 This is the way to do it. This is the way to do it. This is the way to do it. When you think about the future, who do you picture yourself being? From all the people we have interviewed in this program, we have learned one thing, that you can be anything you want to be, so long as you remove your mind from the box and start thinking outside the box. Today we have Lois Kanyiri aka Mastermind, a mathematics graduate turned film producer to shed more light on that. So Lois, I am interested to know how did your nickname Mastermind come to be? Hi, I would like to say thank you, thank you so much for having me here. Mastermind, I like telling that story because it's a beautiful story. According to me, that is. I was given that name in high school by my teachers when they were just about to expel me. So I was being expelled because well, due to one reason or another we had a strike in school and my name had gone down as a man of the people who had planned. Apparently it went down as the main plan of the strike, so they gave me the name Mastermind. Was that true? Ah, well, subject to discussion from that day. So I took it later, I started using it as a stage name, later on I developed it as a brand. So Mastermind is my brand. Ah, that's nice. So took it after Mastermind, you went to Nepal. Yes. So this math and film, tell us about it. What happened? So it goes back to 2019 when I finished campus. I finished campus in 2019, but I did not graduate, which is also something I would really like to speak on. If you don't graduate, it's not the end of life. So I failed to graduate with my team and then the pandemic came and everything went to hell. So what happened? Once it came, I decided that what I need to do is I need to find the mastermind, okay? So it was in that, you know, that soul searching, that period of searching and deciding what am I going to do? Where am I going to put my foot down? You know, because I also know even if I graduate, this paper is just a paper. It will not give me a job immediately again. So I needed to find a place to put my foot and that was when I met my friend and my boss. I call him my boss because he's the CEO of our company. I am the director. So his name is Raphael. So he's the one who inspired me and together we created this whole thing that we call Casa Rafael. So Casa Rafael, tell us a bit. What inspired your creativity? My creativity is basically inspired by observation. I like observing everywhere I go and the kind of a person who would like sitting down in a corner and just looking at people. You know, looking at people doing their things. It's fun for me. I also like being behind the scenes, being the person who makes things happen. So when I see, I observe, I write. I like working around with a notebook. So I write. I scribble down what I'm seeing, you know, that kind of stuff. So whenever I get inspired, I feel something really, really beautiful. I make sure that I note it down so that I can use it at another date. So have you graduated now? Ah, yes. I am. I am happy to say that in on 25th of February, 2022, I managed to secure my degree. Congratulations. And I'd love to ask a question between the math. Math is about realistic things and film is imagination, creativity and all that. How do you merge all that? Who said math cannot be creative? I mean, the moment somebody starts down to think of a formula or to think of something, that is imagination. And you need to understand that in math we work with imaginary numbers. So since we have them, it's all about how the mind works. They are all in one person. I am a mathematician at heart. My mind is analytical enough to understand mathematics, but I am a creative. By deep down, I have always been an artist. So art is everything. And because art makes me feel alive, I do it for the rest of my life. So mastermind, what kind of stories do you tell? Normal day-to-day contemporary stories. Mostly I like telling stories in the urban setting, but I want my stories to be relatable. For example, my three films so far, two of them are things that you can actually, they are things that happen, are happening in our homes, in our families, to our friends, the things that are there. And even all the people who have watched, they keep telling me, hey, this is so relatable. For example, I can tell you a story of when we were producing Unfaithful. One of the guys I called to help me in editing. So Unfaithful is your production? Yes. Unfaithful is my most recent movie. The moment we finished shooting, I called a guy to come and help me in editing. And the first thing he did when he saw the film, he was like, you know what, this thing happened to me last week. Interesting. And then a few other people here and there. It has happened, it has happened. So it's a normal, just the normal way of life. Yes. That's interesting. And how do you identify your talent? I'm sure you do not work alone. So how do you identify your talent? It's, I don't know, you have to have an eye. See the same way people talk about pitch in music. But if they are not, not everyone has perfect