The day the Factual Films team rolled into town, my brothers came home from school and quickly did their evening chores, mother did not have to ask twice for any chore to be completed. As you know by now, dinner at my house was served between 6.30 and 7 pm. On such a day, the boys requested for dinner to be served at 5.30 pm. Mother obliged because she knew how important that day was for the boys. It was a once in a while treat for them, and they were good kids who worked so hard at any task they were given. Before 6 pm hit, they had wolfed down their food, dressed in warm jackets and hats, and bolted out the door heading towards OlKalou town where the movie was showing.
Bed time was early at my house. 8 pm found mother, myself and the younger kids in bed while the boys were still out. It was not a problem because they had their Thingira now, so we did not need to wait up.
Come Saturday morning, the excited boys came for breakfast talking over each others’ heads, recapping how the movie went. Like the rest of us, they did not understand the American English spoken on the mainly Western films. The Factual Films team knew that. The pictures were therefore projected on the screen, but there was a commentator who narrated the film in Kikuyu.
The boys discussed the movie over and over again, demonstrating the shooting scenes with sticks, fly kicking the fight scenes and mock smoking when they talked of John Wayne. They knew his name because he was the greatest western movie star of back in the day, he featured in almost every movie, or at least made a cameo. The other movie characters whose names the boys did not catch, they Kikuyunized them. I heard names like “Njaramuge, Kibo and Michu. I guess that was Jerry Morgan, Campbell and Mitchell, who knows. But they spoke about each one of them with conviction you would think they knew them personally. “Njaramuge amugutha Kibo kiki ya kahacho, nake Michu amuria ruhi rwa mbico amwita demiu” translation “Jerry Morgan kicked Campbell in the diaphragm, and Mitchell slapped him across the face saying darm you”. The boys were fascinated by the cowboys who roped their steers while riding their fast moving horses. I could almost see those characters from my brothers vivid descriptions. They talked about the movie for weeks and months that followed, until the Factual Films team rolled back into town and showed them another movie.
I hope the Factual Films Team knows how much this program impacted those rural boys who had nothing much else going for them, in terms of entertainment. Those movies were pure gold and OlKalou will forever be grateful for your service. If you are one of those heroes from Factual Films, I would like to hear from you and thank you personally on behalf of OlKalou. May God Bless you abundantly.
