Mutua warns on ‘dirty’ content at drama festival
Harrison Kivisu @kmbungu
The Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) has announced strict measures aimed at filtering inappropriate content in stage plays that will be displayed during this year’s National Drama Festival.
Chief Executive Officer Ezekiel Mutua said there would be no room in the festival for content that could erode cultural and moral values and urged school administrators to ensure stage plays stick to set guidelines as enshrined in the Films and Stage Plays Act.
Mutua said the agency will keenly monitor this year’s event which will be held at the Coast.
He said the measures would help tame rising moral decay in society.
“Since children are impressionable and among the highest consumers of content, there is need to direct them towards consuming clean content early in life. The war against compromised content must begin right from creation and must also involve children rights from the creation level,” said Mutua.
Age approptriate
He said the partnership between the KFCB and the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival (KNDFF) is aimed at ensuring content that is consumed by children promotes moral values and is in tune with the country’s culture.
The partnership, he said, was strategically intended to reach and influence at least 25,000 students and 1,200 teachers as media content creators, consumers towards clean age appropriate content.
Nurture talents
Executive secretary of the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival James Indimuli challenged tutors to expose learners to extra-curricular activities that can enable them explore their talents.
“The Board ventured into partnership with the Ministry of Education through the KNDFF with the aim of identifying and nurturing talent among learners right from pre-school,” he added.
Indimuli confirmed that the 61st National Drama Festivals will be held at Shimo La Tewa Secondary School in Mombasa County.
“We want to ensure participant’s tell stories that promote positive morals and culture and those that will not adhere to the guidelines will be banned,”said Indimuli.
The two were speaking during the Kenya Drama and Film festival retreat at a Mombasa hotel on Wednesday.
Data shows that the film industry has a potential to be a significant contributor to the country’s GDP by creating employment opportunities for the youth.
Kenya’s film industry generates Sh7.2 billion every year, creating direct and indirect jobs for more than 100,000 people, according to the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers.
