The captain of Nakara
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Captain of Nakara The Captain of Nakara |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany , Kenya , France |
| original language | Swahili , English |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Bob Nyanja |
| script |
Cajetan Boy , Martin Thau |
| production |
Oliver Thau , Mario Zvan |
| music |
Jan Tilman Schade , Rainer Y. Vierkötter |
| camera | Helmut Fischer |
| cut | Henry Silver |
| occupation | |
| |
The Captain of Nakara is the third film by Kenyan director Bob Nyanja. The romantic comedy, which is based on motifs from the true story of Hauptmann von Köpenick , was created as a cooperation between the German production company papermoon films from Berlin and the Kenyan production company Blue Sky Films from Nairobi . The film was shot with a German-Kenyan team in and around Nairobi at the end of 2010.
action
The captain of Nakara plays in the legendary Kwetu, a prototypical African military dictatorship. There the dreamy petty criminal Muntu and his buddy Sunday are released from prison for the president's birthday. On the same day Muntu falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a preacher, but does not tell her where he is from, but lets her believe that he is pursuing an honorable job. After that, he is no longer ready to start like his buddy in the criminal gang of the brother of his beloved. Muntu wants to be honest, not just seem. In order to be close to the loved one, he helps her care for her sister, who is dying of AIDS. And before Muntu knows it, he has promised his beloved the wedding. She thinks he's a good match.
In trying to establish himself as a small businessman before his hoax is discovered, Muntu encounters all sorts of economic, social, and ethnic difficulties. In the meantime he also meets a constantly drunk general who cannot get over the death of his wife and adopts Muntu as a recruit. The wedding date is getting closer and the associated costs are increasing. In order to be able to pay them, Muntu finally turns the thing his buddy had been trying to convince him to do all along. Both end up in prison again. And on the eve of the wedding, Muntu's sweetheart waits so in vain for her groom. In prison, however, Muntu simply took possession of a uniform. Disguised as a captain and, thanks to his training by the general, also appears convincing, Muntu gains freedom and then all the official requirements and papers to lead an honorable life. He almost doesn't make it to appear in time before the altar. In the end the dizziness is exposed, but his sweetheart has taken him too much to be resentful.
background
Nairobi 2006. During a script workshop in the East African capital, the German co-writer Martin Thau met the Kenyan playwright Cajetan Boy. In search of a suitable topic for a script, Martin Thau reports on the bizarre story of Hauptmann von Köpenick , and this is how the idea arose of transferring this real material from Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century to Africa. Not to Kenya , or another real country, but to a fictional state. One of the formerly prototypical military dictatorships in which the struggle for survival also means a constant confrontation with the ubiquitous corruption . Screenwriter Cajetan Boy then infused the story with ingredients that are all too familiar to every African from their daily lives.
The financing of the projects was a lengthy process. Although it was obvious, the film received no support from the German side. The American Global Film Initiative gave a symbolic amount as initial funding and the French government was very committed to the project, ultimately providing a larger amount of funding. However, the funds approved by the Images Afrique Fund had to be returned by the producers, as filming could not be started at the time the fund expired because the decisions of other sponsors were still pending. After this setback, however, it was finally possible, with the help of ACP (Brussels), to close the missing funding gap, and filming began in and around Nairobi in November and December 2010, which was successfully completed after 25 days.
production
Since the film is set in the 1970s, an extensive collection of costumes was necessary. In addition, up to 100 extras were sometimes used. Director Bob Nyanja, who also produces a famous late-night show on Kenyan television, has succeeded in winning some of the great African stars for the project. Above all Charles Bukeko, known throughout Africa for his Brrr spot during the World Cup, shines in the role of the constantly drunk General Lumumba.
Festival participation
International (selection)
- 2012 Montréal World Film Festival
- 2012 Warsaw Film Festival (in competition)
Web links
- The Captain of Nakara in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website of the film
- Radio report from the shoot (German)
- Critique: Festival des films du monde de Montréal (French)
- Tagesspiegel article about The Captain of Nakara (German)
- Film Kenya Magazine (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ ACPFILMS Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Montréal World Film Festival: The Captain of Nakara [1] ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
