Director
F.Simiyu Barasa
Development support
Charlie PELE is a study of inspiration through creativity in Kenya. Charlie is only one year old, but he inspires Kenyan youth to make peace and develop entrepreneurial skills, all whilst making them laugh - and to top it all he's a cartoon character!
Long Synopsis
Charlie Pele is a rural boy who works hard to buy soccer shoes so as to be able to attain his dream of ensuring Kenya goes to the soccer World Cup and wins it. A victim of the 2007-8 post-election violence in Kenya, the 15 years old Charlie is however life-smart and very humorous, and inspires lots of youth on agricultural entrepreneurial skills, non-violent means of solving issues, and making the best out of their creativity. However, he is a comic book character in the ‘Shujaaz FM’ comic book (www.shujaaz.fm ).
He regularly updates Boyie, another character who runs a pirate radio station that interrupts radio waves (and who therefore hosts an actual, countrywide weekly radio show, ‘Shujaaz FM’ on Q FM and syndicated to 18 other radio stations) on his escapades, hence inspiring millions of Kenyan youth.
This documentary wishes to show us the impact of Charlie Pele and his four Shujaaz FM comic book characters on Kenyan youth, as well as showcase the team behind the comic book and the process of bringing such a character to the houses of millions of Kenyan youths all over the country.
As the team and characters celebrate one year since Shujaaz FM first hit the scene, this documentary seeks to show how creativity is the key to reaching youths through the mass media, and the strengths that the comic book mode combined with the multi-media approach has over other pedagogic methods.