pitch. So sometimes you just look at somebody do something and you're like, I want to cast that muscle. Two, we do auditions. So once you invite people for auditions, it is, the question is, are you as a person, do you think you're talented as an artist? Do you think you're talented as an actor or an actress? If you are, then you need to put yourself out there. You can't sit in the house and expect people to call you. Okay. Number three, I also call people I've worked with. For example, I have, I always used to do stage. But now after doing stage, stage, stage, reach a point, I was like, stage is not doing it for me because stage people forget. I mean, once the play is done on stage, it is done. We won't see it again. You will tell people, yes, I'm an actor, I've done this, I've done that, I've done that. But there's no point of reference. Okay. But for me, I feel, film, you record it, it is there and it is in an indelible mark on the world for eternity. So that is basically what led me to do that. So when it comes to getting, getting talent, it's easy. Talk to people, the people you know, I'm talented myself. So it is easy to identify other talents. So I'm like, I like you. Can you come act for me? I like you. Can you come act for me? Hey, there's a project I'm doing. I have a role that I feel suits you. It's all about learning how to be a casting director. Interesting. And what happens after you identify that I want you to play this role? I come to you to talk. I have been told I have a sweet tongue and I think I do. So I just start talking to people. Mostly the biggest problem is you can never really pay talent. That is one thing I believe. You can never pay talent because talent is something inborn, but you can appreciate it. So the issue always comes down to how much am I willing to appreciate you and are you willing to accept the deal that I would offer for you on the table? But for me, with my talent is once we talk, we get to talk. You just tell you, hey, this is a project. This is what I have. This is what I have. I need you from this period to this period. I'll provide you one, two, three. Are you on board? And for most people, because well, we have, we are well acquainted. It's easy to just come and work for me. Paying for that talent, as you said, is not really cheap, you know. So where did you get your starting capital? I have friends. I have family. I created my first short film. Eight minutes long, I was selling it at 100 killings. I just made the link private on YouTube, started selling. Believe it or not, I sold over 100 copies. Nice. So I had already made 10,000 from my first film. That is my starting capital because the second one I also sold at 100. The link was also at 100. I sold over 70 copies. So by the time I was beginning, I had a few coins in my pocket. Now, adding on to that is all serendipity because that is our company slogan, serendipity, because that's what we believe in. We have this dream. We don't know how to accomplish it. We don't have the whole blueprint, but we know we are going to do it. This is the goal. So get there. So I started, you know, if I get to a point and I can't move, hey dad, hey mom, hey bro, hey guys, there's even one time I wrote on my status. And that day, 900 killings were sent because nine friends will just respond, hey, I've never supported you. Let me send you something. And then just like that. So what does one require to know in order to venture into film? Number one, understand the trade. Understand what you're doing. Number two, understand the law. The law. For example, in Kenya, you need to understand the law that governs the whole thing about filmmaking. Understand that for a production to happen, this is the part of pre-production. This is how it works. This is production. This is how it works. This is how it works. You may not know it. For example, for me, I started completely in the dark, but I went on the internet, did a few research, did a little bit of research. This is our pre-production, this is our production, this post-production, everything. Then I was like, you know what, I'm ready to dive into the deep waters. So once I understood pre-production, I know what do I need? I need a script. What do I need? I need locations. What do I need? I need fast. What do I need? I need equipment. Once I have those and I have the necessary hands, for example, somebody to hold lights, somebody to hold a boom, you know, the camera, the DOP, I have the director. Once I have all that, what else is required? Welfare, food, feed people when they're on set, you know. If it's location, are you paying for these locations? For example, houses, I go to friends and I'm like, you know, guys, can I use your house for two days? So two days I'm there, moving everything up and down. If it is my own house, my parents' house, I use it the way I want it. The way I want to, you know, move things around. You just need to understand, and then you also need to understand what exactly are you visualizing. It's very important because you cannot just start without an end. I always tell people, I