RAFIKI

“Rafiki” (Kenya, 2018) by Wanuri Kahiu is set in a neighbourhood of Nairobi. Kena helps out at her father’s shop, rides a skateboard and wants to become a nurse. Ziki, with colourful braids and a loud circle of friends, is the daughter of her father’s rival – the two fathers are running against each other in the local election. Of all people, it is these two between whom a friendship, and then a love, develops that no one in the neighbourhood is allowed to see. Both have heard often enough that “good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives”. The neighbourhood watches closely, and the pastor preaches against it on Sundays.

Kahiu tells the story, based on Monica Arac de Nyeko’s short story “Jambula Tree”, in bold colours and with a strong pop sensibility. The film was banned in Kenya for its depiction of a lesbian love story; in Cannes it screened in 2018 as the first Kenyan film ever selected, in the Un Certain Regard section. It was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2018, in the Berlinale World Cinema Fund section; its image provided the festival’s poster motif.

Shown at the 2018 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2018 · Film Archive