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of equipment among other aspects .
So far , Media Vision has been able to procure more than 300 licences from KFCB to make films locally .
Among them is David and the Bull , a movie produced locally in Bungoma but later translated into Germany ( David Und der Stier ).
Mucheru is the brain behind Media Vision . A renowned dramatist , he has produced documentaries and infomercials for Kenya Power , Action Aid ( County dialogues on KTN ), KBC ( Marauki & Balamwezi ), University of Nairobi and Kenya Forest Research Institute ( Sauti ya Misitu ). He has also produced a continental documentary for USAID ’ s programme SUWASA ( Portuguese for the Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa ) in Bauchi State , Nigeria . Currently , Media Vision is producing a local wildlife documentary that will be voiced in local dialects . This is after they got a free license from KFCB that would otherwise cost Ksh1 million .
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As he puts it , Mucheru says that Dr Mutua is trying to sanitise an industry that has not been streamlined for a long time . He says that this is the reason Mutua is facing a lot of backlash from the ‘ big boys ’ in the industry .
“ KFCB is misunderstood . Dr Mutua has the best interest for the industry . He has been able to open new horizons , and this has to ruffle feathers with industry players ,” says Mucheru .
The milestones have not been without hurdles . Changing Kenyans ’ mindset to embrace and commercialise the film industry is one of the biggest challenges he has faced . Mucheru also says that the country lacks substantial film policy as compared to other sectors of the economy in Kenya , the reason it remains underexploited .
Devolution brought in another challenge of double taxation . Even after procuring a licence from KFCB , producers still face harassment from county officials who require them to buy county licences to
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shoot in the respective counties . He gives an example of Kajiado county where producers are required to pay Ksh 150,000 per day for every production they make .
“ There is another challenge with training . Very few institutions offer training on film . This means that producers and actors are not well-equipped to produce quality content ,” regrets Mucheru .
“ We also have a problem with piracy and conning by foreigners . Most content produced in Kenya is not Kenyan .
“ We were once conned in the movie David and the Bull . We wrote the script , staged the movie and produced but according to the contract we signed we came to realise that we do not own the movie . It is German .”
Mucheru , through Sinema Mashinani and KFCB , hopes to see a revolutionalised film industry in Kenya .
“ I am optimistic that it will happen . I dream of
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a situation where local content competes side by side with international content . I want to see Kenyans embrace local content , I want to see Kenyans earn directly from film , I want to see our screens filled with local content ,” concludes Mucheru .
Currently , Media Vision is working with Mediamax , Kameme TV , Royal Media Services and Viusasa . They are planning to launch a platform to distribute their content online through their distribution company , Soko TV .
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