Questions for Mr. Friedrich Kluetsch, Director of the Documentary Film “A House of Wonders”

Your film and the accompanying book aim not just to spotlight figures like Sayyid Saeed bin Sultan, Hamad bin Muhammad Al-Marjabi (Tipu Tip), and Mubarak bin Ali Al-Hinawi, but to illustrate the profound cultural impact of Oman and the Arab world on East Africa. How effectively do you think the project captures the multifaceted cultural, economic, and political influences of Omanis in East Africa?

It would have been possible to list the numerous and diverse elements of exchange between East Africa and Oman without embedding them in the life stories of our protagonists. Yet our experience in filmmaking guided us to do so in order to stimulate historical interest on a personal level and to deepen the emotional bond to today’s audiences. While this concept of narrative framing through biographies might – from a purely scientific standpoint – appear as an unnecessary digression, learning theory has proven it to be as effective as it is sustainable.

You created an intriguing narrative by using the Palace of the House of Wonders as the central motif, breathing life into its halls and using its paintings as pivotal elements. What drove you to choose the House of Wonders, given the numerous other landmarks symbolizing Omani presence in Zanzibar and East Africa?

The House of Wonders in Stonetown, Zanzibar, is unmatched as an icon of Omani presence in East Africa. It combines African, Arabian, Indian and Western architectural elements in a singular building that exudes diversity, majesty, and modernity at the same me. It is a world famous landmark. It is an identity-forming monument for what is commonly known as the Swahili coast culture. It has become dilapidated by negligence and needs all of the attention it can get to assure its continued existence.

The Omani presence in East Africa spans centuries, yet you focused on the later period of this influence. What inspired you to concentrate on this particular era and these specific figures?

Relations between Oman and East Africa were made possible by the seasonal monsoon winds and date back to undocumented prehistory. First traces were left by Omani traders in Islamic times, which we do address with the Kilwa fatwas in epiode 1. Omani presence in East Africa grew to be permanent in the 17th century and afterwards as a result of the conﬂict with the Portuguese. This information is given when we discuss the Al Mazrui of Mombasa. But Omanis substantially shaping coastal culture in East Africa doesn’t begin before Sayyid Said bin Sultan and his founding of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. While we cover the relations between East Africa and Oman long before the establishment of the Sultanate, we chose protagonists that actively contributed to the exchange during the Sultanate’s existence. There are many more heroes of Omani presence in East Africa that would deserve media attention. Allow us to encourage our colleagues in Oman to continue with this endeavour.

The film and book appear to present a singular, polished perspective of the Omani presence in Zanzibar. Do you worry that this might compromise the credibility of the narrative by not subjecting it to critical scrutiny?

We greatly appreciate this question and the space it oﬀers us to respond. While we did our best to increase production value, e. maximize cinematic appearance and printing quality within the given budget limits, we wouldn’t want to call the results ‘polished’, but rather state-of-the-art. We wanted to deliver cultural assets that – with their historical accuracy, their narrative approach, and their artistic execution – try to match the signiﬁcance of the subject while fulﬁlling expectations regarding international quality standards. Critical scrutiny was applied in several stages of the project. First of all by commissioning a foreign and independent company to deliver an appraisal of Omani presence in East Africa. This procedure is regarded as best practice and compliant with the rules of good governance. A second stage of critical scrutiny was introduced by demanding the participation of a diverse network of African, Omani, and international experts in their respective ﬁelds of research, competence and skill. These experts include world famous academic scholars just as well as local craftsmen and knowledgeable witnesses to the exchange. Right now, months after the public premiere of the project, we are in the middle of a third stage of critical scrutiny, which is carried out by ﬁlm festival juries, media representatives, as well as international audiences including scholars not featured in our ﬁlms or the book. If there had been substantial objections regarding our approach, or criticism pointing at historical misjudgments in our narration, or simple scientiﬁc mistakes, we wouldn’t hesitate to share this with you. Our project has received numerous awards, book and ﬁlms are available in Arabic, English, and Kisuaheli versions and have already been presented to East African, Arabic and international readers and audiences. While this stage is not over by far, we are very conﬁdent about the validity and correctness of the messages conveyed by A HOUSE OF WONDERS.