cannot be anything that doesn't have an end goal. There has to be. That is the goal. That is where we are finishing. It's not just doing for the sake of doing. No, no, no, no. The end is there. This is how we are going to get there. But law and what you're doing. Once you have that, then you also know how to work with people. Because there is, if you see the closing credits of a film, how many names? A lot of names. So you can imagine those are hundreds of people who are involved in a single production. So for me to manage to produce that, I need to have known how to work with a hundred people and they're working with people. I have a question. Have you ever been on the other side of the law doing films? I have not, but I have stories. For example, I have my friend Raphael. He was telling me about a time when you were shooting and they had guns they had made. They had made some very nice guns and now they are on set with guns. Oh my goodness. Police were called. I mean, these guys want to rob us. You know, they make shift guns, but nobody cares whether they make shift guns. It's a gun, you know, and you don't have a license for shooting. You know, you need to have that film license. If I want to use a certain road, if I want to go and close a certain road, I need that shot. I need to go, talk to the council, the city council or the county council, you know, get a letter from Kenya Film Classification Board, get a letter from Kenya Film Commission, all that. You need to have the necessary documentation. Otherwise, you will get on set with the equipment and you will end up in jail. Yeah. And so how do your friends and family feel about the departure from mass and took to film? I have to be honest. I did mathematics. I love math. I have, it took me a while, took me five years to go to high school. So I began to ask all, it was all about grades. I needed a good grade. So I repeated at a point, getting that good grade. Now I have the good grade. Then I go to uni and just do anything. No, no, no, no. I have to make them get shocked. You have to, once you ask me, I have to also because I love it. So I did mathematics majorly just because I wanted to feel superior. So what happened is you see, I've gone to uni, I've changed my course. I was invited to do something totally different. I'm done now doing math. I'm done with math. I'm not even graduated. I have a talent. I need to make money. I need to put my foot somewhere, get into film. My friends and family received it with pump and laugh. They received it so well at my premiere, at the premiere of Unfaithful, three-quarter of the attendees or my friends and and even those who did not attend, you know, people will send, people will buy tickets. Let me buy a ticket. I know I won't be, I won't make it to the day, but I will buy a ticket. That is the kind of support that I have received. So my friends and family, everyone loves it. So where are you sharing your films? Because we have to make money from this. You know, talent has to pay by the end of the day. Passion does not pay the bills. Talent has to pay. So I found a very interesting local site. It's basically Kenyan Netflix. It's called shahara, shahara.com. Just go to shaharavideos.com. The movie Unfaithful is there. It's going for 300 chillings. Oh, so we have such platforms for us in the local industry. Yes, as a matter of fact, they are there. So you go there, you can sell. You can even sell as cheap as 50 shillings. There are things that are going for 20 shillings there, you know, podcasts, any kind of content. For those specific picky, picky projects, it's a bit that you feel this is not something I want to give out for free. Post it there. Tell your friends to pay 50 shillings. Come on. If you support me, why would you be unable to pay 100 shillings? You know, it's support. By the end of the day, it is you making me feel that what I'm doing is worth a coin. And it is worth a coin. I mean, it's the mind. So how much do you pay in these platforms to access the funds? They are free. Oh. You put it out there for free. Of course, you will pay from what is bought. Yes. They don't ask you for money beforehand. No, no, no, no. It is post-sell. And we'll also help you sell. Once we do that, for shahara, we have an agreement of that is 70. So we take 70%, 80, 30%. Which is good enough for me. Do I need my own account or something? You create an account there. You just create it and then you pay by the end of the year. It's very convenient. So easy, so cheap, so accessible. So there are several other local content there. Very good movies there. So you can also go check them out. And what setbacks have you experienced in your journey and how did you overcome them? Dealing with human beings. I have to say dealing with human beings is a lot of work. For example, you can get on set and a cast refuses to show up. We've paid for the location. We are here. We only have six hours to shoot. And the cast has refused to show up. What do you do? The show must go on. You continue, you introduce a new character, you change the script, do whatever