Watch Wanuri Kahiu talk about her Fight to bring “Rafiki” to Kenya – A Love Story between two Kenyan Women in a Society where Homosexuality is Banned

Filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu is talking about her fight to bring her latest movie “Rafiki” to Kenya.

“Rafiki” is a precarious love story between two young Kenyan women in a society where homosexuality is banned.

Fun, fierce and frivolous African art.” This is how director Wanuri Kahiu defines Afrobubblegum, her vision for the future of filmmaking on the African continent.

Her latest feature, which showed at Cannes, embodies this ethos perfectly. A love story between two young women (played by newcomers Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva) in a society that still bans homosexuality, Rafiki is saturated with joy, heartbreak, and a richly effervescent cinematography that showcases Kahiu’s native Nairobi in all its vibrancy. When Kena and Ziki first lock eyes, it’s a genuine coup de foudre despite the fact their families are political rivals. The young women grow close, but as they are not able to show their attraction in public — or even to their relatives and friends — they are forced to sneak small moments in private. Together they create their own world, vividly evoked through Kahiu’s filmic eye, where their love isn’t anything other than an expression of their commitment to each other. The space they create however, isn’t immune to the biases of the outside world.

Co-written with Jenna Bass and inspired by Monica Arac de Nyeko‘s story Jambula Tree, Rafiki is a celebration of love.

Watch Wanuri talk about the movie below.