Rafiki

I just thought it was great, it held my attention all the way through, lack of budget and Hollywood stars wasn't an issue at all, I even since learnt one of the main characters never acted before in her life so that was a total shock to me.

The director did really well to seek out the right talent she needed for this movie, in a way I feel that is what makes this film even more authentic, real Africans telling their own stories.

It's a real shame Kenya banned the movie but the band was lifted for 7 days in thos 7 days it sold out completely.

I really do feel if this movie gets the support it deserves and maybe win some awards they will have no choice but to lift the ban in kenya and hopefully change some of their laws in regards to freedom of expression.

This "Rafiki" (Swahili for "friend") has nothing to do with the character from "The Lion King". It is about a friendship between two young women which eventually becomes a lesbian romance. The two girls are the daughters of two political rivals who are candidates in the same election, although not too much is made of this aspect of the story.

The story is a fairly slight one, and were this an American or European film I doubt if it would have attracted much attention. Except, of course, this is not an American or European film. It is a Kenyan film and the two young women, Kena and Ziki, are from Nairobi. As in many other African countries, homosexuality is both illegal and socially taboo in Kenya, so a film on this theme was unprecedented there. The Kenyan film industry seems to be in the position which the British and American film industries were in in 1961. This was the year which saw the first mainstream British film about same-sex love ("Victim", about male homosexuality) and the first American one ("The Children's Hour", about lesbianism).

It was therefore a brave move on the part of director Wanuri Kahiu to make this film. It was, predictably, banned by the Kenyan authorities, "due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law". What upset them was not just that the film dealt with lesbianism but also that it treated the subject in a positive way. After a lawsuit the High Court of Kenya temporarily lifted the ban, allowing the film to be screened in the country for a limited period of one week. (The hope was that this would allow it to be considered for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but in the event another film became Kenya's nomination for this award). Let us hope that films like this one will lead to a change in attitudes to homosexuality in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa. 7/10

I can see this quickly becoming a modern lesbian Romeo and Juliet story, and the more African films in the public eye the better.

Given the horrendous murders, beatings, discriminations against LGBTQ in many African countries & especially so in those where the Christian & Islamic influences are strong it was courageous for this production crew & actors to expose the hatred. Our lead actors had little to no acting experience & did a credible job. The only negative is that it didn't show how deadly serious this issue is.

Set in Kenya, Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva star here as Kena and Ziki respectively. The two young women fall in love and begin a lesbian relationship. Ironically, their fathers are each candidates in an upcoming local election.

However, in Kenya, gay relationships are not only forbidden but illegal as well. If Kena and Ziki naively thought that their families or the people in their small town would just let them be, they were sorely mistaken. When their relationship becomes public, things will take a very dark turn for all involved.

I thought this was a most poignant drama filled with rich and real characters. It also has extremely colorful cinematography. I'd be most interested in seeing the next film of co-writer and director Wanuri Kahiu.