The Kenyan Film Director Taking On The World – With Positive Stories Of Black Life

IN A 2017 TED Talk, the Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu shared her mission to make what she called “Afrobubblegum” art. The aim is to contribute to a world where African audiences see themselves reflected in ways that capture a full range of human experiences. To go beyond agenda-driven single stories of war, famine and HIV that have characterised much storytelling about Africa.

Put simply, to tell stories where Africans are “loving and thriving and living … beautiful, vibrant lives” with the aim of creating among audiences a feeling that African lives are “worthy of more happiness”.

In 2018, Kahiu took Afrobubblegum’s aim and queered it in the form of Rafiki, a vibrant film that tells the story of two young Kenyan women who fall in love.

Same-sex sexual expression is prohibited in Kenya. The legal framework continues to deny the possibility of queer existence. In addition, government officials