Documentary films often explore various, sometimes conﬂicting viewpoints. Your film features several researchers, yet they seem to share a common perspective on many issues. How do you respond to this observation?

By choosing the protagonists for each episode and in following their footsteps you will necessarily adopt a certain perspective. This distinguishes a narrative approach from a journalistic one. Does this mean you are biased and taking sides – we wouldn’t say Your observation about seemingly redundant researcher statements is correct. Please allow us to give you a striking example from episode 2 to illustrate our method. To answer the question, whether Tippu Tip and his fellow Omani traders were usurpers or contributors, we went all the way to Eastern Congo, among other destinations, to ﬁnd out. On location, we met and spoke to a Belgian archaeologist, a catholic bishop, a local imam and a female Congolese activist. All of them attested to the civilizational contribution of Tippu Tip’s settlement in Kasongo in the 19th century. So this is the way we work. A conclusion is veriﬁed and objective, when it is conﬁrmed by diﬀerent sources.

In several scenes, there’s a stark contrast between the narrative and the visuals. For instance, Tipu Tip is portrayed as a transformative figure in the caravan trade, but the visuals show graphic scenes of violence. Was this contrast intentional to convey a deeper message?

From our side we can assure you that there is no deeper or hidden message Tippu Tip was certainly a transformative ﬁgure in the caravan trade. This transformation was achieved by his recognition of wants and needs, and his power of will to achieve his objections. We are giving the audience the full picture. Tippu Tip is, as are the other protagonists, a man of his time. Violence was part of it. What we can do is to ask, who shot ﬁrst. If the encounter with King Nsama in episode 2 is the scene you are referring to, then the answer is – as Tippu Tip’s biographer Stuart Laing states it – that we don’t know, who shot ﬁrst.

Could you elaborate on the contributions of the Omani team members who served as writers, translators, actors, and photographers? How did their involvement shape the project?

Our company is internationally known for its focus on dramatized documentary ﬁlms including the narrative approach mentioned above. The combination of high-class reenactment, documentary research and computer generated imagery is our trademark. To help develop these special skills in the Sultanate, the transfer of knowledge was an essential element of the project’s objectives. In fulﬁllment of this requirement Omani talent was involved in practically every stage and every department of the production. If we were successful in passing on our expertise – and available budgets allow – you will hopefully witness an increase in high-standard dramatized documentary executed by Omani artists in the near future.

Omani actors played major roles but were largely absent from minor roles. Did this aﬀect the film’s authenticity, and was it due to a lack of Omani talent or production constraints?

It is true that production constraints and budget limits did not allow us to cast every Omani role with an Omani. We had to prioritize the authenticity of location and scenery to the authenticity of supporting roles. Consequently, we did cast locals to play Omani roles based on appearance, many of them with Omani ancestry by the way.

A book accompanies the three-part film. Does this book serve as the primary source for the film’s content? Was it comprehensive enough to cover the extensive history and varied opinions on the Omani presence in East Africa, and what is its scientific and artistic significance?

Actually it was the other way around – the ﬁlms are the primary source for the book’s content. Structural choices were made for the ﬁlms and then applied to the book accordingly. This concerns the choice of protagonists as well as the allocation of the elements of exchange between East Africa and Oman that were to be mentioned in the diﬀerent episodes. There was a massive amount of research which went into this project, and decisions had to be made on what to eventually include in the ﬁlms. The book serves as a treasure vault for those ﬁnds that didn’t make into the ﬁlms for practical or artistic reasons. For those elements that are featured in the ﬁlms, the book is a vehicle to give additional information and to elaborate on details.

