pendent Zambia had a hard time exporting bronze from
its mines. China decided to help build the 1,800-kilometre-long Tanzania-Zambia Railway in the 1970s so
that Zambia could export bronze through Tanzania.
This forms the background. Yes, China plays a central
role in Ni Kunga. However, few people today know that
it was the Americans who wanted to build the railway.
So originally, the idea did not come from China at all.
After the Nyerere government took a turn to the left,
the Americans decided to walk out on the railway project as a warning lecture, before the Chinese stepped in.
But it came all at a hefty price. At the time, China was
suffering economic difficulties. And during the arduous
task of railway building, over 64 Chinese workers paid
with their lives. That’s not the focus of my film, though.
While China engaged itself in railway building, the US
took a new project: to build a road parallel to the Chinese
railway. And these two long paths only cross each other
once at one single point!”
Julie: This IS a love story laden with metaphors?
Martin: “So, in my story, there is this American guy
working in the American project and this Chinese guy
working in the Chinese project. They both fall in love
with a Tanzanian girl. The planned deadline is 2017. I
would like very much to co-direct Ni Kunga with a
Chinese director. I think bringing two different
cultural views in a story is of invaluable importance.
It gives extra layers and creates unexpected narrative
tension, which I appreciate as a filmmaker. Right now, I’m
looking for the perfect match for my project. Making a
feature film one has to deal with very mundane, practical
things. It’s not sexy from the red-carpet point of view.
Filmmaking is about making