Film board clamps down street movie screening booths

From YASINTA AMOS in Arusha

THE Tanzania Film Board intends to clamp down on local shacks charging people for watching movies and TV broadcasts. The street public film rooms have recently been suspected of screening lewd programmes.

The Executive Secretary of Tanzania Film Board, Joyce Fissoo said the people who screen films in local booths will also be subjected to register their businesses, acquire licences and ensure that all films shown there are genuine copies with official trademarks from the releasing companies.
She was speaking during a training workshop that the board had organised for actors, producers and retailers of local films, and held in Arusha, with focus to improve the sector in Arusha, Manyara and surrounding regions.
The booths, according to the TFB officials, will also be required to censor their contents before airing, to ensure that much of the programmes screened there are of local Tanzanian producers and those that are foreign should adhere to laws and regulations of the country.
“Tanzanians do not have the culture of attending film screening in large theatres, because majority of the people can be seen watching movies in local booths located within residential areas, and if we can improve the contents and setup of these ventures, they can very much help to boost the film industry and promote local contents,” said Fissoo.
On her part, the Culture Officer for Arusha Region, Irene Ngao reminded the local film producers to submit their scripts to the district and regional film boards for reviews before starting shooting as per regulations.
“Some local film makers usually by-pass district and regional boards, instead they go straight to national boards, where they are referred back to us with their stories. They should make use of local offices to make their work and process easier,” she said.
One of the local film actors, Lucy Mushi Kweka said locations for filming remain a major challenge; “we keep begging for private houses or schools for shooting, and sometimes the owners change their mind in the middle of shooting, forcing us to shift places, which makes the films choppy and unrealistic.”