you can, but the show must go on. So those kind of setbacks, those kind of, that kind of not knowing exactly, sometimes you wake up and you had promised people breakfast. For example, I did unfaithful just when the prices of cooking oil was just starting to rise. It was just starting, earlier this year. In January, February, we were not sure how far it would go. So it was just going up a few days, 10 shillings, 20 shillings. So at a time, I would only buy cooking oil or the 100 shillings. And I know that it's just one, two meals, it's done. So I need to have another more cooking oil tomorrow. If it is something like milk, those kind of stuff, feeding people is not easy. But for me, I would say that there is nothing like a setback for me. There is no challenges out there, but the point is overcoming. So for me, I'm going through this challenge, I will overcome it and we overcome it. Forget that we were even going through that problem. Let's dive into your experiences. What are your memorable experiences in your journey and maybe the worst? The most memorable experience has always been eat a wrap. It's a wrap. It's a wrap for me. Drives me nuts. The moment I hear the director call it a wrap, it means that, yo, we are done. All this pressure that we were going through, all this stress that we were going through, it is gone. It is over. That is the happiest moment. I even make sure that I take a photo. At that moment, I always tell the DOP, take this one last photo. All the people on set, we've wrapped up and we jump and scream. It was the worst experience was doing three scenes in a day. I'm on set. We are on set. We are on location. Everything is going well, but for some reason or another, we never got the work done. We had planned to do six scenes. No, eight scenes. I remember my call sheet talked about eight scenes and I only managed to do three. To date, it is one of the things that I wake up and remember I did three scenes and I'm like, what? It's gone with me. That means we are retrogressive, but eventually we got the work done anytime. Personally, I am in love with your work, your spirit, your energy, and if I wanted to get in touch with your work or join your team, where can I find you? You can find me on social as Casa Rafael or you can just Google. Just Google Casa Rafael. Casa is the house of Rafael. C-A-S-A-R-A-F-A-E-L. So Casa Rafael, that is also on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, we are there. That is now once you go there, the moment you send a message, I'm the person who receives the message. Wow. I'll go do that immediately after production. So let us know, what are your future plans? What are my future plans? So this is it. Casa Rafael is the house of Rafael. A house has many rooms. We have a bedroom, we have a kitchen, we have a sitting room, we have a library. We have all kinds of places. So basically Casa Rafael is a house with many branches. So we have the branch that is already working, the film branch. So we make films, we create stories and we tell them through motion pictures. Two, we have a fashion design branch that is slowly coming up. So it's a future project. We want in a situation where even our own wardrobe for our films, we provide our own wardrobe. So if it is creating costumes, all that kind of stuff, that is something we want to do for ourselves, for our people. Two, we have photography and events management. So basically we have cameras, so we will shoot, we will come to your event, we will cover it, and even show it to the world. Then also planning the event, the whole thing of seeing, bringing light, bringing sound, all that. That is also part of it. Interior design and interior decor. Also that it's basically all art. All art, all art, all art. And what is your call to the community, especially young people who have talent and they have potential, but they do not know how to channel it? You need to believe in yourself. People say do not believe you on hype, but you need to hype yourself. You have to wake up and be like, you know what guys, this is what I do and you need to see me doing what I do. Okay? You once you believe in yourself, even the universe sees a star and the universe will always help you to be what you want. So it will make you the star that you want to become. Okay? So believe in yourself too. Don't be afraid of working with people. A lot of people out here are struggling simply because you want to do it all. Come on, relax. I am Lewis. Okay? What do I have? I have talent. What else do I have? I have a good mouth. I can make people do stuff. So what do I do? I don't have a camera, but I know a friend of mine with a camera. I'll go talk to that friend of mine or I know a friend who knows a friend. For example, that's how we got the equipment for shooting on faith. A friend of mine introduced me to their friend. We went to sit down over a meal. We talked, we talked, we talked. Eventually this guy gave me cameras. Things that are higher that so much money, I received them at a thousand shelling that day. Camera lights, boom, everything, all the equipment