T5 Interview with Fakii Liwali

1. What pulled you to the silver screen?

I took a conversation I was having with my co-producer, Lucas Bikedo, home to my wife Betty, and the three of us agreed to work together. Or maybe I pushed them into it. I was leaving a studio session with Lucas and we were talking about the film industry in Kenya. Initially we wondered why the market for movie soundtracks in Kenya is not as big, and we concluded that it boiled down to success (or the lack, seemingly) of films in Kenya.

We did research and discovered tens of Kenyan movies, but they lacked four main elements – good scripts and stories, production excellence, marketing and distribution. We also found out that many film-makers are so passionate that they rarely focus on creating a business.

We then theoretically tried to figure out how we would make it work. I created a brief and started making calls looking for scripts. 

2. Do you ever write a script with a specific actor in mind?             Producer Sarah Hassan advised us on how to put together a team. She helped us rope in Gerald Langiri as a casting director, and he guided us through the three-day auditions at the Kenya National Theatre. The writers (Frank Maina and Voline Ogutu) put together the script as well as a character bible, which was the guide for the actors we needed to have. The casting director then read the full script and character bible then advised on how to do the casting.

3. How easy is it to be an independent producer? What is your next project?                                                                                        We are already in the story development stage for the next production which will be a limited series drama/thriller. After that we will make a drama film. I think I’m too new to answer the other question, but funding immediately comes to mind. Netflix has showed us that there exist many opportunities to work with corporations, such as doing product placements which can then finance productions.

4. Given the opportunity, which film law would you change?
I don’t necessarily know of any that needs to be changed at the moment. It would be great, however, if some research could be done so that we can all see the existing gaps, where we are going wrong and what we can do to fix it.

5. Many filmmakers say they don’t let their children watch TV. Do your kids watch your work?
It is ironic but I guess it is because film makers know the effect their content can have on young minds. It is critical, hard as it is, to create a balance. I believe parents should be guided by ratings. My son is 12 and he is very particular about ratings. He won’t watch anything above his age. He has watched bits of 40 Sticks but he says it is rated 16 so he knows he is not supposed to.