Nathan Collett

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Nathan Collett
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Nathan Collett (with camera) shooting feature film Togetherness Supreme in collaboration with Kibera youth trainees in Kenya
Occupation film director
Years active2000s–present

Nathan Collett is a filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Contents

Film career

Overview

Collett's work focuses on those on the margins of society as well as on environmental issues. He has filmed across the world, including location footage in Somalia and South America. He works both in fictional films and on documentaries, with a specific focus on Kibera in Kenya, Africa's largest shantytown. He is a co-owner of Hot Sun Films, a film/video production and training company. One of Hot Sun Films' projects is the Hot Sun Foundation, a non-profit organization. The organization gives training to the youth of Kibera in film and video, and also started the first film school for local youngsters. [1] [2]

Films

The Oath

The Oath is a 2005 short drama film written by Collett and Njuguna Wakanyote. Set in 1950s Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising under British colonialism, the film portrays the struggle between two brothers on opposite sides of the conflict.

Kibera Kid

Kibera Kid is a short film set in the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. It was written, directed and co-produced by Collett in collaboration with local people in Kibera.

Charcoal Traffic

In 2008, Collett directed the short film Charcoal Traffic , which was written by and co-produced with the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell. [3] The film was shot on location in Somalia, [4] and employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the ecological damage that charcoal production can create. [5] [6]

Togetherness Supreme

In April 2009, Collett shot his first feature film Togetherness Supreme, in collaboration with the local community in front and behind the camera. It is the follow-up to Kibera Kid and was shot on the Red One camera, [2] the first time the camera was used in Kibera to shoot a feature film. The film is set in Kibera, and focusing on tribal tensions and the possibilities of reconciliation in Africa's largest shantytown. Togetherness Supreme was first shown to the community in Kibera where over 3,000 people turned up for one screening, and over 26,000 people watched it in the community. [7] The film has been dubbed "Slumdog without the Millionaires" by the Vancouver International Film Festival, in reference to the 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire . [8] Togetherness Supreme tells a community-based authentic story of love, conflict and reconciliation in the midst of ethnic and political violence. [9]

Awards

Collett won multiple awards for the short film Kibera Kid. [4] Togetherness Supreme also won 'Best International Film' at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2011, [10] which was the US premiere of the film. Togetherness Supreme also won the Global Landscapes Award at Cinequest film festival 2011 [11]

Filmography

Collett's films as a director include: [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

Nairobi Capital and the largest city of Kenya

Nairobi is the capital and the largest city of Kenya. The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, while the metropolitan area has a population of 9,354,580. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun.

Somalia Country in the Horn of Africa

Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Somalia has an estimated population of around 15 million, of which over 2 million live in the capital and largest city Mogadishu, and has been described as Africa's most culturally homogeneous country. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the country's north. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the south. The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic. Most people in the country are Muslims, the majority of them Sunni.

Kibera Urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya

Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa. The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera's population as 170,070, contrary to previous estimates of one or two million people. Other sources suggest the total Kibera population may be 500,000 to well over 1,000,000 depending on which slums are included in defining Kibera.

Lola Kenya Screen, or Lola Kenya Children's Screen is an audio-visual media festival and learning-by-doing mentorship for children and youth in eastern Africa. It encompasses film production, film criticism, cultural journalism, media literacy, marketing, and event planning and organisation.

Cinema of Somalia Film industry in Somalia

The cinema of Somalia refers to the film industry in Somalia. The earliest forms of public film display in the country were Italian newsreels of key events during the colonial period. In 1937 the film Sentinels of Bronze was produced in Ogaden Somalia, with nearly all Somali actors. Growing out of the Somali people's rich storytelling tradition, the first few feature-length Somali films and cinematic festivals emerged in the early 1960s, immediately after independence. Following the creation of the Somali Film Agency (SFA) regulatory body in 1975, the local film scene began to expand rapidly. In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicals known as riwaayado were the main driving force behind the Somali movie industry. Epic and period films as well as international co-productions followed suit, facilitated by the proliferation of video technology and national television networks. In the 1990s and 2000s, a new wave of more entertainment-oriented movies emerged. Referred to as Somaliwood, this upstart, youth-based cinematic movement has energized the Somali film industry and in the process introduced innovative storylines, marketing strategies and production techniques.

