Kibera Kids documentary

I'm off to Nairobi to document the making of a fictional feature film being produced in the slums outside Nairobi, Kenya, with a cast of local kids and a crew of local youth. The doc will stand alone from the fictional film and tell the real stories of the kids from Kibera involved in the production.

The feature was born out of a short film called Kibera Kid. Kibera Kid is a 2006 award winning fictional short film set in the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the largest slums in Africa. It was written, directed and co-produced by Nathan Collett in collaboration with the youth of Kibera. This twelve minute film features Kibera actors in all the principle roles. It has played at film festivals worldwide including the Berlin Film Festival and it won a Student EMMY from Hollywood. It has been profiled by BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera English and many others.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibera_Kid)

After the success of Kibera Kid, the Kibera Youth wanted more, and the Kibera Kid Feature Film was born. They are currently in Pre-Prod, and they start filming on 23rd March. The cast is from Kibera, with with little or no screen exprience. Apart from the Heads of Departments, the rest of the crew are youth from Kibera. Most of them have never worked in production before, double the challenge!

The documentary will follow the kids from Kibera, working as cast and crew, both on and off the set to see how the fictional story and their real lives are intertwined. I want to show their aspirations for making the film against the background of the real life challenges they face. I think the doc has the potential to transcend the fictional film in terms of it's emotional power and resonance.

I just found out about the story within the past week, so we're scrambling to make it happen. Shine Global, the producers of the Oscar-nominated documentary WAR / DANCE are providing small seed funding to help us get the project off the ground, but we are seeking to match their contribution to double our chances for success...please consider contributing here: