Rape is s very sensitive issue, but a global
phenomenon. In some countries they are more open about this act considered a menace
to society but in other countries they are not that much open about it.
However, rape is a social vice that cannot be buried under the carpet, as Prince Bubacarr
Aminata Sankanu, a Gambian-German filmmaker told Modou S. Joof of
The
North Bank Evening Standard in an interview.
Prince Sankanu speaks to Modou S. Joof, publisher of The North Bank Evening Standard, on his film project/photo/MENjie |
Interview with
Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu
How does the
movie “The
Woman In A Black Jacket” intends to address the menace of rape?
The movie is about the menace of rape which is a
very sensitive topic in society. Film is a very powerful medium and as
filmmakers our role is to place the mirror before society. That’s what a film
is all about, it reflects society.
Around the world rape is a major issue and talking
about it is about placing the mirror before society to look at this issue. It
cannot be buried under the carpet.
It is the best we can do in a situation where
reading culture is dying either due to illiteracy or people are becoming lazy
to write. You can write a book about rape and people will not read it but you
can make a movie and the way you dramatized it the message will trickle-down to
even the most illiterate person and that’s why I say that the audiovisual
medium as a way of transmitting the message is the ideal one.
Rape is a global phenomenon. In all countries in the
world, rape is a problem. It depends on how you handle it. In some countries
they are more open about it and in other countries they are not.
But anybody who watches the movie whether the person
is a European, African or Arab, you will be able to relate to it because it is
a universal topic. This means that it is a movie that once it is done in the
Gambia, it is going to market the Gambia because it is a movie that will be
accepted worldwide, and rape is an issue that affects all human races beyond
culture and language.
One cannot say rape is only done by Africans; it is
not done by Europeans or Arabs. It is done by everybody, so that’s why I hope
it will automatically trickle-down without much problem.
How will local actors
and actresses be involved to benefit from your film project?
That is what brought me here. Like I said, it is a
universal subject that could be set anywhere. I could set it in Nigeria, Ghana
or even Germany because it is a universal theme.
I decided to choose Gambia because my Gambian gene
became alive, the patriotic Gambian in me became alive so I decided to do
something because I don’t like the way the Gambian film industry is going.
Our young talents are being exploited by people
coming with funny and inflated budgets. I said we have to start something
modest and am coming here to give young talents a chance and that’s why I am
having a meeting at the Alliance Franco, which is my second meeting with young
talents to have first of all an informal session to brief them about the
project (and) to prepare them.
Then in January (2013), we’ll have an audition with
local talents. It is going to be 99% Gambian, only when the skill and
equipments that are required for a professional movie are absent, then I can
bring in one or two people from Germany and one person who is a Nigerian
pan-African but based in Europe, who is a part of my production company - as
part of my staff. Otherwise it is going to be fully a Gambian project.
And that is why after the first meeting with the
talents I nominated a young Gambian by the name Momodou Lamin Touray to be the
Director while I serve as the Executive Producer and the lead male actor.
I have brieft all the actors and actresses who want
to come to the audition on what they should consider: the dress code, the style
and other things. In January we will do the audition proper and those are lucky
to be in the final list will be given the scripts to start rehearsing, and then
we will do the principal photography (shooting) in March 2013.
L: Momodou Lamin Touray,
Sankanu-appointed Film Director with Mamadou Edrisa Njie/Photo/MSJoof
|
You know a movie
cannot be produced overnight. How long will it take for the movie to hit the
market?
It depends, if we are satisfied with the pictures.
Initially I wanted it to be premiered during the next International Women’s Day
on 8th March, 2013, we won’t miss that one. The next ideal date
would have been July – to coincide with African Women’s Day, if possible.
But there is still time when you know that one can
release it and our next festival (in Germany) is 2014 so there is time,
depending on the material we have and the qualities we have. If the quality is
good we will edit it – that could take one month.
It will take at least six months before the final
cut of the movie is out and then we’ll fix a date when it should come into the
theater and the festivals and then all those who are involved will know about
it.
Making a
standard film can be very expensive, how much will it cost, financially?
It is a modest one. I decided to come modestly - we
are going to shoot it in Gambia – I decided to peg the budget at €51, 000
Euros, which is a low entry level. If I want to shoot it in Germany it will be
a different budget and if I want to do something big it would have been a
different thing.
This is basically what I set in as a pilot and see
if I am satisfied then during the next movie (on female genital mutilation,
FGM) then one can upgrade the budget, but this is the maximum limit I put
myself.
It also a way of putting pressure on the talents. If
people know that the money in the movie is not much, it is a way of filtering
them because those who are passionate will stay in the project and those who
are only interested in the movie will move out.
It is a way of controlling the people and filtering
them. They will say “ah! €51, 000 is the budget” and after the breakdown
they’ll have to tell me their fees and they can say “oh! the fee is too small
for me”, whatever the case maybe so you are already disqualified.
The person who stays up to the end I will know that
this person is passionate because I value things that money cannot buy. So if
the person stays up to the end of the project we are able to have a world
standard movie within this budget.
Then next time there is always possibility of
applying for funding from Germany for the distribution, but unfortunately,
Gambia does not have a bilateral Film Cooperation Agreement with Germany. So it
is not easy to get money from German authorities to fund a movie here just like
that.
For the distribution funding, that one we have the
facility because I have my production company in Germany (the Royal Sankanura
Principality Studious). I can use it to apply for funding for the distribution.
