Mikindani Film

About

This award nominated film was created by my company Approach Films. I directed the film which supports the oral history activities of Mikindani Museum, Makumbusho ya Mikindani. (‘Makumbusho’ is the Swahili word for a place of memories.) The film is presented and narrated by Somoe Robert, the museum’s Manager.

The film was made on behalf of Makumbusho ya Mikindani (Mikindani Museum), Trade Aid Tanzania, and Trade Aid UK to publicise the town’s museum in Tanzania and to give it a voice further afield. An important intention of the project is that the distribution of the film to prospective grant providers will help to raise the funds needed for continued development.

The museum presents the history and culture of the Makonde people who live here. Its doors opened in 2018 with the support of the charitable trust Trade Aid UK. Its establishment had been requested by the community’s elders, who wanted a way to offer the younger population a pride in their heritage and to instil confidence that they had a significant place in the modern world.

The vast southern region offers no similar cultural resource and thousands of schoolchildren and college students have flocked through its doors every year since. The museum is now a fully African venture.

Although most of the museum’s visitors are from the local Makonde population, the film will also make the venture better known further afield. Entry to the museum will always be free, so the film will be distributed to encourage donations — from funding bodies in the UK as well as from individuals — for the continuing development of the displays and activities.

The film and more information about Makumbusho Mikindani can be found here: www.TradeAidUK.org/mikindani-museum