Noticias

Exclusive:Screen can reveal a first look at Emily Atef’s English-language debut Call Me Queen, led by Eliane Umuhire and Denise Gough, withDominic West and Laurent Lafitte joining the international cast.

The production has wrapped filming in Nairobi, Kenya.

Adapted from Lara Santoro’s 2007 novel Mercy, the film depicts a friendship between an Irish journalist in Kenya and a Rwandan woman, who pair up to combat the AIDS crisis in the 1990s.

Alongside Rwandan-French actress Umuhire and Gough on the cast are Charlie Carrick, who is in Kristen Stewart’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title The Chronology Of Water, and...

Exclusive: Dominic West and Laurent Lafitte are among the international cast in Emily Atef’s English-language debut Call Me Queen, which has wrapped filming in Nairobi, Kenya.

Adapted from Lara Santoro’s 2007 novel Mercy, the film depicts a friendship between an Irish journalist in Kenya and a local woman from the slums, who pair up to combat the AIDS crisis in the 1990s.

Rwandan-French actress Eliane Umuhire and Denise Gough lead the cast, alongside Charlie Carrick, who is in Kristen Stewart’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title The Chronology Of Water, and Danny Sapani; plus Kenyan actors Michelle Tiren, Nice Githinj and Lwanda Jawar.

“60 sheep, eight camels, and 100 goats.” These words from the protagonist of Nawi: Dear Future Me, a Kenyan-German coming-of-age drama film that was Kenya’s entry for the best international feature film race at the 2025 Oscars, hit home. After all, the movie tells the story of a young African girl battling child marriage in hopes of an education and self-determination. The list of animals is the price a stranger is willing to pay for the young bride.

On Tuesday, the film, directed by the brothers Toby and Kevin Schmutzler, as well as Apuu Mourine and Vallentine Chelluget, from a script by Milcah Cherotich, is getting the spotlight at the 15th edition of the Beijing International Film Festival.

Nawi screens in the main competition section of the fest, which runs through April 26. Chinese actor-director Jiang Wen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Let the Bullets Fly) will serve as the head of the jury,...

Nawi begins with a quiet glimpse of childhood aspiration. The 13-year-old protagonist yearns to leave her rural Turkana home through learning. However, her father sells her into marriage, her value measured by a dowry of livestock—sixty sheep, six camels, and a hundred goats.

Set in northern Kenya, the film reveals the stark realities of child marriage, a practice deeply rooted in many patriarchal societies. While Nawi performs excellently academically, her aspirations are destroyed by an entrenched tradition that treats girls as tradable goods. The narrative explores a widespread problem, where women’s capabilities are frequently limited by societal constraints.

The film investigates how cultural traditions trap not only the oppressed but those who care for them. Nawi’s mother, while sympathetic, still perceives the marriage as unavoidable. This acquiescence represents a silent form of oppression—one that extends beyond individual experiences into the core of cultural practices.

The Heart...

Watching “Nawi,” two things become quickly evident. First, a wonderful lead performance carries the film. Michelle Lemuya Ikeny plays the eponymous character, a 13-year-old who yearns to go to high school but instead must face the patriarchal traditions of her community. She’s set to be married off for a substantial dowry in livestock. Second, the creative team of Toby Schmutzler, Kevin Schmutzler, Vallentine Chelluget and Apuu Mourine is so determined to make a salient point about child marriage that they deprive the film of its cinematic and entertainment value. In shifting focus to their political statement, the four co-directors fail to give their lead actor the showcase her strong performance demands.

Selected to represent Kenya at the Oscars, “Nawi” takes place in the rural region of Turkana in the northern part of the East African nation. It’s based on true events and begins with its steadfast and studious...