE Festival



Matatu Express will have it's World Premiere @ the National Film Board of Canada (150 John Street, Toronto) Wednesday, June 15 @ 6:15 PM For more information check out the NXNE festival site here. I am so grateful for the help I have gotten from everyone to make this film, and happy that it has found an audience. I hope it can change the way people view the world, and realize how young people are working hard to make it a better place.

Friday, May 20, 2011

New Poster Design!





Had a chance to re-design the Matatu Promo poster. I think I like this version a bit better. The black background gives it a slicker look, and I also switched up the images below. Feel free to grab a nifty high resolution copy, by clicking here. And if you'd prefer a smaller size that can be printed on 8.5"X 11" paper, click here.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Empowerment!



Want to find out more about how you can impact, empower and help transform the people and Kiberan community organizations profiled in Matatu Express? Check out the empowerment page on the Matatu web site. You can make a difference by learning more about each organization and reaching out to them and spreading the word.

Click Here to check it out now!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Matatu Press Kit - Now Available Online.



I recently finally got around to designing a really neat poster for Matatu Express, along with a one sheet. They are now available online, and you can download them for free here!

Click here to view/download the poster.
Click here to view/download the press kit.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A New Breeze Blows Clean Air Across Kenya.



There's an exciting article in i09.com about a new company called Lake Turkana Wind Power. According to the company's web site, they are "poised to provide 300 MW of clean power to Kenya's national electricity grid by taking advantage of a unique wind resource in Northwest Kenya near Lake Turkana. Using the latest wind turbine technology LTWP will provide reliable and continuous clean power to satisfy up to 17% of Kenya's planned total installed power upon commissioning in 2012." Let's hope some of this electricity will get to Kibera. In any case though, it's innovative ideas like this that will catapult Kenya into the 21st Century, maybe ahead of some Western nations, stuck with iron age concepts of non-renewable sources of energy.
Click here for the i09 article.
Click here for the Lake Turkana Wind Power website.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Other Films About Kibera



I think it's important to support fellow filmmakers. To make a movie is a very long, and difficult journey. Sure, it's a lot of fun, but it takes time, effort, tough skin, and tenacity to stick it through, because along that winding road of a journey, there are an infinite number of bumps and obstacles that threaten to derail you, just like an unpaved road in Kenya. So I think it's only right to support and share the work of fellow filmmakers who are working on some really interesting material that highlight Kiberan stories.

Togetherness Supreme is directed by Nathan Collett, and has recently won some awards, including best Audience Choice Awards at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

And fellow Torontonian Robin Pierro also did a documentary on Kibera last year, called The Voice of Kibera, about the impact of the new constitution for Kiberans.

Please check out both their films, and support the stories of independent filmmakers, as it's important to promote independent thoughts and stories, especially those that cover a disenfranchised people.

Clean Energy Centers Arrive to Kibera



I wanted to profile a really neat NGO that is doing some remarkable work in Kibera.
Ok Habitat is partnering to build a "clean energy center" or commonly known a bio-latrine with Umande Trust a local NGO. With running water a major scarcity and a major health concern as far as human waste - these are sanitary toilet facilities which digests human waste to produce gas which in turn is used as a communical kitchen meaning that people don't have to pay for charcoal that is produced by cutting down forests, so not only does it help humans, it helps our environment as well.

Based in Kibera, Umande Trust have built more than 40 bio-centers all over Kenya. For more information, click here, and to contact Umande, or make a donation, check out their site here.

Update!

Hey everyone, I know it's been a super long time since I've updated this blog. I'm sorry for that. The truth is, when I started this blog as a record of my journey making this film, I realized how much I enjoyed writing in general, and sharing my experiences. At the encouragement of several people, I started a new blog when I returned to Toronto from Kenya. It's one of the things I've been able to focus on developing. I'm enjoying the ability to write about things I find inspiring, including pop, youth and underground culture, some of the very themes explored in Matatu Express.
So what else is new? I'm continuing to work on getting Matatu Express shown in film festivals all over North America. I'm also working on a book version of the making of Matatu Express, and I'm still working on my first documentary Sketched Out. So there will definitely be some exciting things happening in the future, keep the faith and stay tuned!