Chinese TV series find a new voice in Africa
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E-mail China Daily, May 25, 2013
Actors from the continent in Beijing for dubbing sessions
When Mao Doudou and Her Sweet Days, a 36-episode light comedy about a modern Chinese couple and their relationship with each other's families, was dubbed in Swahili and broadcast in East African countries in 2011, Omar Ahmed, like many, became a big fan.
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Nastru Sani (right) and Abdullahi Kassim, both from Nigeria, dub a Chinese TV drama in Beijing. Zou Hong / China Daily |
"When we walk on the street and see a poster for the TV series, we can recall the names of the characters, such as Mao Doudou, the daughter-in-law. The series is really popular," the 29-year-old Tanzanian TV presenter said.
He never imagined that a year later he would be dubbing for a Chinese TV series, Jin's Happy Life, portraying the father of newly married Xiao Mi. He has to deal with her troubled family relationships.
Ahmed said: "I studied Chinese at college, which helped me win the job. Though I had never done dubbing before, I enjoy the TV series and can easily get myself into the character. It's crossing the cultural divide.
"You've got to create characters you wouldn't be able to create in any other medium. It's a new and exciting experience for me."
With 29 other voice actors from Africa, Ahmed is in Beijing busy dubbing for 10 Chinese TV series and 52 Chinese movies in a project managed by China Radio International.
Wang Gangjian, director of the Film and Television Dubbing Center at the radio station, said the center is in charge of the project, from translating to dubbing and post-producing the TV series and movies.
Two years ago, when Wang visited Tanzania, where Swahili is widely spoken, the cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy invited Wang to recommend a Chinese TV series to be dubbed in Swahili.
The initial plan was to dub and broadcast Ke Wang, or Yearning, which was widely popular in China in 1991.
"Ke Wang reflects ordinary Chinese people's lives more than 20 years ago, which were totally different from today's lives. So we decided to do another TV series, close to Chinese people today," Wang said. "That was when Mao Doudou and Her Sweet Days was sweeping China."
Thanks to the success of the series in Africa, more Chinese TV series and movies will be dubbed in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili and Hausa, for broadcast in Africa in the latter half of this year.
"With Chinese TV series being exported to other countries, international audiences will be able to understand more about China," Wang said.
Wang added that all the TV dramas being dubbed have been well received in China. They comprise mainly light-hearted comedies portraying modern Chinese people's family lives.
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