Discover Kenya through film
Until recently, due to the colonial and post-colonial context, productions filmed in Kenya were mainly made by foreigners. Despite their Western and therefore limited point of view, they allow us to discover certain aspects of the country's history. Among the best-known is Richard Brooks' Carnival of the Gods (1967), which tells the story of the friendship between two characters, a white man and a black man, in a country in transition to independence. Sydney Pollack's romantic drama Out of Africa (1985), starring Meryl Streep, tells the story of two European lovers and their ambiguous love for the continent at the dawn of the First World War. In the same vein, Nowhere in Africa, adapted from Stefanie Zweig's autobiographical novel, tells the story of a German Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution in interwar Germany and settling in the heart of the Kenyan savannah.
In a more recent genre, three French films offer an insight into life in rural Kenya. Pascal Plisson's Massaï, les guerriers de la pluie (2004) is an immersive tale of life in the bush alongside a Masai tribe. On the documentary side, Les Chroniques de l'Afrique sauvage (1995) introduces us to the wildlife of the bush in twelve comprehensive episodes. Finally, Umoja, le village interdit aux hommes (2008), directed by Jean Crousillac and Jean-Marc Sinclair, presents an autonomous refuge community created by Samburu women raped by British soldiers and then repudiated by their families. A fascinating matriarchal experiment that today welcomes all women in search of a new model of society.
A growing local production
The Riverwood Filmmakers association, which brings together almost 300 Kenyan producers and directors, supports the local industry, which competes with American, Indian and Nigerian films. Over a hundred "made in Kenya" films have been produced to date, on very modest budgets. The TV series market is also booming since the government imposed quotas for the broadcasting of local programs.
On the auteur cinema front, although access to production resources for young Kenyans remains difficult, an emerging cinema is gradually carving out a place for itself on the international scene. David Gitonga's Nairobi Half Life (2012), the first Kenyan film to be nominated for an Academy Award, is a prime example of this new generation of African filmmakers. This new generation of African cinema is also represented by director Wanuri Kahiu. Her latest film, Rafiki, - "friend" in Swahili - tells a love story between two young girls. Presented at Cannes in May 2018, it was a big hit with local audiences before being banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board as contrary to Kenyan mores.
Events committed to cinema throughout the year
Founded in 2011 in Nairobi, the Slum Film Festival celebrates fiction and documentary films shot in the slums. This international event showcases the expression and creativity of filmmakers from these neighborhoods, and brings cinema to areas that don't usually have access to it.
For younger audiences, the Lola Kenya Screen Festival has been showcasing children's films and/or films made by children and teenagers since 2005. This is where the talents of tomorrow's Kenyan cinema are spotted! The program includes short films and African productions, selected by the young people and rewarded with an audience prize. It's also a learning-by-doing program, including film production, film criticism, media education and more.
