MOVING to KIBERA KID blogspot

18 August 2008
Hey friends and supporters,
We are consolidating our stuff...new website for hotsunfoundation.org in the works, FACEBOOK Kibera Kid fan site, and now we will focus on the kiberakid.blogspot.com.
WATCH FOR ALL THESE happenings! Go to kiberakid.blogspot.com!
Thanks, Pamela Collett, Outreach and Development

KIBERA FILM NIGHT photos

Photo is Ignatius Juma, star of KIBERA KID at the KIBERA FILM NIGHT. Thanks to all for your dedication that made the KIBERA FILM NIGHT one of the highlights of the Kwani? Lit Fest! For photos of KIBERA FILM NIGHT, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukumakenya/sets/72157606419175993/

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in Global Peace Film Festival

Hot Sun Films/Foundation is honored to participate in the Global Peace Film Festival, in Orlando, Florida, USA, Sept 17 -21 2008. Our short film CHARCOAL TRAFFIC shows the cultural and environmental devastation caused by the charcoal trade in Somalia. Similar problems are occurring in many parts of Africa. We welcome the opportunity to bring this issue to the attention of the world.
Peace is more precious than diamonds, or silver or gold. Martin Luther King Jr,

GIANT open air screening in KIBERA 9 Aug 2008!

KIBERA BIG open air SCREENING Sat. August 9,2008
Hot Sun Foundation and their partners Film Aid International,Kwani? Lit Fest and Africalia made the screening possible in Kibera’s Kamukunji grounds.

Hot sun Foundation members and the Film Aid crew helped in the erection of the big screen and other chores that made sure we were right on time for the long awaited day.

The crowd was over a thousand people, who were delighted with the short Kenyan made films. Members of the audience said that in the next few years Kenyan films will be recognized globally.


Goddy Ojiambo was the mc and with his jokes he really entertained the crowd. Kiberans really enjoyed the show and hope that it can be screened on a weekly basis.Thanks to all the partners that made the screening possible.

Up date by Evans Kangethe

Hot Sun Films/Foundation in Los Angeles!

There is a movement going on with DIY (Do It Yourself) independent filmmakers...and their approach is COLLABORATION, help each other, get together and we have potentially more power than the film studios! A great group of filmmakers got together in Los Angeles California USA 26 July 2008.

Basically three guys: Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), Lance Weilor (Head Trauma) and M Dot Strange (We are the Strange) started a movement to redefine the relationship between filmmakers and audience to bring them together so great films get made and seen. They initiated a series of gatherings know as DIY DAYS (Do It Yourself) happening in Los Angeles and San Francisco California, Boston and New York, USA and London, U.K.

More info on diydays.com Posted by Pamela Collett,
representing Hot Sun Films/Foundation(wearing the black Kibera Kid tee shirt)

Charcoal Traffic in Ten International Film Festivals

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC, a short fictional film about two brothers caught in a devastating cycle of environmental and cultural devastation, shot in Somalia with an all local cast, directed by Nathan Collett, assisted by Goddy Ojiambo, is an official selection in the following international film festivals:
• New Beijing International Film Week, China, June 1- 8, 2008
• Leith International Short Film Festival, June 2-8, 2008 Edinburgh Scotland
• Shoot Me Film Festival 16 – 22 June 2008, The Hague, Netherlands
• Greening the Beige, Environmental Festival, 8 & 16 July 2008, Beijing, China
• Durban International Film Festival, South Africa, 23 July to 3 August 2008
• Canterbury Short Film Festival, 7-10 July 2008, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Badhan, Somalia, Community groups discussion of environmental effects of charcoal
• International Competition, the Lenola Film Festival, Italy
• Palm Springs International Short Fest, 21-27 August, 2008, California, USA
• Short Film Official Competition of the Festival International du Film
d'Environnement November 19-25 2008, Paris France.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC official selection Palm Springs California

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC, has been selected for presentation in the official line-up of the 14th Annual Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films (August 21-27, 2008),California, USA, as well as a featured film in the Festival’s Short Film Market. Visit www.psfilmfest.org for more information.

