Swahili is not the most common language in films, but that is
exactly the aspect of the movie industry that Tanzanian director
Josiah Kibira wants to change.
The Fowler Museum hosted his film “Tusamehe” on
Saturday, which was intended to promote Swahili filmmaking and to
introduce the new UCLA Travel Study program to Tanzania.
Swahili, which is spoken by 100 million people, is used over a
large part of the East African coast, stretching from Somalia to
Mozambique.
The film “Tusamehe,” which translates to
“forgive me,” tells the story of a successful young
African couple living in Minneapolis and the chaos into which their
lives are thrown when the husband discovers he has AIDS.
Kibira said the film emphasizes the importance of personal
responsibility and is a chilling reminder that the virus does not
discriminate in terms of wealth and can affect anyone.
“It was a very real story for me,” said Kibira,
speaking after the film. “I lost a sister, I lost a brother,
I’ve lost cousins, I’ve lost a lot of people. The
message is that nobody is immune to AIDS.”
The movie was filmed from a rare viewpoint of African immigrants
in the Midwest, and some students said it was important to see this
different view of the United States.
“A lot of people think that AIDS only affects the poorest
African communities,” said Cassandra Tesch, a first-year
graduate student studying Portuguese. The characters in
Kibira’s film are successful members of the middle class.
As well as promoting the film for educational purposes, Kibira
came to support the new UCLA Travel Study program to Tanzania.
Students who take the course will spend two weeks in the city of
Dar es Salaam, which includes an internship working on
Kibira’s latest film, and three weeks on the island nation of
Zanzibar.
Katrina Thompson, a representative from the linguistics
department, said this is a completely new program for UCLA and an
opportunity for students to sample a completely different
culture.
“They’ll be living with host families, they’ll
be totally immersed,” she said.
Though UCLA has programs in other African countries, this is the
first time UCLA will send students to Tanzania.
Kathleen Micham, public manager for UCLA Summer Sessions, said
responses to a Senegal program were extremely positive and quite
different from those for European programs. She said that students
who have gone on these programs return with greatly altered
perspectives on American life.
Kibira’s films are privately financed on shoestring
budgets ““ “Tusamehe” was filmed, produced and
distributed on $20,000 ““ and made by largely volunteer casts
and crews.
Yet Kibira and his actors have begun to create a fan base in the
entertainment industry. Mark Valley, from the television show
“Boston Legal,” came to watch the film because he
admires the two leading actors of the film, he told the
director.
Kibira said Tanzania’s film industry is very limited and
mostly makes films in English. He is one of few Tanzanian directors
filming in Swahili, describing himself as a
“trailblazer.”
His said his mission is to raise the bar for movies in Swahili,
and to help the language gain further recognition.
“When you buy a movie here you can watch it in Spanish, in
English, why not in Swahili?” said Kibira.
Kibira said most people only know one Swahili phrase, made
popular by the movie “The Lion King.”
“Everybody knows hakuna matata, that’s actually a
line in Swahili, but that’s it,” he said.
Kibira says his goal is to earn greater international
recognition for the Swahili language and its films, instead of
limiting it to a single phrase.