Wetengere Kitojo does it again with another new film

When I first met Wetengere SPK over a decade ago, he was just one of many Tanzanian students roving the streets of Europe. Wetengere studied while freelancing as a “jack of all trades” on filming sets. One day you might see him behind the camera shooting a wedding. Or with the then booming media boys called Urban Pulse. I personally teamed up with Urban Pulse around the London Olympics, and we made a couple of programmes. They are still on YouTube.

By 2010 Wetengere was releasing short films.

He invited me to a viewing in Reading. Reading (pronounced “redding”) is a hubbub of UK-based Tanzanian students. We watched Coctum, the short thriller, and clapped. There was an English film teacher, who encouraged and praised Wetengere.

There were some CCM representatives as well.

What should be insisted here is that this young determined Tanzanian has been actively involved in his community and people. Film, as everyone (seriously keen on the medium) will tell you, is about communities.

Spike Lee, the celebrated African American icon, for example, has always been loyal to his Brooklyn hood. Plus money. Lots of it. Creating films is as expensive as building a house.

Not a house, a mansion.

Born in Suji, the Pare hills (not far from Mount Kilimanjaro) in the mid-1970s, Wetengere finally clinched a master’s degree in sound design for film at Bournemouth University. He then settled at Basingstoke, where he still resides with his lovely family.

As he laboured to feed his children, Wetengere was drafting and writing scripts for his main feature. I recall reading one about poaching in East Africa. He spoke about bringing out big themes that have never been tackled by our chaotic but vibrant film industry. Remember we said he has a community spirit, so he as always travelled home. Always full of praise for the Tanzanian landscape. There was no time you would speak with Wetengere when he would not remind you of the fantastic potential for Tanzanian and East African filming.

And what is the Tanzanian film industry like?

We have always heard about Mhogo Mchungu, which starred one of the founders of this nation, Mzee Rashid Kawawa, over 70 years ago. But is it still available?

Then Fimbo ya Mnyonge. Mid-1970s. Then a void. Thirty years later, US-based Josiah Kibira came out with Bongoland one and two.

What happened to Kibira?

Filmmaking is an expensive art medium.

But how come many other developing countries do it? Independent filmmakers are sponsored and funded by the business community. Like one of the biggest oil companies in Brazil, Petrobras, has funded blockbusters such as the award winning 2002 City of God.

Overseas-based Tanzanian filmmakers like Josiah Kibira and Wetengere SPK have to dig into their own pockets since our business sector is still napping and might not believe in sponsoring art and films.

Wetengere has been doing night shift jobs for many years. And with a small budget of £7,000 (which might seem a lot for some), but peanuts in film gymnastics, the Pare man managed to cough out Asking God. I remember chatting with him in the middle of the night and he sweating on his script, planning his journey, trying to get sponsors here in the rich world and at home, but to no avail. Finally he did manage.

Alone.

The location was switched from Mwanza to Ifakara. Last minute.

Finally in 2020, he had a finished product. Normally, the work would be shared by many. But in Wetengere’s case, Asking God might have a large cast of actors, script readers (I was involved in the translation into English) and crew, yet Wetengere had to do it all, including full editing. And why spend years, studying, working tirelessly only to chuck out over Sh20 million? Film Freeway, an international cinema forum, says: “Wetengere’s passion is to educate society by using film medium, tackling most critical political and social issues whilst entertaining audiences...”

Asking God has three strong themes: family, religion and corruption in our public institutions. The 139-minute saga has already been given a certificate of participation for the Motion Pictures International Festival (MOPIFF, Canada) and the Swedish International Film Festival Boden next month. Both events tend to promote and showcase diverse movies from different nations and cultures across the planet.

Still in infant steps and quite optimistic, this Tanzanian patriot is also promoting Kiswahili, a language spoken by over 200 million people and growing.

Hail Tanzanian cinema and hail her son Wetengere SPK. He did not go overseas to study for nothing. As he struggles to publicise and distribute the movie, already a second is in the works.

Where do you see Asking God? Log onto NUELLA TV – a site for African and international films.