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"We are headed to the big leagues!" Disney has revealed a trailer for a new animated anthology series, in the same vein as their Star Wars: Visions collections. Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire features ten stories from Africa that are aiming "to ignite the world." The selection of animated shorts follow a set of characters through a dystopian future, in some cases through time travel, other worlds and alien beings, all through the lens of African culture. This is cool. Featuring segments with the titles "Stardust," "Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer," "Hatima," "Enkai," "Moremi," "Surf Sangoma," "Mukudzei," "First Totem Problems," "Herderboy," and "You Give Me Heart". Animated by Triggerfish based in Cape Town. With the voices of Florence Kasumba, Kehinde Bankole, Pearl Thusi, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sheila Munyiva, Stycie Waweru, Candice Modiselle, Lillian Dube, Clementine Mosimane, Mandisa Nduna, Tumi Morake, Sne Dladla, Tyson Ngubeni, Nasty C, Gigi Lamayne. Damn all of these look good!

by Murtada Elfadl

Rafiki is the second feature film from Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu. It made its debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, to critical acclaim. Initially banned in Kenya for its positive portrayal of queer romance, Rafiki won a landmark supreme court case chipping away at Kenyan anti-lgbt legislation. It tells a sweet hopeful love story between two women Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva), who meet and fall in love as they are waiting to hear the results of their university entrance exams. Set in Nairobi and bursting with the colorful street style and music of the city’s vibrant youth scene, Rafiki is tender, cheerful despite the challenges for acceptance that its characters face from their families and society at large. Accordng to the film's press notes, Rafiki means friend in Swahili, and often when Kenyans of the...

There are a lot of reasons why “Rafiki,” which played in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last spring, is a significant movie. It’s the first Kenyan film ever to make Cannes’ main selection, for one thing. It is a rare same-sex romance to come out of Africa, where intolerance for homosexuality runs strong (and has been encouraged by religious-right westerners). And it was banned in its home country in the weeks before Cannes, making its international exposure even more important.

None of this has anything to do with the quality of the film — but it gives Cannes viewers reasons to give “Rafiki” the benefit of the doubt, which its premiere audience at the Salle Debussy did. Second-time director Wanuri Kahiu, one of a larger-than-usual contingent of female directors in the main selection, has crafted a modest, at times striking drama that is perhaps more...

Some will dismiss Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki as derivative simply because they refuse to see what makes it so special. They’ll mention its Romeo and Juliet parallel as far as having the children of opposing political candidates fall in love. They’ll compare it to generic love stories—and generic gay love stories—because that’s what it is at its core. And when the subject of prejudice and violence towards these young lovers arises, they won’t shy from deeming it already treaded territory. What such reductive takes ignore, however, is that this isn’t just a gay love story between two women who should be diametrically opposed to one another due to their fathers’ ambitions. The fact it takes place and was shot in Nairobi, Kenya makes it so much more.

This truth isn’t reliant on the political ramifications spawned upon its Cannes release either—although...

"I've seen how you look at me." Film Movement has released an official Us trailer for the acclaimed indie drama Rafiki, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year and received quite a bit of attention as the first film from Kenya to ever play in the festival. From writer/director Wanuri Kahiu, the film is about a romance between two young girls in Kenya, still considered a taboo and choice that likely may lead to violence. Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva star as the two leads, named Kena and Ziki, and the full cast includes Neville Misati, Nice Githinji, Charlie Karumi, Muthoni Gathecha, and Vitalis Waweru. This received mixed reviews out of Cannes (here's mine), as it's a bit conventional and cliche, but has some incredibly colorful style and it's an important milestone for Kenyan cinema. Check this out below. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Wanuri Kahiu's Rafiki,...

Over the last decade, American film and TV has made great strides towards better representing Lgbtq characters and stories. From “Moonlight” to “The Favourite” to “Love, Simon,” there has never been such a wide array of critically beloved and commercially viable queer films. It would be easy to forget that homophobia still exists in many parts of the world, but international cinema can offer a vital window into queer lives across the globe. No film more embodies this reality than the tender teen romance “Rafiki,” the sophomore feature from Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu.

