Idris Sultan; The Celebration
While cyclone Jobo was trying to deter and instil fear in the hearts of fearless Tanzanians; "kwa ground", there was a celebration. Idris Sultan, a young Tanzanian creative, had just been featured in a Netflix film.
Preparations for screening were already underway, Tanzanians on Twitter (TOT) took charge to make sure that fans and supporters get to see the movie on 26th April, same day as the movie premiered on Netflix.
From the day Sultan's name appeared alongside his co-stars, I've seen nothing but positive comments. To most of us, details like how much screen time he may have in the movie didn't matter much and neither was what character he was playing.
For us, seeing one of our own in the big screen is a massive win already and knowing Sultan, his dreams and passion for acting, we are sure this is that stepping stone he needed to propel him to stardom.
Almost a decade back, Tanzania was just starting to get noticed in the international movie scene. The late Steven Charles Kanumba took it upon himself to elevate the craft, he got featured in a couple of Nollywood movies, invited some international film stars including Ramsey Nouah (who just happens to be a star in "SLAY", a Netflix film Idris Sultan features on); all that ended with him. Sultan's journey therefore, is a reminder for us to shoot for the stars again, it's exciting seeing him there and gives us hope to that maybe we are about to regain international prominence.
While celebrating Idris, I was reminded of our lives. How we fail to give ourselves a pat on the back just because someone else achieved more than us, how we belittle our own success in the eyes of what others have accomplished.
In life, we suffer and eventually become incredibly unhappy because we measure ourselves against others. Every time we take a step forward we take a peek at other's journey to see how far they have moved, if they've gone farther than us, we sulk.
Be reminded to look at your own progress and your loved ones, celebrate and clap for yourselves. Don't be too engulfed in what others have done, you can use it as an inspiration but it shouldn't take away your gratitude.
It didn't matter how many South Africans or Nigerians are in that movie, what we cared about is; TANZANIAN IS IN IT.
I hope we do the same and take note of our seemingly small wins.
While this is just the beginning for Idris, this journey isn't his alone, he is paving way for the the entire creative industry to get noticed.
It's a collective win that requires patience and hard work to climb to the summit.
See You at the Top.
