Lifestyle

Songzhuang Village, located in the eastern suburbs of Beijing, is the city's most famous and largest artist community. Caroline Kamya, a Ugandan filmmaker, was surprised at what she saw on her first visit to the community.

"[It is] very similar to villages in Africa. The pace of life is slow," she recalled in an e-mail interview with ChinAfrica. She found it interesting that a place like this existed in the Chinese capital. "In my imagination, things like skyscrapers and high technology are what a metropolis is supposed to have," she explained.

Kamya, along with six other African directors, was invited to China in 2010 by Raiding Africa, a film exchange program. The filmmakers hailed from South Africa, Uganda, Cameroon, Angola, Rwanda and the Republic of the Congo. Raiding Africa is a cooperative program between the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and Li Xianting's Film Fund in Songzhuang Village. It aims to provide opportunities for African directors to make films in China. The films from Kamya's group were screened this past February at IFFR, as part of the festival's "Signal" section.

Kamya has made several films and is a more experienced director compared with the program's other participants. She studied in the United Kingdom.

Filming Firefly

During her time with Raiding Africa, Kamya produced the 16-minute-long short film Firefly. An exploration of the kinds of questions children ask adults, her actors were children she found in Songzhuang Village. Kamya told ChinAfrica that she wanted to make a film that went beyond typical Chinese imagery like the Great Wall or Tiananmen Square. "I believe that we as humans are more alike than different, and I hope this is reflected in the film," she said.

Firefly's eponymous main character is played by nine-year-old Peng Liuwei. Kamya enjoyed the experience of shooting the film with non-actors like Peng Liuwei and his sister Peng Huilan.

"I was excited to work with everyday people and make them my cast, blending fiction and documentary," she said. "Peng and his sister were so cute. He has so much energy, but we wore him out [by] the sixth day of shooting. He looked tired but still so happy. I can't wait for him to see the film."

The film's cinematographer, translator and cameraman were provided by Li Xianting's Film Fund. Kamya was happy with her crew. "They were fantastic. The work ethic is great so far as I have seen," she said.

Firefly was a hit with the IFFR audience, including Nakayama Hiroki, the Chief Operations Officer at Li Xianting's Film Fund. Hiroki recalled that after the screening, a host named Gertjan Zuilhof said that Firefly was so naturalistic that it seemed to be made not by a foreign director, but a Chinese one.

Kamya has watched many Chinese films. Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai is one of her favorite directors. She particularly loves his 2000 film In the Mood for Love. She is also a fan of Li Hongqi, winner of last year's Golden Leopard Prize at the 63rd Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland for his deadpan comedy Winter Vacation.

"His film inspired Firefly in terms of pacing. I like his style, too," she explained.

Another trip

Kamya is hoping to find investors to fund a feature-length version of Firefly. The expanded production will follow the wild adventures of the village's child star. "He may explore even the city and get up to some mischief," she said of her plans.

Like the other six African filmmakers that participated in Raiding Africa program, this is Kamya's first trip to China. The place she wants to visit on her next trip is still Songzhuang Village.