Charcoal Traffic shown again in Beijing China

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC and another short video, filmed by Hot Sun Films in Somalia, ME AND MY SOLAR COOKER, were featured at the environmental Greening the Beige Festival, 8 July 2008 held at the Stoneboat bar in Beijing, China . The venue was jammed with over 70 people present. James Lindsay, co-producer of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC answered many questions about the film, Somalia, and solar cookers as an alternative to using charcoal for household cooking.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC selected for Environmental Film Fest in Paris France!

We are delighted and honoured to announce the selection of your film Charcoal Traffic in the Short Film Official Competition of the Festival International du Film d'Environnement 2008, which will take place in November 2008 (19 until 25) at the Cinema La Pagode in Paris. We were touched and deeply interested by your strong film.

Kids in India watch KIBERA KID!

More than 30,000 children from all over India will have the opportunity to see The KIBERA KID short film at the World Kids International Film Festival 2008 to be held in New Delhi, 25th to 31st of July.

WorldKids Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated towards the promotion of ‘entertainment with a purpose’. WorldKids Foundation’s vision is to expose Indian children to world cultures and traditions as well as encourage critical thinking on social and environmental issues.

We are pleased to join with WORLD KIDS FOUNDATION in their vision to bring together children and youth through media! Visit www.wkiff.com for more information!

Read about KIBERA KID feature film project

From "A Love Story Conquers Tribal War"
by Matt Brown in THE NATIONAL, UAE, June 29, 2008
...(The) feature film, which will be shot entirely in Kibera with actors from the slum, will be about two kids from different tribes whose friendship is strained by Kenya’s tribal conflict.

A group of Kibera writers is helping Mr Collett draft the script for the (Kibera Kid) feature film. The group meets weekly to brainstorm ideas and give Mr Collett feedback on the script.Mr Collett hopes to start filming in November and is looking for funding.

Evans Kangethe, one writer, recently moved back to Kibera from a displacement camp. Machete-wielding youths chased him from his home and took everything he owned. Now he is putting his experiences down on paper, telling the world what he went through.

“Actually it was hell,” Mr Kangethe said. “When I come here and I am around other writers, I gather more ideas. When we meet, I find it so healthy.”
Read the entire story about the Kibera Kid Street Theatre and the feature film on
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080629/FOREIGN/653880137/1017/NEWS

KIBERA KID short film available on CAACHI

CHECK IT OUT today! KIBERA KID, CHARCOAL TRAFFIC and LIFE FORCES available as downloads on http://www.caachi.com/Members/HotSunFoundation All proceeds go to support the work of Hot Sun Foundation in Kibera.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in New Zealand

Charcoal Traffic is an official selection in the Urbis Animax international section of the Canterbury Short Film Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand. Visit www.urbis-animax.com
for more information.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in BEIJING CHINA

After a showing of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC on June 4 2008 at the D-22 night club in a trendy part of Beijing near the Peking University campus, the audience had many questions.

Q. Why don’t people cook with gas or electricity if charcoal causes so many problems?
A. There is no gas or electricity available in most of Somalia, even in towns.

Q. Do people really live in small huts?
A. Yes, many people are nomadic pastoralists who must move with their flocks.

Q. Why do people carry machine guns in Somalia?
A. Because of ongoing lawlessness due to civil war since 1992.

Q. Did goats really live in the area where the film was shot; there seemed to be no grass only sand?
A. Yes, goats are able to survive even where there is very little pasture.

Q. The acting was of high standard. Were the actors professionals?
A. None of the actors had had any previous acting experience. They were friends or staff members who worked with us in our solar cooking project.

The Beijing screening of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC gave co-producer James Lindsay an opportunity to explain the situation in Somalia and the work of Sun Fire Cooking distributing solar cookers as an alternative to charcoal.

