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IN a village near South Sudan’s capital, Juba, two women tentatively approach a small corrugated iron hut. They have come from the north to reclaim the land that was theirs before a two-decade conflict between Sudan and what is now South Sudan.
A man emerges, starts shouting and pulls a gun. They run, screaming down the road but stop abruptly mid-stride when a young man, who has been watching intently from across the street, shouts: “Cut!”
This is the set of one of South Sudan’s first homemade movies, written, directed and produced by the Woyee Film and Theatre Industry, a collective of young South Sudanese who are driving the country’s burgeoning arts scene.
South Sudan is the world’s newest country after its people voted to secede from the north in a referendum last January — and it is busy rebuilding its economy and its cultural identity in the wake of the civil war.
Ongina O Amos, one of the collective’s members, explains that “woyee” is a chant of praise in South Sudanese.
“If you say woyee it gives you courage to do what you want to do.”
That is what the collective is about, motivating South Sudanese to build up the country’s economy and its arts scene from within.
They are young — all their members are under the age of 30 —hard-working, multi-skilled, multi-lingual and are creating an industry where nothing existed before.
Woyee had a unique beginning. Its founding members met while in a Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya at the height of their country’s civil war.
It began in 2000 as a theatre group, made up of young students who were eager to keep themselves busy in the camp. At its head was 14-year-old Daniel Danis, who fled Sudan when he was seven years old.
Together they wrote and performed short plays that dealt with issues affecting young refugees, such as HIV/Aids, domestic violence and women’s rights.
In the next few years the group had come to the attention of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within the camp — which began hiring them to spread educational messages. They learned film-making skills from FilmAid International.
When the war ended in 2005, individuals started to return home, but they resolved to continue working together.
Now with more than 70 members, an office in the country’s capital and a feature film under their belt, Woyee has gone from strength to strength.
Last February they released Jamila, the first feature film to be produced entirely by South Sudanese people.
Juba’s only cinema was destroyed during the war so the film had to be screened in a local cultural centre. More than 500 people showed up on the first day including government officials, the media and NGOs
They decided to hold a second screening attracting an even bigger crowd.
“South Sudanese couldn’t believe Sudan had a movie of its own,” says Danis.
“The movie really looked like it was from another country that was stable or had peace for a long time. They didn’t believe it was South Sudanese until they saw the local names.” — BBCOnline..
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