Rafiki (film)

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Movie
German title Rafiki
Original title Rafiki
Country of production Kenya
original language English , Swahili
Publishing year 2018
length 82 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Wanuri Kahiu
script Wanuri Kahiu,
Jena Cato Bass
production Steven Markovitz
camera Christopher Wessels
cut Isabelle Dedieu
occupation

Rafiki (Eng. "Girlfriend") is a Kenyan film from 2018. Directed by Wanuri Kahiu , the film tells how two young women first build a friendship and then a love relationship despite resistance from their family and society. The film contributed to a discourse on homosexuality in Kenya and was the first Kenyan film to be shown at the Cannes International Film Festival .

action

Kena works in her father John Mwaura's small shop in Nairobi, while he wants to become a politician and is campaigning for it. Kena lives with her mother, who is separated from her father and speaks badly of her father. Kena starts flirting with Ziki, a neighborhood girl with brightly colored hair who is also the daughter of her father's political rival, the politician Peter Okemi. Kena and Ziki get to know each other, go on dates, and quickly grow closer. But they are afraid to show affection in public because homosexuality is illegal and socially stigmatized in Kenya.

Ziki's friends get jealous that their best friend is spending so much time with Kena, and they attack Kena. Ziki stands up for her and takes her home to take care of her wounds. Ziki's mother catches the two kissing. Ziki and Kena run away together, but are found and beaten up by angry people in the neighborhood. They are arrested and picked up by their fathers at the police station. Ziki is no longer allowed to see Kena and her parents send her to London. John, however, refuses to hold Kena responsible for what happened and to punish her, which also means the end of his election campaign and political career.

A few years later, Kena is a doctor in a hospital and hears that Ziki is back in Nairobi. Kena drives to her old neighborhood. The film ends exactly the moment they meet again.

Emergence

The film is inspired by the short story Jambula Tree by Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko , published in 2007 . Wahuri Kaniu decided to name the film “Rafiki”, which means “friend” or “boyfriend” in Swahili, because partners in same-sex relationships are often forced to introduce their partners as “friends” even if they are actually more as friends.

It took several years for the filmmakers to find funding for the film. While they originally wanted to receive funding from Kenya themselves, when they realized that this was not possible due to the subject matter of the film, they looked for co-production partners in Europe as well as funding in Lebanon and the USA.

Colors play an important role in the staging and setting of the film. The filmmakers wanted to show that Nairobi is a very colorful city. At the same time, scenes of intimacy between Kena and Ziki are kept in warm and delicate pastel colors, in contrast to the strong and garish color contrasts in the rest of the film. The color pink is prominent in the film to visualize that the film is filmed from a female point of view.

Rafiki was Samantha Mugatsia's first film as an actress. Kahiu spotted her at a party and asked her to audition for the role of Kena because she shared some characteristics with her. Sheila Munyiva , who played Ziki, on the other hand, had previous experience as a film actress.

publication

In Europe

The film had its world premiere on May 9, 2018 in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival .

In Germany, the film is distributed by Edition Salzgeber and had its theatrical release on January 31, 2019.

Ban in Kenya

Rafiki was banned in Kenya by the responsible Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) because of the positive portrayal of homosexuality and lesbian love in Kenya, although this is against the law. The committee asked the director to change the positive and hopeful ending. Kahiu refused to do anything that helped ban the film. The KFCB announced that people in possession of the film would be liable to prosecution. The ban on the film has been strongly condemned by international LGBT activists.

The director of the film, Wanuri Kahiu, filed a complaint in order to be able to show the film in Kenya and thus also to be eligible to be submitted as a Kenyan candidate for a nomination for " best foreign language film " at the 2019 Academy Awards . On September 21, 2018, the Kenyan Supreme Court ruled to lift the ban, which allowed the film to be shown in Kenya for at least seven days and thus meet the Oscar eligibility criteria. After the ban was lifted, the film was shown in sold out screenings in Nairobi. Despite the lifting of the ban, the film was not selected as a Kenyan entry for the Oscars, instead the film Supa Modo was submitted.

Awards

The film has been shown at numerous international film festivals and has won several awards. Samantha Mugatsia, for example, won the Actress Award at FESPACO 2019 in Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso , for her portrayal of Kena .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Release certificate for Rafiki . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 182589 / K). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. The 2018 Official Selection . In: Cannes . Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  3. Cannes Lineup Includes New Films From Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard . In: Variety . Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  4. a b Tarik Khaldi: Rafiki as seen by Wanuri Kahiu ( en ) In: Festival de Cannes 2019 . May 9, 2018. Accessed March 23, 2019.
  5. a b c d Redmond Bacon: “We Truly Love Our Country” - An Interview with 'Rafiki' Director Wanuri Kahiu ( en ) In: much ado about cinema . May 24, 2018. Accessed March 23, 2019.
  6. Dates Rafiki. In: Edition Salzgeber. Retrieved March 23, 2019 .
  7. KFCB on Twitter (en) . In: Twitter . Retrieved July 18, 2018. 
  8. Ban of Kenyan film over lesbianism criticized (en-UK) . In: Daily Nation . Retrieved May 3, 2018. 
  9. Kenya bans Rafiki ahead of Cannes debut over lesbian scenes . In: BBC News . Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. Mumbi Mutuko: Government Sued for Preventing Kenyan Movie From Winning Oscars . In: Kenyans . September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  11. High court lifts ban on lesbian themed movie 'Rafiki' . In: The Star (Kenya) . September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  12. ^ High Court lifts ban on controversial lesbian movie, dismisses moral police Ezekiel Mutua . In: Tuko . September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  13. Lesbian film Rafiki sells out after Kenyan court lifts ban . In: The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  14. Michael Musyoka: Supa Modo is Kenya's Submission to Oscars, Rafiki Loses Out . In: Kenyans.co.ke . September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  15. Christopher Vourlias: Kenya Picks Berlinale Crowd-Pleaser 'Supa Modo' as Its Oscar Hopeful . In: Variety . September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  16. Fespaco: Banned lesbian love story Rafiki wins award , BBC News. 3rd March 2019.