The first Pamoja Odyssey (2019)
The Pamoja Odyssey of January and February 2019 was our first act of co-creation, an experience created with the help of many individuals and groups that have brought great impact along the way.
We journeyed for one and a half months down the Swahili coast, sailing purely with the power of the wind for 400 nautical miles. We started in Kilifi, Kenya, anchored in Shimoni, Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia and finished off in Kilwa, Tanzania. The odyssey was a co-creative experience in filmmaking and stringing stories together of the communities we visited. We set up film festivals at each destination to share snapshots of life along the Swahili coast.
It brought together an exceptional group of creative people: film makers; musicians; entrepreneurs; travellers and many beautiful souls. We created six pop-up movie festivals and produced 16 short films from the various communities that hosted us.
At each stop we showcased the films and the documentaries made in the previous stops and collaborated with local musicians. We performed alongside them, recorded their traditional music and invited them to entertain at the festivals. The intention of the Odyssey was to show how neighbours along the Swahili coast lived, a way to close the gap between one another and for us to get to know more of the coast we have spent so long living on.