The book delves into the psyche of the Omani individual, exploring their urge to travel and interact with diﬀerent civilizations. Did the film succeed in highlighting this psychological drive that propelled Omanis to establish a parallel civilization in East Africa?

As your readers might not know, we had already produced a series of dramatized documentaries under the title of SONS OF SINBAD: on Abu Ubaydah and the Maritime Silk Route for instance, as well as on the famous Omani navigator Ahmed bin Majid. SONS OF SINBAD (coproduced with GUtech and available on Oman TV as well) thoroughly deals with the signiﬁcance of travel and trade in Omani history, and touches the issue of migration. In many ways our new series A HOUSE OF WONDERS is an extension of our previous work SONS OF SINBAD. Don’t miss it!

The book provides a rich account of Omani cultural presence in Zanzibar and East Africa, reﬂecting extensive research. How did you ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the historical narratives presented, especially when dealing with conﬂicting accounts?

To ensure authenticity and accuracy you will necessarily rely on the historical sources accessible in archives and through archaeological ﬁnds. Furthermore you will involve academic scholars as well as local From our experience, conﬂicting views rarely arise on facts, but usually on their interpretation. This is where ideology comes into play. How do you interpret Omani Presence in East Africa? Do you describe it as a migration, as we do, or will you call it a colonisation movement similiar to the ‘Scramble for Africa’ by European powers? There are valid criteria to determine what it was – power sharing, participation principles and diversity, value chain attributes, intermarriage, … to name a few. Our ﬁlms and the book are neither the ﬁrst nor singular in dealing with ‘Omani Presence in East Africa’. There is already an array of narratives to be found in text books, media, museums, exhibitions. A HOUSE OF WONDERS will complement these existing narratives. We kindly ask our audiences to accept our take on the subject as a worthy one to also consider.

From your perspective, how important is it to present Oman’s rich, millennia- old civilization through contemporary artistic and visual mediums? How does this enhance the understanding and appreciation of Omani history in today’s world?

Any visitor to the Sultanate of Oman today will experience a people accustomed to and comfortable with diversity. Guests will encounter a demeanor of empathy and attentiveness not limited by ideological boundaries. In our view, these social characteristics are unique. Whenever asked where these come from, we will emphasize that they can and should be considered as a result of Oman’s millenia-old interaction with the diverse world of the Indian Ocean.

In today’s cultural media landscape, there’s a noticeable shift from traditional formats to modern visual narratives. This trend encourages younger generations to engage deeply with cultural issues in a more thoughtful manner. How do you believe cinema, with its visual techniques, can portray history and culture to provoke intellectual interaction regarding questions of history and civilization? To what extent have your three films successfully depicted Oman’s historical presence in Zanzibar and East Africa in a manner that resonates with contemporary audiences?”

It is very true that the media landscape recently has experienced a rupture that substantially altered consumption routines especially among younger In full awareness of these trends, we deliberately decided to design and deliver the ﬁlms in a traditional manner – regarding narrative approach, duration, and distribution channels. This decision is based on empirical studies that conﬁrm the continued existence of a sense of values that prefers classical forms and formats for intellectually signiﬁcant topics. The challenge that remains is to reach contemporary audiences that are no longer using traditional media on a daily basis. We are addressing this challenge in several ways. For instance by submitting the ﬁlms to festivals to raise media attention. There have been and will be dedicated cinema screenings for school classes. We are preparing the ﬁlms for encyclopedic use with keywords by editing brief snippets centered around the elements of exchange between Oman and East Africa. These snippets can be viewed in vertical mode, which will facilitate distribution through social media channels. There will be a mobile cinema touring villages on Unguja and Pemba in the near future. We will promote educational use, maybe even through a joint textbook commission with partners from all sides. So – have we been successful in reaching our target audiences? I strongly believe that we had a very good start, but we will deﬁnitely need to continue our endeavours to reach our goals.