GOINGDIGITAL
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BY Adhyambo Odera & Maureen Mngolia
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BUNI TV
nominated for a 2012 Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Animation. But in general there’s still a long way to go, and some years are better than others. Distribution and funding (both are irrevocably tied) are always major challenges, and this is where Buni TV comes in. If we can fix distribution, then all of a sudden funding will become available. If we look at Africa in general, there is definitely a good amount of quality content now out there. African films keep getting noticed at big international film festivals and ironically, western audiences might know more about independent African cinema than audiences on the continent.
he next big thing according to industry players in production, for both TV and film is the digital ear. Move over anything else, distribution and viewership is the sole mover and shaker and this is why Buni TV is a curious new kid on the block that will no doubt make all the difference. When Kalasha Chronicles sought out the founder and producer, Lora Mungai, she was shuttling between LA and Kenya, which incidentally both serve as bases for the now famous company currently riding high with the production of Kenya’s first satirical animated comedy XYZ. When we got a moment, she did not hesitate to remind us that countless stories have been written about Buni the TV and the media but she wanted to know what exactly we wanted to know. Tell us about going digital, we said. A long silence. A sip of water and then she sat back to give us a truly riveting story, in between flights and mostly on line.. Buni TV is simpy and precisely what you call “digital content” with a voice. Lora reckons that one of the challenges of the Kenyan media industry is that it is talking to quite a small local audience and very often that market alone cannot sustain quality productions. “Kenyan filmmakers have to look beyond their own borders and create films that can appeal to at least the whole East African region, if not Africa or even the world. That’s where the opportunity lies and that’s how you can find good numbers. A global platform like Buni TV will help create these trans-border markets.” She says. Granted,the Kenyan film and television industry has made some tremendous progress in the past few years in terms of the quantity and quality of digital content being produced in Kenya. Some of it has to do with the proliferation of affordable, quality equipment, which has allowed Kenyan filmmakers to practice, learn and experiment. The Kenyan animation scene is particularly interesting – and Buni TV will be featuring some fantastic Kenyan animated films like Kwame Nyong’o’s The Legend of Ngong Hills, which was
“There are currently more than 600 million people on the continent who own a mobile phone.”
Again, Buni TV proposes to be the solution to this problem. To promote more digital content development from the country what is needed is fix distribution, which will dramatically increase people’s exposure to quality content and help create new audiences. Then the rest will follow. The future of Africa digital lies with mobile technology. Lora says eyes beaming with pride like she just discoved a hidden cookie. We now know this passion is deep inside her and she will not be stopping until the job is done. What many Kenyans do not realize is that Kenya is the world leader in that domain. What Kenyans have come to see as every day things like ‘M-Pesa’ or even call-back ringtones are still at the very forefront of innovation in terms of the global mobile industry. When you talk about Kenya’s mobile landscape to tech people in the US, they are extremely impressed. Indeed, Kenya is showing the way for the rest of Africa.
Chronicle | June2013 | 43