Isaya en William
The documentary (and train journey) kicks off with Isaya, an elderly
Masai man who visits his grandson and musician William (also Van Velzen’s fixer) in the big city. They travel back to Isaya’s Masai region—the old man can’t get over how different and busy his grandson’s life is.
During the film, it also becomes painfully clear how prejudiced some of the other passengers are towards the Masai. Some even go so far as to say, quite literally, that the Masai are monkeys who belong in the jungle.
Rukia
One of the other characters is Rukia, an independent woman. The Kenyan explains the tough life she left behind in Kenya—she used to run her own bar in the middle of a male-dominated world, surrounded by desert and mines. She’s optimistic, with no time to sit and dwell on things. No matter how bleak her situation might seem, she has to keep going. She is determined and wants to start a new life in Tanzania.
Peter
Tanzania Transit's third character, Peter, is the only one of the three travelling first class. He was once quite the rascal—leading a rough life as the head of a large criminal gang until he saw the light and decided to turn his life around. Nowadays, he’s a self-proclaimed but prominent pastor, selling his books as he preaches his way through the train carriages. His services are rather dubious, bordering on the criminal: for a financial donation, he promises to help any needy passenger through the power of prayer.
Fly on the wall
You can tell it’s warm on the train.
Hakuna airco (there’s no air conditioning), but here and there, a few old fans hum away.
What’s striking is how you never hear Van Velzen speak. He’s a remarkably steady
fly on the wall, who, despite the train’s bumps and jolts, always keeps a sharp focus on his characters.
The 75 minutes slip by, and although it initially feels like you haven’t learned anything new, you eventually realise the opposite is true: simply by travelling along and listening to conversations,
Tanzania Transit gives you a glimpse into a small piece of Tanzania.
In this feature length documentary we follow Rukia, Peter and Isaya while embarking on a journey for three days and nights on a train crossing Tanzania. On the way they tell their life stories, which show their strength to survive. Rukia is an independent woman, who runs her own bar near the mines in the dessert, a brutal world dominated by men. The goal of her trip is to find a place where she can begin a new life. Isaya, an old Masai, sits in the poorest part of the train with his grandson William on his way back to his family in the “bush”. In the train they are confronted with prejudice their fellow passengers have towards Masai. Peter travels first class. Once he was a leader of a large gang, but now he is a powerful preacher who makes money by letting his (poor) followers pay for his dubious services.