MORE SHOWINGS of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in BEIJING China

Jim Lindsay, co-producer of CHARCOAL TRAFFIC, attended the June 4 film screening in Beijing. The audience clapped enthusiastically and asked many questions about the making of the film and solar cookers in Somalia. BY POPULAR DEMAND, CHARCOAL TRAFFIC will be shown again in Beijing at Greening the Beige. Greening the Beige (GtB) is a collective for artists and performers that celebrate eco-minded thinking for a "greener" Beijing. Visit www.greeningthebeige.org for more information.
CHARCOAL TRAFFIC Screenings: Tuesday, July 8, 8 pm, BJ Green Drinks @ Stoneboat (Ritan Park AND Wednesday, July 16, 8 pm, GtB Green Film Fest, Obiwan

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC official selection LENOLA FILM FESTIVAL, Italy

CHARCOAL TRAFFFIC, a dramatic story of two brothers trapped in a cycle of environmental and cultural devastation has been selected for the International Competition section of the LENOLA FILM FESTIVAL, Associazione Culturale Cinema e Società, Lenola (LT)- ITALY, www.inventaunfilm.it

KIBERA CONNECTION in San Jose California, USA

On June 7 2008 at the TECH museum in San Jose, all 18 programs of Adobe Global Youth Voices came together in one fantastic setting! Special thanks to Liz Slagus, the coordinator and to Grant Wilson, the facilitator at the site. For Hot Sun Foundation, the Global Youth Voices helped us reach our goal of making the KIBERA CONNECTION, the title of the video prepared by Kibera youth to introduce their community, the largest slum in east Africa, located in Nairobi, Kenya. Pamela Collett, representing Hot Sun Foundation, particularly enjoyed the opportunity to meet youth from other digital art programs. Viewers were very interested to hear that youth in Kibera are working on a feature film project. Thanks to Adobe for sponsoring this innovative approach for youth worldwide.

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC official selection DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in South Africa

Hot Sun Films is pleased to announce that CHARCOAL TRAFFIC has been selected for screening at South Africa 's longest running film festival, the Durban International Film Festival, that will take place from 23 July to 3 August 2008. For more information, visit http://www.cca.ukzn.ac.za/Durban_International_Film_Festival.htm

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC official selection LEITH Film Festival

HOT SUN FILMS is pleased to announce that the short drama CHARCOAL TRAFFIC about two brothers trapped in a murderous cycle of cultural and environmental destruction in Somalia will be shown at the Leith International Film Festival in Edinburgh Scotland! Visit http://www.leithshortfilmfestival.co.uk for more information.

Ravneet Chadha on BBC World Service Radio

Listen to a 5 minute interview on BBC World Service radio with Ravneet Chadha, director/writer of the award winning short film SUBIRA, produced by Hot Sun Films. Go to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2008/04/080429_arts_subira.shtml?redirect=&news=&host=&nbram=&bbram=&nbwm=&bbwm=〈=

KIBERA KID in Festivalito, Canary Islands July 2008!

I write to inform we liked the short film KIBERA KID very much and decided to include it in our Non Competitive Section, BIOSFERA in the VIIth Edition of El Festivalito-International Indie Digital Film Festival of Canarias-Isla de La Palma, to take place from the 12th to the 19th of July, 2008. Congratulations!
Ainhoa Guezuraga J. FESTIVALITO SELECTION COMMITTEE
programacion2@festivalito.com www.festivalito.com

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC in the SHOOT ME film fest Netherlands!

Hot Sun Films global first CHARCOAL TRAFFIC, a short fictional film shot in Somalia with an all local cast, is an official selection in the SHOOT ME FILM FESTIVAL 2008 16/22 JUNE in THE HAGUE, Netherlands!

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC official selection Beijing Film Fest

CHARCOAL TRAFFIC, a dramatic story of two brothers trapped in a cycle of environmental and cultural devastation, filmed in Somalia by Hot Sun Films, is an official selection of the New Beijing International Film Week.

Kibera HIP HOP FILM FEST big success!

