Rafiki (2019) directed by Wanuri Kahiu

OmU: English and Swahili with German subtitles, 83 mins

“Good Kenyan girls will be good Kenyan wives” – Kena learns early on what is expected of girls and women in her home country: to be good and to submit to the will of men. Her single mother is also blamed for her husband leaving her for a younger woman. But the self-confident Kena does not want to be told how to live. So she also becomes friends with the pretty Ziki, although their fathers are political competitors. The girls don’t really care about the gossip in the neighborhood at first. But when Kena and Ziki fall in love with each other, they have to make a choice: between the supposed security of hiding their love and the chance of their happiness together.

RAFIKI – the title means ‘friend’ in Swahili – is the first Kenyan film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival. In Kenya itself, where homosexuality is still a criminal offense, the film was initially banned, and this was only overturned after the director filed a lawsuit. Based on the award-winning short story “Jambula Tree” (2008) by Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko, RAFIKI tells the story of an African youth who resolutely rebel against homophobia, religious dogmas and the strictness of their parents. A rousing film that shines in radiant colors with a love of freedom and joie de vivre.

Source: www.salzgeber.de/rafiki 

*This film is being screened at a small group event, for non-commercial and non-profit purposes. Free entry, limited to 8 people.*