The camel’s Back (2016)
See below for the trailer. For the full film, go here.
Story
The Camel’s Back is a short film about a young girl, Susan, who believes she has three days left to live. Growing up in a scant village in the middle of nowhere, Susan has always dreamed of seeing the ocean. She determines to make it to Diani Beach, a place she is not sure is real or fiction, before she dies. Her younger brother Mark accompanies her on her journey.
COMMUNITY FILM MAKING DESIGN
The Camel’s Back was a community-made film. I wrote the script and set it in Konza, a small town outside of Nairobi, scattered with little villages surrounded by many acres of farm land and wildlife. Konza has been close to my heart since I was a child, spending many weekends there with my grandparents growing up. I wanted to create a film that was co-created with the members of the Konza community.
What makes this film community made?
Casting was local, with only three professional actors (none of who played lead roles)
The film worked with local institutions such as farmers and the village primary school for casting and for space use.
The film provided opportunities for cast and crew members to travel outside of their communities for the first time.
The crew spent time teaching and providing workshops for local children around film-making and storytelling.
B-roll shots were taken by members of the local community, with educational opportunities for people to learn about film-making technology.
Community feedback and responses to each day of filming was carried out.