Rwanda has what it takes to become the face of the African film industry, according to Rwanda-based Indian filmmaker Anirban Mitra. Mitra is the owner of A Films, a media house that he co-founded with his wife Papiya Das Mitra in 2014. Even though local films are struggling to challenge the international market, Mitra is ready to share a blueprint on how the industry can thrive and produce outstanding films that can attract the attention of film enthusiasts across the globe. He shared with The New Times his plans to make Rwanda the face of the African movie industry. Excerpts: What has your journey in filmmaking been like before you established A Films? My wife, Papiya, and I met in filmmaking. Our love story started at a filmmaking school, then we fell in love and we ended up getting married. We dedicated ourselves to filmmaking since we were teenagers, learning animation, video editing, film direction, photography, cinematography, and everything that has to do with images. What inspired you to pursue filmmaking in Rwanda? Everyone in India is crazy about films and, when I visited Rwanda in March 2020, I noticed people here watching Indian films and series whenever I stopped by small restaurants in Muganga and Gisenyi (Rubavu). I was amazed by that, and I decided to do something in here. I’ve been to Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda yet when everyone in India thinks about African films, they think about Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa, but Rwanda is not on that list. I am in the manufacturing business as well in Kigali, but I feel like if I do film projects here in Kigali, I can make some changes. So my vision and mission are to make Rwanda the face of the African film in the next three to five years. We need one good film that can break every boundary and go beyond Africa. Rwanda is a very small country with a small population, but if we see beyond Rwanda, we can have nearly 1.3 billion people in Africa. If we could humor the whole audience in Africa, this would be big. So my vision is to create some assets and a platform in Rwanda so we can use them in African movies. What would you say are some of the loopholes in Rwanda’s film industry? I have taught actors and actresses in Rwanda, and I feel that one thing they have in common is that they are very shy. Maybe it’s the culture in Rwanda because they are soft-spoken and don’t talk too much, but to be successful in this industry, you need to express more, either you are writing, acting, whatever you do, you need to express more. I would like to give them guidance so they can come out, and I believe in them because I have seen that they have talent, but they don’t know how to showcase that. Another thing is that, in a very small industry here, everyone is doing things separately and they are not united and that’s a big challenge. They need unity to make the industry bigger. In India, millions of people are earning from this industry and the government knows that this is the biggest industry India has ever had. They know that this is our [Indians] potential, and they put effort into that. What impact do you think you can make on the movie industry for it to thrive? I am now concentrating on giving classes on Rwandan actors and actresses, and I am also looking into how I can improve the skills of scriptwriters and screenwriters. I am also trying to build assets for the industry so we can use them in our films. My purpose is not to make good films, but to give or make a scope of opportunities. If we can make good movies here, we can even approach other countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa and show that we are good at it. We have outstanding actors, good music directors, talented composers, writers, and video editors. But we have to show the world how different we are and how different the movies we do can be. If Rwandans are watching foreign movies, why can’t we make foreigners watch our movies too? I want to contribute to elevating the industry to a position where people can watch our movies. Is your initiative just going to end with workshops? We are capable of doing a movie and a series right now, but I am not rushing. What I am doing now is training them to a certain level where they can go beyond Rwanda and act in the United States, Nigeria, or South Africa because I believe we have so much potential and talent but we need guidance. I have a blueprint for the project that I will be producing four to five movies a year in Rwanda. With the package from the training, I am sure they can challenge other filmmakers in other countries. When I find them ready, I will bring all my equipment from India and start shooting here. I am just waiting for the moment when they will be ready so we can start shooting. We are doing this training to have good directors, good writers, and good music composers. When do you plan to produce your first movie? We are in the process of doing a film with TV 1 dubbed Unfaithful. We are about to shoot the video as we wait for permission from Rwanda Film Federation. We have another romantic comedy movie that is in pre-production that we will start shooting in August. It was produced by my wife. What are you looking forward to getting in return? Right now I am not thinking about money, I am just trying to make this industry better. I know it is not easy to get money back from the projects, but nothing is easy. If I don’t put in money now, I do not deserve to get it back. If I invest in this industry after five years, for instance, it will bring profits.
