Africa-Press – Tanzania. AFTER successfully launching her extended playlist in September this year Tanzanian musician and actress, Gynah has been nominated the best actress from Tanzania.
Gynah whose name is Regina Kihwele, the sensational voice behind the single ‘It’s You’ has been nominated Tanzanian best actress for her role the movie titled Mulasi, which means ‘friend’.
Lake International Pan African Film Festival is the event that brings Gynah to Nairobi to represent Tanzanian in the awards. The other two are Cojack Chilo, who has been nominated as Best Actor from Tanzania for his role in the movie Nyara the kidnapping while Ram Ally Kasongo, the Director of the movie will represent the production crew for the movie being nominated as Best Feature Film from Tanzania.
The objectives of the festival are to sensitise film makers on film and entrepreneurship and collaboration, take African Cinematic experience to all around Kenya and the world, empower the youth on the power of film for social change.
The festival creates a market linkage for filmmakers and distributors (online, mobile, TV and local retail market) and consumers/viewers. The determined and focused 23 year-old was nominated for the heart-wrenching lead role she played in the movie ‘Mulasi’ directed and produced by a Tanzanian based in The United Sates, Honeymoon AlJabri.
Gynah acts as Sechelela, a young qualified lawyer and mother of two who is going through marital problems as a result of the depression she is experiencing.
Sechelela has a close knit group of friends of whom, each one has a secret she is trying hard to hide. Acted both in Kiswahili and English the movie aims at highlighting the plight of mental illness.
Mulasi is the Kigogo word for friend, rafiki in Swahili and the film was shot in Dodoma with interesting rural and urban scenes. According to the director Honeymoon, she said “I feel the various scenes promote the beautiful unexplored central part of Tanzania.” The sequence to the movie, Mulasi the Death featuring Ghanaian actor, John Dumelo includes scenes shot at Ngorongoro and Serengeti National Parks.
Gynah got her first breakthrough in acting five years ago in 2016 on a Broadway show performed in Dar es Salaam that was produced by Lady Toussaint Duchess an American.
Her first screenplay was with Mtitu in the series ‘Jirani’. Early 2020 she participated in the series ‘Nakupenda Kufa’ with Idris Sultan. Gynah is also part of the ‘Binti’ cast an award winning movie directed by Seko Shamte that was voted best movie at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) this year.
Officially waved off by the Tanzania Film Board, last Thursday Gynah had this to say “I see myself as a deep inspiration to aspiring Tanzanian actresses and being part of the movement that is a stepping stone in achieving my dreams to produce edutainment films in Tanzania.”
Having undergone an intensive, hands on training at Nafasi Art Space earlier this year, Gynah takes acting and movie making very seriously.
Gynah participated fully in the filmmaking workshop held at Nafasi Art Space, through European Union’s (EU) Sauti Mpya Program, where she learnt script writing, movie directing and producing.
The program made an anthology called “Ndo Ukubwa” which is to be launched early December 2021. Her first short film, Mwajuma was the project she co-directed with her mentor Walt Mzengi, she was also the producer for Kete and production designer for Dogo.
She got a chance to talk to the audience on the anthology of the three short films at ZIFF during its screening in Zanzibar.
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