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Commentary
Discussing cellphone filmmaking in Africa
Tutorial
Character development with Oladipo Agboluaje
On Mark of Uru
A look at an inspiring Nigerian animation.
The Figurine unveiled
Kunle Afolyan looks deeper into the film.
Film Africa! 2011
African Screens celebrates this film training in Kenya.
Emelonye's latest film, The Mirror Boy
On his film and the 'New Nigerian Cinema'.
Photo courtesy of Wanuri Kahiu
Award winning filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu.
Actress Kundzani Moswela on set of Pumzi.
Following her critically acclaimed film ‘from a whisper’, Kenya’s multi award wining director, is back with a new film, Pumzi.
The world as we know it has come to an end, we are back at the cradle of mankind were a new beginning is taking shape, one devoid of the basics of today’s world, WATER!.
African Screens’ Don Omope speaks with Wanuri Kahiu about her new film, her quest to engage more with her Pan-Africanness and lots more.
Was Pumzi a conscious decision on your part to shoot a sci-fi film or was this necessitated by the script you had in hand?
I never actually had an interest in Sci-fi, Pumzi was written in two years and was a combination of many different conversations I had with people around me.
The first conversation was about a world were you had to buy fresh air. Another conversation was about the need for a virtual museum, a museum of virtual natural history were we will have stimulated images of nature because our relationship with our environment is not sustainable.
It was a series of different conversations with different people that came together as Pumzi.
There are subtle similarities between the 1976 film Logan’s Run and Pumzi, were you familiar with the works of film director Michael Anderson?
I have heard of the film by Michael Anderson but have never seen it, I tend to get a lot questions saying sci-fi isn’t an African film genre, so when I was creating this film I stayed away from watching sci-fi films not to be influenced wrongly by such films because I wanted this sci-fi to be a uniquely African experience.
How did you go about researching your film?
I knew specifically what I wanted to achieve and I watched fantasy films to see how their sets are built because they have beautiful sets. When I write I do visual research at the same time.
I believe in sharing my ideas, so when I write I speak to people around me, telling them this is the idea I am doing and they are usually very resourceful, sharing ideas with me and pointing me in directions of things I might not have been aware of, but are very useful to the formation of my idea.
You have come a long way from your university film ‘Ama’s Mama’, then you shot ‘Ras Star’ and went on to direct the multi-award wining ‘From a whisper’ and now we have ‘Pumzi’ - what would you say is your approach and perhaps philosophy as a visual story teller?
This is very tied in with my identity; I have to chose very carefully which type of films I make, because it’s very difficult to make films in this part of the world.
I have to be very careful about our representation of Africa because there are many old stereotypes still around, we have to show a different image of Africa, a new Africa people can relate to, I don’t see this as a choice I see it as mandatory.
We show an image Africans can identify with; stylistically sometimes my films choose me I don’t choose them. And within these films I have to find a permanence that resonates with me, and one thing I continue to work with is the idea of belonging… and this resonates across my films.
I use my experience to explain the experiences of others and I feel more often than not we Africans are often looking for a sense of identity, belonging, a sense of place.
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Director of Pumzi, Wanuri Kahiu and lead actress, Kundzani Moswela on set.
Interview by Don Omope | Photos courtesy of Wanuri Kahiu
“Pumzi is my Anger, my anger at the way we live as people”