“Rafiki” first made headlines after its 2018 Cannes Film Festival debut for being the first Kenyan film to attend the festival. Despite this honor, the Kenyan Film Board originally disavowed the film, banning the film from playing Kenyan theaters. But since a film must have a theatrical run in its home country in order to qualify for the Oscars,...

The 17th Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30 – Dec 08) has set a jury comprising Suspiria star Dakota Johnson, Indian actress Ileana D’Cruz (Barfi!), Lebanese filmmaker and visual artist Joana Hadjithomas (I Want To See), Brit director Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin), Moroccan director Tala Hadid (House In The Fields), French director Laurent Cantet (The Class), German actor Daniel Brühl (Rush) and Mexican director Michel Franco (April’s Daughter). As previously revealed, director James Gray will serve as jury president.

A total of 80 films will unspool at the festival, with Julian Schnabel’s Van Gogh biopic At Eternity’s Gate among gala screenings and also the festival’s opener. Other galas include Roma, Green Book and Capernaum while special screenings include Wildlife, Her Smell and Birds Of Passage. The official competition, galas and special screenings are listed below.

The festival will also feature tributes to Robert DeNiro, Robin Wright,...

Kenya’s High Court has temporarily lifted the ban of Wanuri Kahiu’s celebrated film Rafiki for a period of seven days, beginning Sunday, September 23rd. The film explores Lgbtq issues in a country where such activity is illegal.

In her ruling, High Court Judge Wilfrida Okwany said, ‘’I am not convinced that Kenya is such a weak society that its moral foundation will be shaken by seeing such a film.’’

Earlier this year, Rafiki was banned in Kenya a few days before its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it made history as the first Kenyan film selected for the festival.

The High Court granted the temporary lift on the ban to allow Rafiki to have a seven-day Oscar qualifying run in Kenyan cinemas. After that period, the film will be banned again. Writer/Director Wanuri Kahiu will continue to challenge the banning through the courts.

Rafiki...

In a windfall for Lgbt rights in Kenya, the country’s High Court announced Friday a temporary lift on “Rafiki,” a lesbian film from filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. “Rafiki” debuted in the Un Certain Regard section, and follows a forbidden romance between two teenage girls who must contend with their families and conservative society. Prior to its Cannes debut, the Kenya Film Classification Board banned “Rafiki” from playing in Kenya, alleging that the film “promotes lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law.”

The High Court’s ruling, made by Justice Wilfrida Okwany, has temporarily lifted the restricted status for seven days to be screened for “willing adults.” According to BuzzFeed, Okwany said in her ruling: “I am not convinced that Kenya is such a weak society that its moral foundation will be shaken by seeing such a film.” She also cited Kenyan...

At a time when Greg Berlanti’s “Love, Simon” is belatedly bringing the subject of adolescent homosexual desire to the mall-movie crowd, along comes “Rafiki” to remind us that Lgbt narratives in the mainstream are not to be taken for granted. Many international viewers would identify nothing especially subversive in Kenyan writer-director Wanuri Kahiu’s pure-hearted, candy-colored tale of first love blooming between two teenage girls in the rough streets of Nairobi. Yet at home, where homosexuality remains a criminal offense, “Rafiki” has been slapped with a ban for its positive representation — a state of affairs that makes this lively, brightly performed film impossible not to celebrate, even as its decidedly conventional script skimps on richer dramatic opportunities.

Even without the sympathetic controversy engendered by the ban, this Cannes Un Certain Regard entry would be a shoo-in for the Lgbt festival circuit and distribution market, in which African queer films...

In “Rafiki,” a pair of young women in a small town fall in love, then face the repercussions of an oppressive community unwilling to permit their romance. The star-crossed plight of Kena (Samantha Muatsia) and Zika (Sheila Munyiva) is familiar, but it’s never been done in Kenya, and that imbues this slight, endearing feature with a progressive context. Banned in its native country ahead of its Cannes premiere, Wanuri Kahiu’s sophomore feature is just good enough to give its modest intentions a historic purpose, bringing fresh context to an old formula while hitting the expected emotional beats.

At a concise 82 minutes, “Rafiki” uses a traditional narrative to play up the textures of its setting. Based on the short story “Jambala Tree,” the movie lingers in the small, dusty village where Kena, a genial woman with a determined gaze, cruises around town on her skateboard. She spends most of...