Memories of a Burning Tree

Just like the other film makers in the Forget Africa project, Sherman Ong had never previously been to Africa. His budget was also not higher than that of his colleagues. He did stay rather longer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, because he stretched his financial means to the limit, but that does not explain the fact that Ong was able to make a full-length feature in that short time, in a strange country and with such limited means.
The secret is in his approach. Previously, Ong showed in his film Hashi (2008), shot in Japan, that he was able to improvise a feature in a strange country where he doesn’t speak the language. Memories of a Burning Tree also came about in improvisations. Ong loves the approach of dancers and theatre makers who put together a show step-by-step. Here, all the performers were amateurs. Most had no acting experience at all. Ong’s answer to that is to rehearse calmly and patiently and to involve his actors in building up the story and situation.
The basis is simple. A man called Smith arrives in Dar es Salaam to sort out some affairs. He meets the tourist guide Link, who wants to help him. Gradually he needs more helpers, such as the grave digger Abdul and the scrap collector Toatoa. Each of them is searching in his own way.

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