Creating a fictional civil war can be trickier than covering a real civil war. And I now have had experience doing both. The major factor in creating a fictional war for “Taking the Flak” is that Health & Safety is much more stringently observed. Hence filming in Kenya in January & February this year was ruled out. The tragic post-election violence in Kenya meant we had to postpone production.

A series of happy accidents, spurred by my years working and living in Tanzania, meant the new location of the fictional country of “Karibu”
moved to the Arusha area.
Tanzania Ahoy!

The environs of Arusha contain some of the most spectacular scenery on the African continent. Kilimanjaro beckons just down the road and in the other direction are the teeming game parks of Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and the rolling plains of the Serengeti. And a mere hop, skip and jump to Zanzibar. No worries about how to spend the rare days off ...

In Africa the sky is bigger, the sun brighter and the horizon goes on forever. Everyone lost their heart to the sheer beauty of our surroundings and the Tanzanian welcome to the team. Our guardian spirit was Mount Meru; the dramatic volcano that looks down on Arusha. Meru would change character from morning mists to startling clarity in the late afternoon light. And we loved all its moods.

But the Arusha area offered much more; a welcoming, warm place full of talent and the dozens of locations that the seven-part series of Flak required. Being only a 5 hour drive from Nairobi, our Kenyan cast & crew had an easy commute. And there was local Tanzanian acting talent as well. Our Tanzanian crew was drawn from the safari industry. The men and women who organise luxury tented safaris, expeditions up Kilimanjaro and four-wheel drive vehicles through remote areas didn’t blink at the complex logistics and precise timing that a film crew requires. Which meant we had a very happy shoot.

more to follow....