Life
Europe in ashes, Africa an oasis: TV show puts immigration in reverse
“I was looking at those people crossing the sea from Africa, taking so many risks and getting killed in the process,” says Rigaudis, explaining how he came up with the idea for Usoni. “If they don’t get killed, they come to Europe which supposedly is going to give them a better way of life. Most of the times this is not the reality and their harassment is continuing,” he adds.
“This is so unjust, when you think that Europe has made a lot of its wealth and power from places like Africa and now these people — who are living on one of the richest continents of the world and shouldn’t be poor — have to move because the way things are being done,” continues Rigaudis. He goes on to state, “I thought that was so unfair, and then I started thinking it would be interesting if all of a sudden this was reversed.”
Changing perceptions
Rigaudis, who has written several books in the past and made films in Japan and Kenya, including a documentary about the last surviving members of the El Molo tribe in Lake Turkana, had originally developed the concept for a feature film.
But when he was appointed as film productions director at Nairobi’s United States International University (USIU), last year, he decided to give the topic of his film to his students to help them get working in a professional way.
Together, the experienced professor and energetic students adapted the idea into a TV series and named it Usoni, which means “future” in Swahili. Guided by Rigaudis, the 22-member student crew filmed a 30-minute pilot episode last October and November in locations around Nairobi and Mombasa.
Cherie Lindiwe, the 21-year-old director of Usoni, says the show’s concept could resonate with people across the world as well as Africans. “It’s basically a story that people could watch and then form a discussion and critique, giving them the chance to talk about the issues that really matter in the society,” she says. “We want to talk to people living abroad, to people living in the West, to change their perceptions in what they think about Africa whilst giving a message of hope to Africans.”
While Rigaudis is still planning to turn his idea into a feature film, dubbed “Future,” he is also in discussions with Kenyan and international channels about developing it into a full series to air on TV. One condition, he says, is that this must be an African production, if it eventually gets picked up.
“On top of everything I would like to show on this film, the message I’d want to give to the world is that we can do something like this in Africa,” says Rigaudis. “I really want to have the production in Africa, with Africans, instead of having a film about Africa from outside… We can make very beautiful films… there is everything here to make a beautiful cinema.”