FilmAid

FilmAid is a non-profit humanitarian organization that uses film to educate and entertain displaced people around the world. FilmAid was founded during the Kosovo War in 1999 by producer Caroline Baron to assist with refugee communities in Macedonia suffering the effects of war, poverty, displacement and disaster. Since 1999, FilmAid has worked in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other global aid organizations to help bring information and training to more than two million people worldwide. FilmAid produces and distributes community-based films on public health and safety issues such as maternal health, HIV, cholera, gender-based violence and conflict resolution. Using inflatable screens and other ‘Mobile Cinema’ units, FilmAid screenings aims to overcome language and literacy boundaries. FilmAid currently works in Kenya, in the large refugee camps of Dadaab and Kakuma as well as informal settlements in Nairobi and Mombassa, with Burmese refugees in Thailand and also in Haiti. FilmAid is a global federation of nonprofit, charitable organizations. Members include FilmAid International, FilmAid Asia, FilmAid Kenya, and FilmAid U.K.

Kibera Kid is a short film set in the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. It was written, directed and co-produced by Nathan Collett in collaboration with the locals of Kibera.

Fatima Jibrell

Fatima Jibrell is a Somali-American environmental activist. She was the co-founder and executive director of the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization, co-founder of Sun Fire Cooking, and was instrumental in the creation of the Women's Coalition for Peace.

Hot Sun Foundation

Hot Sun Foundation is a non-profit organization that works in Nairobi, Kenya with young people from urban slums and other marginalized communities of East Africa to train and expose their talents and potential on the world stage. Hot Sun Foundation trains youth in all aspects of filmmaking, from scriptwriting, camera, sound, pre production, budgeting, production, directing, editing, and marketing. Vision of Hot Sun Foundation: Social transformation through art and media Mission of Hot Sun Foundation: Identify and develop youth talent to tell their stories on film

Cinema of Kenya film industry of Kenya

The cinema of Kenya refers to the film industry of Kenya. Although a very small industry by western comparison, Kenya has produced or been a location for film since the early 1950s when Men Against the Sun was filmed in 1952. Although, in the United States, jungle epics that were set in the country were shot in Hollywood as early as the 1940s.

Hot Sun Films

HOT SUN FILMS, is a film/video production and training company based in East Africa. It was founded by Nathan Collett. Hot Sun Films' work focuses on bring out a realistic, challenging and positive image of those on the very margins of society. It works to develop and expose the talents and possibilities of the youth of the urban slums of Africa. One of its projects is the non - profit organization Hot Sun Foundation.

The Oath may refer to:

Mercy Murugi

Mercy Murugi is a noted Kenyan film producer and production manager who has worked on a number of local and international projects including Worse Than War, Stranded with Cash Peters. She has worked with National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, among other global production houses and TV channels. Her most recent project is a feature film called Togetherness Supreme, shot on the Red One camera and filmed in Kibera. Murugi is currently a producer at Page83 films.

Mary Beth Fielder is an American filmmaker with over twenty years experience as a writer, director and producer of television and feature films. She served on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts from 1994 to 2009.

Togetherness Supreme is a 2010 Kenyan film.

Adeso is Nairobi-based a non-governmental organization.

Community Cooker Foundation is an initiative by Planning Systems Services Ltd. in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 2010, with the goal of using the Community Cooker, a simple stove designed to turn rubbish into safe, clean and cheap energy, to transform Nairobi's largest slum, Kibera.

Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) is a grassroots movement based in Nairobi, Kenya in urban slums providing services, community advocacy platforms, and education and leadership development for women and girls. SHOFCO serves more than 350,000 urban slum dwellers in 10 slums across three cities in Kenya.

Charcoal Traffic is a 2008 Kenyan-Somali short drama film directed by Nathan Collett and co-produced by James Lindsay and Fatima Jibrell. The film stars Mahamad Abdirahman Saiid and Abdilaahi Hassan Ali with Mustafe Abdiraxman Hadji, Fadumo Maxamed, and Kaytuun Fayte in supporting roles. This short film is about two brothers who trapped in a environmental and cultural devastation in Somalia. It is first fictional film shot in Somalia in over 15 years.

References

  1. Hot Sun Foundation (2010-06-30). "Hot Sun Foundation". Hot Sun Foundation. Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  2. 1 2 Ukwelii
  3. Collett, Nathan (2008-10-02), Charcoal Traffic , retrieved 2018-04-27
  4. 1 2 IMDB (2010-06-30). "IMDB Bio". IMDB. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  5. Charcoal Traffic at IMDb
  6. Fatima Jibrell - Goldman Prize Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Community Screenings". YouTube. 2010-10-04. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  8. Vancouver International Film Festival (2010-10-04). "VIFF". VIFF. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  9. "The World". PRI. 2010-08-04. Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  10. "Alt Film Guide". Alt Film Guide. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  11. "Cinequest awards page". cinequest. 2011-03-14. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  12. 1 2 Refram - Nathan Collett
  13. "Submissions | Cinereach". Cinereach. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  14. Togetherness Supreme Archived 2010-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
  15. CHRONIC IN KENYA Short Documentary
  16. "Current – A better way to spend, save and give". current.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
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