Bongo Movies cracking under pressure

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Bongo movies is considered to be the second largest on the continent in terms of quantity with over 500 productions being released annually, employing more than 50, 000.

The productions, though still a far cry from Bollywood, Hollywood or even Nollywood, they are a hit across the country and beyond with pirated copies doing quite well in neighboring countries such as Burundi and DRC.

Some of the self styled star actors live a life that can be categorised as chaotic, passionate and emotional that can only match the expectation of their fans.

Call it what you want, Swahili exuberance, hot blood, a penchant for drama. It all fits in the mix.

Over the years there was an encouragement that the industry was heading toward a bright future as some of the titles went on to win awards at the continental showpiece the AMVCA.

Those in the less salubrious zones of the commercial capital identified with it and maybe the greatest mistake that in over the two decades they never made an effort to endear themselves with the so-called middle class.

In the end it was bedlam.  They failed to hit where the money was!

This presumed early success to some pundits was a mere fallacy.  The industry remained a monopoly of some smart few in the distribution chain who arm twisted and toyed with the artist the way they pleased.

They determined the prices, release dates and even who featured in which movie in the process stifling the growth of talent as they recycled the same tired actors who had nothing new to offer.

In the process they also bought the copyright and the artist assumed a new role of unwanted surrogate without any royalties to look forward to!

“My son acted in over 30 films but it is rather unfortunate that after his death we have not earned a penny from his work because the copyright don’t belong to him,” Steven Kanumba’s mother once told the Beat.

For some time it was an acceptable practice that all players agreed to, but then came more and more concessions as the top brass strengthened their grip on the industry.

The prices have since dropped from the over Sh30 million per film to some Sh12 million or even less for these low budget films.

The play ground isn’t level and the goal posts are shifting continuously, it is finally coming to their realization that theirs was a house of cards.

Dr Cheni is one of the pioneers in today’s film industry believes the falling prices are artificial because their fans are still the same but it is the status of the business that is now forcing them out.

According to him the only reason why most film makers have resorted to low budget or no films at all is because the returns are very low and those who benefit are the unscrupulous middlemen.

“In a business sense this is not supposed to be some labour of love. There is no way how I am going to produce a film at Sh200 million and yet the distributor is only ready to pay 40 million,” says Cheni

He adds, “The distributors are complaining that piracy has dented the industry and they can no longer pay directors the same amount of money.”

The piracy song according to him is now almost cliché that no one seems to pay attention to so for now he has decided to redirect his energies elsewhere.

“It better off to work with TV stations even though they are less lucrative but at the end of the day you realise what you are doing is not a wasted effort.”

He is says pirates in this country are stinking rich because they hardly invest and all they wait is to reap from directors’ efforts.

 “I am now past that stage where I did certain things for fame and that is why I feel when the right policies to handle the industry are put in place I shall come back,” he says shrugging his shoulder.

Jacqueline Wolper two years ago declared that she was through with film making because it was not worth the effort.

 “I will only act when someone hires me for a role which as usual is paid for but not for me going through the bother only to end up with peanuts because filmmaking as it is now doesn’t pay,” says Wolper . She adds: You are working with a budget of over Sh30 million and then the distributor comes saying he can only pay a paltry Sh12 million now tell me how do to compensate for the losses?

According to her there are several works in progress but she is waiting for the right moment to release because it is something that costs money.  Wastara Juma also a household name in bongo movies says she is changing tact by distributing her movies on her own instead of the formal channels.   “These so called distributors are a disappointment because they decide on what to pay and when to release your work  that is why I have opted to distribute my own work,” says Wastara.

Single Mtambalike aka Richie Richie is doing it more as a hobbie and that is why it has takene him a long time to release any film.

 “There is something going on at the ministry as we try to chat up our way towards getting the national film policy but even then I am very doubtful if at all we can achieve some tangible results.

 Most policies that we have in this country are very good probably just as good as anywhere else but the problem usually comes in the execution,” says Richie.

It remains an interesting prospect after actors such as Jacob Stevens declared they were leaving acting and directing.

Though the blame for now may go to the distributors who are accused of all sorts of sins it is quite clear that the foundations that gave birth to Bongo movies was a shaky and thus the result could not have been any different.

Additional reporting by Kalunde Jamal