The second annual HIP HOP FILM FESTIVAL in Kibera attracted huge crowds of youth eager to see good films. Hot Sun Films is pleased to report that two of our films, KIBERA KID and SUBIRA, (made in Lamu, Kenya) were two of the favorites. Thanks to everyone who made the film festival possible and to the Cultural Affairs section of the US Embassy.

Hot Sun Films in Beijing China!

On Tuesday April 22, 2008, Earth Day, three films produced by Hot Sun Films were enthusiastically praised by participants at the Beijing International Peace Vigil meeting. 25 people from many different countries were stimulated to ask questions about life in Kibera, Lamu and Somalia after viewing KIBERA KID, SUBIRA and CHARCOAL TRAFFIC. They enjoyed the films and congratulated the filmmakers on the excellent quality of the films. One young German commented that he knew very little about Africa and that viewing the films was a wonderful learning opportunity for him. An Australian woman said the films were very important for understanding the lives of people in east Africa. A woman from England praised Hot Sun Films for working with slum youth in Africa offering them possibilities for social and cultural participation.

Hot Sun Films announces KIBERA HIP HOP FILM FEST!

2nd Annual
Kibera Hip Hop Film Fest
Peace and Conflict:
THE WAY FORWARD

Seven days of films and discussion in Kibera.
Posing questions, Challenging assumptions, Promoting understanding

Hot Sun Foundation in conjunction with Hot Sun Films, will show outstanding and informative films from around the world in video halls throughout Kibera from Saturday April 26 to Friday May 2nd. Amongst the films will be the award winning short films KIBERA KID and SUBIRA as well as films produced by the youth of Kibera.

We showcase films from urban environments in the USA and around the world to see the global challenges faced by slum and ghetto dwellers everywhere. Many films will be shown in Kenya for the first time, including BASTARDS OF THE PARTY, about alternatives to gang life in Los Angeles California, and GRIND AND GLORY, about aspiring hip hop stars from the ghettos of Oakland California. The Kibera HIP HOP FILM FEST offers an opportunity for ongoing community dialogue about values, culture, and identities and how we can live together in peace and harmony.

All screenings will be FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. In addition to free film screenings, Hot Sun Foundation facilitators will encourage filmgoers to discuss what they watch and how it applies to their lives during discussions following some of the screenings.

The Free Film Screenings will be held daily at video halls throughout Kibera from 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday April 26 to Friday April May 2nd.

We invite your participation and support!
For more information contact kiberaexchange@hotsunfoundation.org

The Second Annual Kibera HIP HOP FILM FEST is sponsored by Hot Sun Foundation, Hot Sun Films, and the Cultural Affairs section of the United States Embassy in Nairobi.

Subira BIG HIT in Belgium!

The award winning short film, Subira, shot in Lamu, has been a big sucess in Belgium. Audiences thought it was the best short film from east Africa.
Subira was screened in Brussels Vendrome Cinema on April 19 and in Luvern a small city next to Brussels. Congrats to writer-director Ravneet "Sippy" Chadha and all who made Subira!

HOT SUN FILMS YOU TUBE CHANNEL

VISIT http://www.youtube.com/user/HotSunFilms

For trailers, clips, videos, etc...Go for it!

SUBIRA in film festivals world wide

SUBIRA, written and directed by Ravneet “Sippy” Chadha, is showing in various film festivals around the world, including Short Film Corner (Cannes) BROOKYN ART FESTIVAL (New York), Rwanda Film Festival, Ziff(Tanzania), Amakula(Uganda), SOROP festival in Japan, Osian film festival, New Delhi, India and Cyprus film festival. Subira has been selected by Africalia in Brussels Belgium as part of an East Africa short films DVD to be launched in April 2008. Congratulations to Sippy and also to Nathan, Goddy and everyone who worked on SUBIRA!

NEW BLOG for HOT SUN FILMS PROJECTS

This blog is for film projects of Hot Sun Films/Hot Sun Foundation....