The Ten Finalists for Screenwriters Lab
MAISHA is happy to announce the ten finalists for our inaugural Screenwriters’ Lab to be held in Kampala, Uganda from August 3rd to August 13th, 2005. Maisha, the brainchild of acclaimed director Mira Nair, is a filmmakers’ laboratory for East Africans and South Asians, based on Ms. Nair’s belief that if we don’t tell our stories, no one else will.
Following the March 1st deadline for script submissions, the Maisha team was surprised, even overwhelmed, by the 147 applications that were received. These were subsequently distributed to a 25-member reading committee across East Africa, India, and the USA. After comprehensive analysis and discussion, the Maisha program director compiled a shortlist of 25 candidates who were then asked to submit their complete screenplays. In the second round of judging, an additional reading committee consisting of 10 members carefully selected the 10 finalists. All of the scripts that Maisha received were innovative, creative, and challenging.
The 10 final screenplays are as diverse as their writers. They include a contemporary Ugandan comedy chronicling the transition of an aspiring businessman into a boda-boda (motorbike taxi) driver, a drama detailing the dilemma of an albino girl coming of age in a Tanzanian village, and a story of twin brothers and their struggle to rise out of a life of crime and poverty. A Kenyan screenplay tells the wartime tale of a legendary Kenyan general and the media frenzy that surrounds him, while another follows a young boy’s experiences in boarding school. The scripts from our South Asian candidates span the journey of a young girl with a gift for classical dance to the tragic dissolution of a marriage in modern Mumbai.
The first group of Maisha Screenwriters are:
From East Africa:
· Joanitta Bewulira-Wandera, Uganda, Jordana’s Inheritance
· Geresom A.G. Musamali, Uganda, The Fleas of Ggwangalyange
· Carrie Matiku, Tanzania, The Colour Between
· Abdu Simba, Tanzania, Unbearable
· Cajetan Boy, Kenya, Roho
· Anthony Ambala, Kenya, Chameleons
· Simiyu Barasa, Kenya, When We Were Generals
From South Asia:
· Sabina Ansari, Pakistan, The Colours of Concrete
· Anu Gopal, India, Salangai
· Debashree Mukherjee, India, Dhoop
The Mentors for this year’s lab are Mira Nair, Matthew Robbins, Vishal Bhardwaj, Steve Cohen, Sabrina Dhawan, and Sooni Taraporevala. The intensive ten-day curriculum will include seminars on the craft of screenwriting, rigorous one-on-one evaluation meetings with the mentors, and nightly screenings followed by question-and-answer sessions led by seasoned screenwriters and directors.
In addition, Maisha is seeking applications for the second Screenwriters’ Lab and the first Directors’ Lab to be held in 2006. The deadline for these submissions is February 1, 2006, and the details are available on www.maishafilmlab.com.
Maisha recognizes all the generous individuals who comprise our Advisory Board: Sofia Coppola, Raoul Peck, Peter Chappell, Karen Cooper, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Sabrina Dhawan, Spike Lee, Liz MacLennan, Mumbi Kaigwa, Amandina Lihamba, Eric Kabera, and Michelle Satter. This group of internationally recognized directors, artists, and academics has been instrumental in supporting Maisha’s mission.
The Maisha Foundation is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Open Society Development Fund, the Pannonia Foundation, the Home Box Office (HBO). We also receive in-kind sponsorship from the Moonstone International Film Labs and the Criterion Collection.
Contact: Ms. Musarait Kashmiri, Program Director, maishafilmlab@infocom.co.ug