Congratulations Big Ideas...Kenya continues to make waves...positive waves.... East Africa: M-Net commissions Kenya’s Big Ideas Entertainment to make first East African drama In its second major announcement in a week, M-Net confirmed its partnership with Big Ideas Entertainment, the Kenyan TV company which has been commissioned to produce M-Net’s first ever East-African drama series. Breaking the news of the Big Ideas appointment, just 5 months after M-Net first revealed its intention to create a regionalized drama series, was M-Net’s Director of Operations for sub-Saharan Africa Joseph Hundah. ''I say this frequently because it’s true. M-Net is determined to continue to pioneer new African content. We very definitely will meet the needs of audiences in this market to see their own stories on our screens. M-Net will continue creating strong programs that enable MultiChoice Africa to provide the best local content value to DStv viewers.'' He went on to say, ''From the moment M-Net began calling for series proposals on June 4, we started receiving creative ideas. It was a long process of evaluation before we made our final decision. In Big Ideas Entertainment, we have an ally who shares our vision and aims to deliver viewing which East African audiences can relate to and enjoy.'' The process of selection was a rigorous one and began immediately after the deadline for entries closed in August. All proposals received were evaluated critically by a team of four experts including M-Net Program Manager for East Africa Wangeci Murage and Kenya’s Catholic University lecturer of literature, theatre and drama Simon Peter. Thereafter a key M-Net panel also deliberated over the proposals and the evaluations before short-listing six companies for the pitching round. These pitching sessions where held early in October in Nairobi and it was here that Big Ideas Entertainment put forward their winning pitch. Telling stories of love, hope, triumph and tragedy, their series follows three couples as they juggle the demands of work, marriage and family. Set against a contemporary East African backdrop, reflecting the societies in which they live and the challenges which they share, the three couples are at the heart of this entertaining, inspirational, realistic look at modern life in Africa today. Now in pre-production and with its name still be finalized, the series is set to make M-Net history, drawing actors from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and using local crew. The Big Ideas Entertainment team of Njoki Muhoho (Executive Producer), Willie Owusu (DOP) and Aleks Kamau (Editor) will helm the show with Serah Mwihaki on the writing staff. Also playing a vital role on the show is company director Angelo Kinyua, the CNN Multichoice African Journalist 2005 winner, who takes on the role as the show’s Line Producer. Filming on the 13-part, 48-minute weekly series will begin early in 2008 and DStv audiences will be able to watch the show on M-Net later in the year. Angola: Angolan actors in crime film 'killed by police' The director of an Angolan crime film says police have shot dead two of his actors after mistaking them for real armed robbers. The duo were carrying unloaded firearms as they filmed a scene in a rough suburb of the capital Luanda, director Radical Ribeiro told AFP news agency. He said police roared up to the set and began shooting at close range. Angolan officials have not commented on the incident. Ribeiro says he had permission to film in the area. Ribeiro told AFP that police arrived at the scene in a pick-up truck and "started shooting at everybody at close range". He was "stunned" when he saw the two actors fall down, he added. "They went on shooting until I shouted out: 'Please don't shoot, this is a movie.'" The officers then stopped firing and left without attending to the wounded, who were taken to hospital, Ribeiro said. (BBC, 18th December 2007) Senegal: The Shape of Water The Shape of Water is a new feature documentary that tells the stories of powerful, imaginative and visionary women confronting the destructive development of the Third World with new cultures and a passion for change. The film takes us to Senegal, Israel/Palestine, Brazil, and India where these new cultures (alongside old traditions) include a campaign to end female genital cutting (FGC), offer innovative forms of opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and show how women are spearheading the implementation of renewable resources and rainforest preservation by tapping trees to obtain rubber. The Shape of Water also includes coverage of a vast co-operative of rural women in India (SEWA) and, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to a farm, Navdanya, set up to preserve biodiversity and women’s role as seed keepers. By interweaving images, words, and the actions of Khady, Bilkusben, Oraiza, Dona Antonia, and Gila, The Shape of Water offers fresh insights into the lives of women in the Third World.