Author: Ciné Kenya

Skin bleaching and African women’s self-image

Ng’endo Mukii is an award-winning filmmaker whose work ranges from animations to documentaries. Born and raised in Kenya, she went on to study in the UK and the US.  Last year she graduated from the Royal College of Art in the UK, producing an acclaimed animation film Yellow Fever as part of her master’s thesis. In it she tackles the sensitive issue of skin bleaching and African women’s self-image using hand-drawn and computer animation, pixilation and live action.

Yellow Fever: TRAILER from Ng’endo Mukii on Vimeo.

The seven-minute film is based on observations from Mukii’s six-year-old niece, her personal experiences and history. The responses from her niece on the subject of skin colour and the privilege afforded to those with light or white complexions are very touching and insightful.

(Pic supplied)
(Pic: nmukiiwix.com)

Mukii explains the inspiration behind Yellow Fever: “I am interested in the concept of skin and race, in the ideas and theories sown into our flesh that change with the arc of time. I believe that skin and the body are often distorted into a topographical division between reality and illusion. The idea of beauty has become globalised, creating homogenous aspirations, and distorting people’s self-image across the planet. ​In my film I focus on African women’s self-image, through memories and interviews; using mixed media to describe this almost schizophrenic self-visualisation that I and many others have grown up with.”

Yellow Fever scooped the award for best animation at the Kenya International Film Festival in 2012 and the best short film award at this year’s Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. It will be screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival which starts on June 29.

Jonah: A story of legend, friendship and survival

JONAH from Factory Fifteen on Vimeo.

The Film4-backed short film Jonah, directed by Kibwe Tavares, is a stunning, ambitious hybrid of live action and animation that reveals the cost of human progress. It tells the story of Zanzibarian beach boy Mbwana, hungry for the future, who creates a myth that transforms his small town into a tourist hot spot. When the reality turns out to be far from his dreams, he sets out to destroy the town – or himself. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and played at Sundance London in April. Tavares’s blog on the making of Jonah is also worth checking out.

His To Keep

His To Keep is a short film by Kenyan filmmaker Amirah Tajdin. It is a story about a Kenyan man’s struggle to deal with painful memories of his and others’ resistance efforts to colonialism. When a phone call forces hurtful experiences to the fore, he realises that time does not necessarily heal all wounds. He remembers loved ones he lost and contemplates the meaning of such pain. The movie screened at the CinemAfrica Sweden festival earlier this year.

His To Keep Trailer from Amirah Tajdin on Vimeo.

My mother’s songs

My Mother’s Songs is set in an African landscape and examines inter-generational trauma. The film depicts a series of traumatic experiences through the eyes of several young women who are desperately trying to make sense of their existence. Tanzanian writer and director Erick Msumanje, who was recently awarded the highly-competitive Princess Grace Award for filmmaking, has indeed managed to “push the boundaries of cinematography, aesthetics, and storytelling” with his work.

A girl, 2 cats and a rocket

Afronauts, based on a true story, is an alternative retelling of the 1960s space race. Science teacher Edward Makuka Nkoloso has established a National Space Academy of Science, Space Research, and Astronomical Research in an old farmhouse outside of Lusaka. As America prepares to send Apollo 11 to the moon, he leads a ragtag group of exiles in the Zambian desert who are trying to beat America to the same destination. Their mission is to get 17-year-old Matha (who is pregnant) and two cats there first. There’s only one problem: the afronauts disappear without a trace.

The Zambian space odyssey inspired Spanish photojournalist Cristina de Middel‘s award-winning photo book, The Afronauts. Watch a slideshow of her images here.

Now filmmaker Frances Bodomo will bring Nkoloso and his team to our screens with her short film. It’s partly funded by a film grant and she created a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to cover production costs. More than $12 000 has been pledged. Her previous short film Boneshaker, starring Quvenzhané Wallis, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Supermodel and actress Diandra Forrest (you can see her in Kanye West’s music video, Power) will be playing Matha and prolific actress/director Yolonda Ross (HBO’s Treme, Yelling to the Sky and her own film Breaking Night) will star as Auntie Sunday.

 

AFRONAUTS TEASER from Frances Bodomo on Vimeo.