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| CURTAIN RAISING |
 CURTAIN RAISING is a film about hope and survival. Flavaboy is a young and determined artist growing up in the harshest of Nairobi’s ghettos. Flavaboy is trying his hardest to forge an image and career for himself, spending his waking hours persuading promoters to give him a chance to perform for free and keeping himself on good terms with the well-established young superstars of the flourishing Nairobi music scene. He is a 17 year-old man who doesn’t know where his next meal is coming from when he wakes up in the morning. Naturally, his main concern is to make it out of the ghetto, so that one day his own children will have a decent life... His counterpart in the film is the most lauded star in East Africa, Chameleone, who is based in Kampala, Uganda. Only 5 years ago Chameleone was right where Flavaboy is today. Through clever marketing, a solid sense of commitment to his music and his indefatigable ambition, Chameleone has managed to make it big. Today, he tours all over Africa, Europe and the United States. Rumors circulating in the region - and even in the media - tell that Chameleone gained his success through the practice of witchcraft and worshipping the evil underwater spirits of the Victoria Lake. Who knows? Other rumors say that the artist got these rumors started himself … It’s beyond dispute, however, that Chameleone is well able to take care of his family and friends. He can shuffle his Japanese SUVs and houses around as he pleases. Moreover, every single week, in between his many stadium concerts, he still plays – for free - jam sessions for everyone to enjoy in his hometown of Kampala. We also meet Joseph Kamaru, the beloved Kikuyu singer/songwriter-kind-of-star from Nairobi, Kenya. Since the 1950s and up through the 1980s, Kamaru was immensely popular. Kamaru started out singing the praises of the Mau Mau freedom fighters. Ever since then, he has helped every regime in Kenya get elected by operating as an integral part of the rulers’ propaganda machine. Today, it appears that Kamaru somehow regrets his past. As a born-again Christian, he is evidently obsessed with praising only his Lord. Unlike Kamaru, Chameleone has managed to steer clear of political and religious propaganda. The question remains: will Flavaboy be able to resist the temptations and make it to the top, or at least move on from the confines of ghetto? Shot on location in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, in 2004 and 2005. Duration 58:30 mins Documentary, Denmark 2006 Directed by Andreas Johnsen Co-director Lotte Folke Kaarsholm Film editor Yrsa Wedel Photography Andreas Johnsen Produced by Rosforth |