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| From left Alinda Ruhinda with her young sister Angela Ruhinda they're the brave co-owners of Black Unicorn Sturdios in Tanzania |
Angela 29 (will be 30 in Dec) is a native Tanzanian who is the
co-founder of Black Unicorn Studios together with her big sister Alinda Ruhinda,
who was also on set this afternoon. Black Unicorn a film/video production company opened its doors in August this year http://www.blackunicornstudios.co.tz .
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| From left actors Iman Lipumba and Yann Sow, in a rehearsal of 'The Big 3' scheduled to show this weekend in DSM |
“I’ve wanted to write and do entertainment in general all my
life…I took my undergrad in ‘Philosophy and Film Studies’ at the University of
Hertfordshire and after that I was like to my parents. ‘I want to go to LA and
study screen writing’ and they were like ‘right people do that?’” Angela shares
her last words laced with apprehensive humor, thankfully her parents came through
as she took her MFA at the New York Film Academy in LA this in 2011.
The missing link in our mainstream ‘bongo’ movies of internationally
accepted guidelines of stage production. Like having audition calls, following
a written script from the first rehearsal, ensuring there’s at least a month to
rehearse from table readings to stage rehearsals with props and costumes. Are
guidelines that Black Unicorn Studios implement despite being a self-financed
embryo company.
“I really believe you either go full throttle or you don’t do it
at all. So if I did it just a little bit I could always just quit next week and
be like ‘Oh maybe I’ll just get a regular job’ which I know I’ll never be happy
doing, so this is me giving us the extra fire that we need to keep pushing.”
Angela speaking as a bold entrepreneur who was brought up with feminist values,
which have translated onto this script ‘The Big 3’.
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| Angela Ruhinda co-founder of Black Unicorn Studios |
“I have always been aware that I am female, when I went to the US
was the first time I was made aware that I am also black...I’d walk into rooms
with executives and stuff and my selling point would be ‘oh she’s African blablabla, which even my representation would push me to use
that ‘you have a unique point of view, make sure you tell them your stories
about back home and all that stuff'. And I was like this feels a little weird it
feels like I am literally selling myself a little bit…But they gravitated
towards the fact that I was coming from a different perspective in being
African not African American.” Angela shares her experiences prior to Black
Unicorn after finishing her masters, where she worked as a freelance screenwriter
in LA for a couple of years.
Her big break came in 2014 when she managed to sell her thesis
from her MFA, a comedy script called ‘Iman & Andy’ to ABC studios. She got
encouragement from a faculty member to push the script onto the screen and then
found a production company Electus, who liked the same and promised to work
with her to pitch it to networks. It was here that Whoopi Goldberg got wind of
the script and gave it to ABC, that year several scripts were sold for
consideration at ABC. Where shows like Selfie and Blackish won production. In 2017
Angela Ruhinda’s name would appear for the first time on credits in the
production of the film ‘Moonlight in Vermont’ this on the Hallmark Channel.
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| From left actors Jonas Mugabe, Angela Ruhinda and David Msia in an early rehearsal of 'The Big 3' |
Now Angela brings us ‘The Big 3’ which she wrote while in
Tanzania. “It’s one of those occupations that everyone thinks they can do and I can’t even blame them, cause it looks like you just sit down and think ‘ah
this happens and then..’ ...the course I took was really
meticulous really thorough. We learnt everything from basic storytelling to, we had one class
where we focused on character and our tutor had a doctorate in psychology.
So
she was a screenwriter but she also knew the psychology of people. So we had
classes or assignments where we’d be like, cause people just think the
character she lives here, she’s 29 blablabla but then our tutor would be like. 'But why is she here, how did she grow up, how does she feel about her mom..?' this really helps inform the story…” Angela adds, she has been outside of Tanzania for most of her life with
parents that worked outside the country. She was born in Canada and spent a
couple of years of her primary education in Tanzania but the rest of her time
saw her in China, Kenya, the United Kingdom and finally the USA. Now she’s back
in her native country and with the investment she and her sister have made in
Black Unicorn, it looks like she’s here to stay.
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| From left it's Sharlyn Mthetwa and Alinda Ruhinda supervising this early rehearsal of 'The Big 3' inside Black Unicorn offices in Dar. |
“That feeling like you’re foreign almost everywhere mmhm
segregation of the travelled African, that touches me…”Angela talks as she
touches her chest on the final words reiterating a phrase I have coined, in
explaining the divide that those who have swam the waters of being
non-residential Africans face, when they return back to their home country.
It’s this theme that I foresee Angela and her company having to
unpack carefully so they make good returns on their investments. For though its
clear with Alinda’s background in Advertising that Black Unicorn can pull its
financing from the corporate world. It’s also true that to fulfill Angela’s
passion in the creative film industry particularly for the Tanzanian public and
even the diaspora on the continent.
Future productions of Black Unicorn, may have to be
pragmatically aware of their ‘diaspora’ perspective so as to be widely received by Tanzania's public. It’s not just the use of
Swahili scripts or subtitles, which will endear the public but also a way of working with the mainstream 'bongo movie' scene as they have many advantages on their belt including market penetration and widely adored actors and directors.
You can catch this first production of ‘The Big 3’ at the Little Theatre tomorrow and Sunday afternoon in Dar es Salaam. It features actors David
Msia, Yann Sow, Iman Lipumba, Jesse Mihayo, Jonas Mugabe, Angela Ruhinda (as main character Shubi) as well Sharlyn
Mthethwa as the stage manager.
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| From left it's actors Yann Sow, Iman Lipumba, Alinda Ruhinda, Angela Ruhinda, Jesse Miayo, Sharlyn Mthethwa and Jonas Mugabe |
In between rehearsal I caught the crew in riveting discussion from the play's subject matter, they were talking of how 'open relationships' exist their forms in Dar and Tanzania in general. This makes me believe after we watch the show an interesting discussion will arise from the audience. So pool your girlfriends and guys for this weekend the 10th
or 11th Nov from 7pm or 4pm respectively. Entrance is 20,000Tshs for more info visit their website above to gain tickets (there are already selling like hot cakes) it’s an all-Tanzanian cast new faces, bold talent lets support our own.
Also Black Unicorn is looking for Swahili or English Scripts for a short or feature film deadline being Jan 18th check this link for more info. http://www.blackunicornstudios.co.tz/2018/10/16/made-in-africa-screenwiritng-competition/
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