What's trending in open air cinema in Eastern Africa in 2015

Pius John Mbeshere (in the middle) (photo from his Facebook profile). Following the publication of our postВ aboutВ developing the culture of Open Air Cinema in Tanzania last week, our long-time friend in the Eastern African nation,В Pius John MbeshereВ kindly shared the results already obtained over there. Given Pius' experience of work for FilmAid International on the border with Burundi and withВ Openair Media Communications offering mass screenings of awareness-raising films, it was an enlightening conversation.

What is your history with Open Air Cinema?

History started in 2007 when for the first time I heard aboutВ Stuart Farmer, president of Open Air Cinema in the United States. We exchanged emails between me and Open Air Cinema through FilmAid International answering questions with regard toВ equipment that Open Air Cinema was willing to donated to FilmAid International. In July 2007, we gave a warm welcome to Stuart Farmer who landed in the country with his donation of high-tech outdoor equipment in Kibondo (refugee-populated district in western part of Tanzania).

Discussion between me and Stuart gave me a full picture ofВ what Open Air Cinema is. Together with Stuart and my technical crew, we heldВ several lovely events in a refugee camp -- twice a weekВ forВ two weeks.

In 2008, I got an opportunity to visit Open Air Cinema Global HQ in Utah and worked in different departments as well as accompaniedВ Open Air Cinema event's team, helped set up and operate equipment. Memorable and notable events were Bridal Vail Falls Film FestivalВ --proceeds from whichВ benefit Rwanda Cinema Center --В and one event in Hollywood.

What are the most exciting moments you had around the outdoor movie screenings in Tanzania?

Before I learned about Open Air Cinema, we had great moments when for almost five years we wouldВ project film onto a big screen tied up on two mounted containers or sometimes using a flat-bed truck. It was tiresome to install the whole system but it was exciting to entertain, educate and advocate issues through the use of films in Tanzania.

The most exciting moment came when in 2007 I started communicating with Stuart Farmer -- I call him 'my role model' -- about his intention to introduceВ new outdoor cinema technology to Tanzania. This was an unforgettable moment when my technical crew together with Stuart inflated a giant Open Air Cinema outdoor movieВ screen before an excited crowd inВ aВ refugee camp. Everyone: kids, youths and the eldersВ were totally amazed byВ this technology and a mass of people attended this event.

In 2008 refugee operations in western Tanzania were reduced and gradually phased out by the government of Tanzania. Stuart Farmer invited me to visit Open Air Cinema in Utah, where he donated to me a set of outdoor screening equipment. I took it back home. We established a small media firm called Openair Media Communications.В  We managed to host some free outdoor movie events using this set of equipment specifically working with Embassies (2010 FIFA World Cup final match England vsВ USAВ  at UK embassy in Tanzania) and other development institutions such as Under the Same Sun, Medecins du Monde, USAID and Media For Development International in Tanzania.

2012 2014. Openair Media Communications secured a project called Giving the Voice to Youth at Risks that was funded by Tanzania Media Fund and Medecin du Monde. One of the exciting moments duringВ this project was that a community of drug users got an opportunity to raise their voices beforeВ the government and community at large on issues concerning their daily life. We filmed and interviewed the drug users, edited the film and projected it onto our Open Air Cinema outdoor screen in Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania.

What are the fields and communities that can benefit the most from Open Air Cinema technology in Tanzania?

Entertainment and education.В Communities that can benefit from Open Air Cinema technology are refugees. There is another influx of refugees from Burundi coming back to Tanzania due to unstable security in this country.В Tanzanians who like sports and games and development projects.

But according to my experience and knowledge community will benefit a lot through establishment of social business/entrepreneurship projects (development projects in general) where we will focus on solving community's problems while doing business. This is where we can bring in Open Air Cinema Foundation.