African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1493: Chapter 35: Film Production Base (2)

And East Africa opening up the market was only after 1910, and even after the market opened, the Eastern Africa Government also had regulatory roles over the development of the film industry, so the East African film industry naturally carried a tight control.

This posed higher requirements for East African film industry practitioners, so international exchange was beneficial in stimulating their creative inspiration. Of course, it also facilitated content plagiarism, though that was a minor issue.

Moreover, Mombasa’s convenience in external exchanges also allowed it to access some new technologies, especially the exchanges with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which played a huge role in the development of Mombasa’s film industry.

Germany was the center of the second industrial revolution, and this was equally reflected in the film industry. In a previous life, the Third Reich used films, documentaries, and other methods for political propaganda, achieving quite remarkable effects, such as the German Army leaving a large number of audio-visual materials, showcasing the demeanor of German soldiers at the time.

And the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as one of the Great Powers, had some tricks, to a certain extent, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could be said to be the most culturally literate among the three Great Germanic powers. Of course, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and East Africa, like Germany, were not purely German countries.

The achievements of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in traditional literature, music, and art fields exceeded those of Germany, and far more so than those of East Africa, providing the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a more profound and fertile soil for artistic creation.

And this is what East Africa lacks the most, specifically manifested in the East African Government organizing its country’s literary and artistic creators to exchange and learn in Vienna every year before World War I.

After all, the historical and cultural heritage of East Africa is too weak. Pushing forward, East Africa obviously can’t shoot films about capturing and massacre of Black Slaves during the colonial era or create related literary and musical products.

Currently, East Africa is more inclined to produce films on traditional German historical themes with added historical and cultural themes from the Far East Empire, which undoubtedly come from the three countries of Germany, Austria, and the Far East Empire.

Of course, there are some local film materials in East Africa, especially sci-fi themes that have become very popular, similar to the previous United States and the Soviet Union, sharing the commonality of relatively lacking history with these two countries, though the Soviet Union might be slightly better, but not significantly.

Overall, the weakness of historical and cultural heritage is an important limiting factor for the development of the East African film industry, leading East Africa to prefer learning from other countries.

Mombasa, as a window city for East Africa and world exchanges, benefits its film industry, a point that Dar es Salaam City cannot match.

Regarding natural conditions, Mombasa is also a city quite suitable for the early development of the film industry.

In terms of climate environment, Mombasa is located in the transition zone between the East African Plateau and coastal plains, central and northern junctions, the transition area between semi-humid and semi-arid climates.

Simply put, the overall climate in Mombasa is relatively arid, with many sunny days and suitable temperatures, which is beneficial for film shooting.

For example, Hollywood in the United States is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, with mild climate and abundant sunshine, having many sunny days throughout the year, suitable for film shooting.

Especially in the early stage of film shooting with underdeveloped technology, requiring substantial reliance on natural light, Hollywood’s climate advantage was extremely apparent. For instance, when shooting outdoor scenes, adequate sunshine could provide good lighting conditions, reducing reliance on artificial lighting and lowering shooting costs and difficulty.

And Mombasa, in overall conditions, is quite similar to Hollywood.

Meanwhile, because of its proximity to the transition zone between grasslands and deserts, and highlands and plains, and its proximity to the Indian Ocean, the complex and diverse climate, terrain, and landforms make scenery selection in Mombasa very convenient.

Deberne said, ”The development of the film industry in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam City is of significant reference to us, and Kitwe City also has unique advantages, like our proximity to Rhein City.”

The reason Deberne mentioned this is because Rhein City, as the Eastern Africa Capital, has the best educational resources nationwide, including many top universities in East Africa, which involve future talents in the film field.

Deberne said, ”For example, the National Media University and the Rhine City Film Academy in Rhein City, so in terms of talent and technology, we don’t need to worry excessively, and we can cooperate with these higher education institutions.”

Because Kitwe City has been assigned to the Central Province, and Kitwe City is not far from Rhein City itself, which greatly facilitates cooperation between Kitwe City and related institutions.

”Furthermore, currently the Midwest lacks competition in the film field. As long as we can act first, we can carve out a piece in this new industry.”

”Throughout the entire Midwest region, except Rhein City, there is currently no city known for film development, and the film industry in Rhein City itself may not align well with the market, which benefits us in Kitwe City.”

”I believe, nationwide, there might emerge a large batch of new film hubs in the future, but by that time, investing will certainly not be able to compete with other economically advantaged cities.”

”Therefore, starting next year, our city should make arrangements for vigorously developing the film industry. In my vision, Kitwe City should become the first film city in East Africa.”

”And this happens to coincide with our current round new infrastructure requirements. We can seize the city environment governance opportunity to construct a batch of landscapes convenient for shooting, laying the foundation for another future film hub in the central region.”

Currently, to address the overdevelopment problems from Kitwe City’s last century to early this century, namely the environmental issues caused by copper mining and non-ferrous metal smelting and processing, Kitwe City has launched a so-called new infrastructure to restore the local ecological environment and related project works.

And Deberne believes that this opportunity can be utilized to facilitate the landing of the film industry in Kitwe City, achieving dual benefits. ℯℯ𝑙.

”For example, managing abandoned mines has been a problem in the past; however, since we aim to build a film hub now, why not repurpose abandoned mines for filming after eliminating safety hazards.”

”For instance, some film themes about mine workers could use these mines that have undergone our management and rectification for shooting.”

”And the original mining machinery equipment turns into handy props, and we no longer need to consider how to dispose of these wastes.”

”During some city renovations, perhaps we should invite some professional practitioners from the film industry in places like Rhein City to provide some suggestions for Kitwe City’s urban renewal.”

The Kitwe City district renovation project is also an important task for the economic transformation of Kitwe City this round. After deciding to develop other industries, Kitwe City shut down a batch of severely polluting enterprises. Simultaneously, due to rough management in the past, Kitwe City’s infrastructure is also excessively outdated.

Yet now, as for these outdated infrastructures like roads, factories, railways, etc., it’s not necessary to demolish them directly. Or perhaps selectively preserving some as distinctive memories of Kitwe City’s industrial and mining development era, which is a part of the East African countries’ historical memory.

After all, Kitwe City was one of the earliest industrial and mining cities in East Africa, relatively speaking, it can be considered ”historically long-standing,” having made significant contributions to early industrial development in East Africa.

Of course, specifically what landmarks and heritage from the industrial and mining era to preserve, requires professional guidance. Previously, Deberne hadn’t considered involving film industry personnel, but now it’s possible to get them involved, contributing to building the film hub later.

Thus, Kitwe City’s industrial and mining era heritage can be repurposed again, and under Kitwe City’s natural ecological restoration work, the local natural landscapes will greatly improve. Kitwe City’s rich natural landscape elements like rainforests, grasslands, rivers, mountains, swamps, lakes, hills, etc., can all support the development of the film industry.