that I needed. Okay? So the point is it's not about you doing it alone. Okay? I have cameras. Then what else do I need? You know, you need somebody to go help you scout. Okay? You cannot do the marketing yourself. Market. Get somebody to help you do marketing. Branding. You know, graphic design and branding. All that. Those are the kind of things that you need to remember. You cannot work alone. So work with people. Get people to help you. Get people to work with you. Okay? Number three and very important, discipline. You don't just start something that you're not planning to finish. And that is actually the problem that is disturbing a little bit. You start and then once you encounter a challenge, you don't want to go on. You know, you give up. You wake up and you're like, ah, this thing is too hard. And you quit just when you're about to get to the gold mine. Just when you're about to hit the water table. You've been digging and digging and digging. You need water. You're digging and digging. Just when you're about the last blow to hit and then the water gashes out, you give up. What's wrong with you? Come on, young people, you need to understand. You grow alone. You grow slowly. You start from the bottom. A friend of mine, I was complaining about how hard it was shooting and faithful. And a friend of mine told me this, Lewis, the only thing that starts from up going down is the grave. Everything else begins from down to up. So relax. Wow. The only thing that starts from up going down is the grave. Everything else in this life. It may start this way. You remember, what was it called? These plants changing directions where they can trace the sun. Yeah, they climb down. You know, you know. So it is, it is all about, it starts from down going up. You, as a person, you started down going up. Every tree, every plant, even mountains started down. Get the right people. The right people. By the right people, I mean, you need to have a very good circle. Three discipline. Everything else. Money, people complain money. But if everyone says, oh, it's money that is making me not do, who told you, you learn, they have all the money that you need to do whatever you want to do. No. Nobody even begins the construction of a house with all the money in the bank. No. You start, you start, you start. It is a progress, a day at a time. And is there anything else you feel in your heart you need to tell us? My whole point will go down to learning how to manage yourself financially. Our parents did not know it. They've been winning it all our lives. And since they did not know it, they did not know how to teach us. The system never taught us. The syllabus never taught us how to manage our finances. So now we get this, I call it netting. The government tries to net us, especially the young people, you know, we don't get into drugs, we don't get into depression and all that kind of stuff because we do not have an income. So the government provides us with certain and certain things. So for example, we have this cause internal problem that was begun in 2020 during the pandemic. It was begun to cushion young people against the economic problems and the economic challenges that were there. Now we are now, the recession that there was is slowly, okay, I wouldn't say it's slowly going up because for some reason it's going down, but the recession that there was because of the pandemic has disappeared. No, because we are no longer under lockdown, we are no longer being told to stay in the houses. Now people are able to move up and about, but the program is still there. Okay. Now I have a question. Were these people given financial training or financial management skills before they started adding these 200 shillings every few days? So it is important and I wish the government to consider this. Teach these people how to manage this little money because you can give somebody, you see, Kazim Tan is not something that you're meant to be employed in. It is something that you get in for those two weeks, then you move on to something else and you leave that space for someone else who is behind. But for you to move from this Kazim Tan, you need to use whatever you're getting here to propel you to the next level. So we need to teach ourselves how to be liberal. It is that 200 you get. You go to somewhere, collect, collect clothes at 50-50 shillings, go sell at 20 shillings, 30 shillings profit. Today, tomorrow, consistency. Come on, you start your own enterprise. So whatever little you have, start with that. Yes. Thank you so much mastermind. And I have loved your spirit. I have loved the energy. And I've loved what you've said. That's the only thing that Inanzajou in Atokachi is the Gravia. And I love that. And that is what I will share with you. The only thing that Inanzajou in Atokachi, you are the person in Atokachi. So why give up in the middle? If you get a setback, go around it. Find a way to go around it and start with the little thing that you have. Under nature, knowledge is power. And start immediately. This has been Youth in Action. I am Nyangua Sobrini.