Kibera Film School Pictures

Just got an email from the Kibera Film School that included some of the following photos, and thought I would share them with you.



Adam of Future Filmmakers directing a scene of short film by children from Kibera. On the scene Aida Achieng of Kibera Film School. The scene was shot in Kibera




Stephen from Kibera TV, helping carry a tripod during the shoot in Kibera of a short film by children of the Future Filmmakers workshop.




Future Filmmakers Adam and Willow facilitators with the children during a visit to Hot Sun Foundation in Kibera.




Belinda, Alice, and Bonface from Kibera Film School mounting the video camera on a tripod working on the Hot Sun Foundation Promotional Video shoot



Kibera Film School Crew working on Hot Sun Foundation Promotional Video Shoot




Susan from Meru, Jeff from Machakos, Alice , Martha , Arnold, Ian and Beryl from Hot Sun Foundation, Jason from Bahati- all participants in The Future Filmmakers Workshop, supported by Hot Sun Foundation and the Kibera Film School.




Adam Loften of the Future Filmmakers Workshop showing Belinda, Josphat and Wyclife of Hot Sun Foundation some tips on using the DSLR 6D camera

Remember, you can support the Kibera Film School by going here:
http://www.globalgiving.org/3632

Second Screening For Matatu Express

A second screening for Matatu Express was held at Kramer's on Yonge Street in Uptown Toronto on Friday December 10. It was a private screening for many of the investors and friends that took part in the fundraiser we did in the summer. Thank you so much for all of you that came and took part. At the end of the screening I took a few questions. It was a great time to re-connect with people and share my experiences with Kibera to many people that were extremely intrigued and inspired by the struggles and accomplishments of Kiberans. It was also great that my editor Agnes Dec, my sound guy Buck Moore, and other editor Chris Wardle were all there to take part. Here are a couple more photos from the event, thanks to my friend Matt Middleton for taking them.

A Message from the Hot Sun Foundation

In the summer I had a fundraiser for Matatu Express to raise funds for the films completion. In other words, although the film had been shot, I needed money to have it edited, sound mixed and colour corrected. I was also able to give a donation with the money to the Hot Sun Foundation, a charity based in Kibera that teaches young people filmmaking skills so that they can tell their own stories. I just recently received an email from then, detailing a recent success story. To read it, and learn how you can help out by making a donation this holiday season, click here.

Matatu Express is Now Available Online!!!

You can now view the shorter version of Matatu Express online. The longer version will be touring festivals worldwide this year.
Click here for the HD version of Matatu Express.
Click here for the low resolution version of Matatu Express.

Special thanks to my Editor Agnes Dec, Sound Editor Buck Moore, and Assistant Editor Chris Wardle. And thanks to everyone else for making Matatu Express happen, especially Peter and Christabel Opudo, John Hogan, Njeri Rjonge, and all of the cast and crew. Without you it couldn't be done.

Sneak Preview Screening

On September 24th, 2010, Matatu Express had it's first sneak peek screening to a small invitation only audience at the Tequila Bookworm at 512 Queen Street West. The event was lots of fun. It was a packed house, and got a warm reception from the audience. After the film was screened I answered some questions from the audience. The reception was held on the balcony outside. I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about the evening, but I'm really happy to say that everything went swimmingly, and people were really interested in the subject of Kibera. I feel blessed that I have such great friends. Thanks to Jim Morrison for his creative input, my editor Agnes Dec, my sound designer Buck Moore, assistant editor Chris Wardle, my guide/photographer Peter Opudo, and everyone that took part in the film in Kibera. Thanks for making it happen. I'll keep posting news on which festivals will be playing Matatu around the world.

The Imminent Arrival of Matatu Express

Matatu Express had a fundraiser a few weeks ago, and thanks to the kindness of friends and family, has raised enough money for it's completion. In addition a donation has been made to the Hot Sun Foundation, a non-profit charity in Kibera which provides youth in Kibera the opportunity to learn filmmaking and tell their own stories.
Matatu Express is currently in it's final stages of editing...so stay tuned! And thank you to everyone for their continued support.

Hustlers Get Reverberated

Hustlers from Kibera now have a page on Reverbnation. Click here to check it out and download and or listen to their entire album for free!!!

Matatu Express on Youtube

Matatu Express now has a channel on Youtube, just click here, and remember to subscribe for all the latest clips of Matatu, and also for my other documentary, Sketched Out.

Video Fix, 2 New Teasers and Asante Sana Kibera

All video with the exception of the pre-production ones have been converted to flash. This should make them considerably faster to load. Once again I apologize any inconvenience caused by the delay in watching the videos, I hope you understand that it had to do with circumstances beyond my control. I used a great free program called cute mov to flv converter. They are the same folks that make the very excellent and free cute ftp program, but unfortunately it now has a time limit, so for ftping, I use coffee cup, which is high quality, reliable and best of all - free.
I also uploaded two new teasers. They are a little on the rough side, but I wanted show some more video content to get people a taste for the film. I will be working on a more polished trailer soon, and of course the film itself in the coming weeks and months, so keep checking back here. In the meantime, you can see the first teaser here and the second one here, or just go straight to the video page.
In other news, I will be leaving Kenya soon, so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone involved in Matatu, especially John, Njeri, Christabel, Peter, Buck, and all of Kibera. It has been a fascinating journey. Thank you so much for your help, and I hope I have the privilege of seeing you all soon again. Thanks also to everyone that became fans of the hustlers of kibera, please tell your friends about them. And keep posting comments on this page or email me at colm@matatuexpress.com I love hearing from you...so keep in touch.

Matatu Express: The Video Podcast

I'm working on two trailers for Matatu, but for fun (or most probably, as a diversionary method of procrastination) I started cutting a video podcast. It's basically a collection of production photos and behind the scenes shots. A special thanks to Jane for providing the music - she is singing a very beautiful traditional Maasai song. It's on the video page. Or, here is a direct link to it as well.
****Special Bulletin***** As I've mentioned before, I do not have a high speed connection, it is low speed and extremely unstable, making uploading or downloading video content a near impossibility where I am here in Nairobi, so I am unable to verify the video. As I understand it, the promo video is working fine, although it may take several minutes to load, so please be patient. Please email me asap at colm@matatuexpress.com if something isn't working as it should be. I will convert and upload some of the videos to flash (which should make them much quicker to load) as soon as it's technically possible for me on my end. Another option for the video podcast is to click the "download to my ipod link" below the video. Thanks for your patience and understanding everyone.

Hustlers of Kibera Album Available Online

I have uploaded the debut album of the sensational Hustlers from Kibera online. You can hear it on their facebook page. Please check it out, and show them some love by becoming a fan, commenting on their page, or drop them an email. Here is a link to their facebook page. I am still waiting on song titles and album information. I will provide additional info when it arrives. For anyone interested, the music used in the recent promo video is Track 10.

New Promo Video Available Online

"Me and my gun makes you
break your spinal chord
ready to blow understand this metaphor
Gimme the dough
Walk down we are ready to go
so come slow."
- The Hustlers

After dealing with about a kazzilion technical issues, I was finally able to cut a promo for Matatu. It is a collection of B Roll shot around Kibera and features a wicked track from The Hustlers. It is slightly larger and has better resolution than the other videos, so it may take a few seconds to load. You can find it on the main page at Matatu Express. Here is a direct link to the video.