For this one (The Woman In A Black Jacket), it is a
mix (funding), part of it will be my own fund and part is open. That is why we
make arrangements for brand placement, which is to market the Gambia. So
Gambian brands that are serious and are ready to use the movie to market their
products and service to the global market can come.
It is not a commercial movie, am not enriching
myself because am not going to make money from this movie. It is because it is
a social project; it is a social issue of rape. Because the movie has a
universal theme, it is a chance for those who use the movie to place their
brands. I will give space to only a maximum of seven (7) Gambian brands and
commercial managers to come first will get the slots.
I hope before my departure those who are interested
will be and then we will see. For the production of the movie, am not worried
because I always get German state funding. The issue is whether one can get
German and Gambian private sector involvement to cover the funding gap. If not,
once the production is about to start we will know how to activate plan B.
The idea is to involve the private sector so that it
can be collaborative work, in which the public and the private sector is
involved and Gambian brands are represented and it can be marketed as a true
Gambian movie.
You met
officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the National Council for
Arts and Culture to discuss with them about your film project. What kind of
support do you want from?
I don’t know. The only thing I told them is that
they are ready to support the project within their mandate. Whatever support
they give me, I told them they will be credited as required by international
standards. So whatever support they can give the movie they are ready to
concretize it and specify.
I just wrote them an official letter introducing my
project to them and I am grateful that the permanent secretary at the Ministry
of Tourism and Culture (MOTC) meet me and has assured me of his ministry’s full
support. So the level and nature of support is left for them to specify. The
same applies to the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC). I sent them
the project brief.
I cannot come and say that I want you to do this. I
just say this is what I have and this is what I have in mind and you see how
you can come on board. The private sector can also tell me how they want to
come on board with their brands, and then we’ll concretize and finalize the
issue.
You said the
Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism did admit that things are at a slow pace
in Gambia. Could this have a chilling effect on your project?
Well, I have been in touch behind the scenes for
almost a year now. You know when these people (Nollywood’s Rita Edochie and Jim
Iyke) were coming with their budgets, exploiting the country and going, I was
very angry.
Then I took the initiative of contacting the
authorities, that is, the MOTC and the NCAC and also the Office of the
President. I submitted a project proposal on how to build a film industry. I
propose a name for the project, I propose festival and also have a legacy
project which is a film school, and they’ve been there for almost a year now.
I have been following up behind the scene, but
within that one year, what I have been able to achieve in Germany I could not
here (in Gambia). Within one year, I had a festival that I organised (in
Germany) which was successful. I have acted in various TV series, so career
wise it has been going fine.
But within that one year when it comes to Gambia
nothing has moved. So that has shown the time difference. It is now that am
coming and this fear has been with me all along, the fear is still there –
things will move slow but if I am able to achieve at least 5% of what I plan to
achieve during this trip that will be a big achievement. I have low expectations
because I understand things are slow, but I am optimistic after meeting with
the authorities and am sure they are determined and serious because they know
that I have suspended a lot of activities.
I was to shoot a film on 12 November which they
would have paid me but I chose to come here which means I have lost an income.
Every day that I spend here I am losing something but it is for my country. It
is worth the sacrifice and I am glad that the authorities consider my proposal
and I hope before my departure you will hear something positive that can move
the project on.
Young Gambian
actors and actresses/photo/MSJoof
|
You are
currently on a location survey for your film. Have you identified yet a perfect
setting?
I need 32 locations; I went to Nusrat (Senior
Secondary School) which will be used for one of the campus scenes. FJC
(Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay) took me out for a dinner, we found some beautiful
restaurants, and also she recommends one hotel which I hope I will be able to
visit and then I’ll see from there.
Otherwise there are some people I nominated for the
Crew who promised to also do the location survey because I have already sent
them the list of locations that are needed – so I will do some myself and when I come back in January we will finalize
it.
Since I came here, what I have seen are good
locations, the question is access, whether the people in charge of these places
will allow us to use them at the end of the day – that is the biggest
challenge. Instead of 32 locations, we will have a 100 or 150 locations that
could be on a standby in case of emergency.
In your writings
you noted your intention to work with the government-established Standing
Committee on Beauty Pageants and Movie Productions to develop the film industry in Gambia. How
do you intend to do this?
From the first day I heard of the Committee, the
first thing I did was to write an article to thank the President of the
Republic (Yahya Jammeh) and the Minister of Tourism and Culture (Fatou Mass
Jobe) for the foresight of having this project.
It is something that was long overdue, and I did not
waste my time as I started doing something – I send them a Draft for a Film
Policy Framework for them to use as a working document. I have been in touch
with the former Chairman of the Committee Ebrima Sanyang who passed away
(diseased).
That is why whenever I see other people coming in
with projects from outside I try to block them – like I wrote an article
against Rita Edochie (Nigerian actress) not because I hate her but because what
she was doing is not in the interest of the country - the same thing with Jim
Iyke (Nigerian/Nollywood actor).
So am glad that when I spoke to the authorities, the
NCAC, they’ve also acted and blocked that one (Iyke’s) so that the Gambian
talents can grow. It has nothing to do with unfair competition – even in world
trade agreements you have the right to give the domestic industry the chance to
grow.
You cannot build a film industry overnight, with all
the noise that is coming from outside. You need time, passion and investment.
So am ready to work with the Committee up to the end.
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