Pain of Nairobians inspires global film
Friday May 14 2021
By MARGARETTA WA GACHERU
Summary
‘Tales of the Accidental City’ had a short run in Nairobi before it had its world premiere in March this year at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Since then, this so-called ‘experimental’ tragicomedy has been invited for screenings in New York, Cannes, and Accra. And in July, it will be shown at the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.
‘Tales of the Accidental City’ had a short run in Nairobi before it had its world premiere in March this year at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
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Times are changing for LGBT Africans.
In Angola, being in a same-sex relationship is no longer a crime, thanks to a new law that has just come into force.
And yet, well-rooted prejudices mean that life for the LGBT community there won’t change overnight.
For long, LGBT Africans have struggled to come together and have their voices heard.
But social media has finally provided them with a space to do so.
In the first of two special episodes, we hear from Kevin Mwachiro, a journalist and queer activist in Kenya.
Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)
Wanuri Kahiu, the Kenyan film director taking on the world
17 Dec 2020
After the lifting of the ban, Rafiki was shown to packed cinemas in the Kenyan cities Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. (Image courtesy of Rafikimovie.com)
Queer worldmaking describes the many ways in which heterosexual social structures have been challenged with the aim of creating a more equitable world in which queer people might thrive.
For some years in Kenya, a number of artists, writers and scholars have been engaged in worldmaking processes. Artists such as Neo Musangi, for example, whose performance art challenges gender normativity. Writers like Kevin Mwachiro and the late Binvavanga Wainaina whose writings on their experiences of being gay have effectively, in the words of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
theory that a lot of the issues and discrimination that we face is based on our attitudes towards women. and so, straight men will then come at a comp gay man, because you re not a man, you re a woman, and we do not respect women. and, therefore, why would you want to be like this? anthony: much of the news concerning gay rights on this continent continues to be pretty grim. it should be pointed out that being gay is still illegal here. but in february of 2018, the kenyan national gay and lesbian rights commission filed suit to strike down sections of the laws that arguing, well, the obvious that they violate basic human rights. what happens next? well, a lot of people are holding their breath. kevin: and the fact that you were in court. people wearing bracelets with rainbow colors. i said in swahili my gays are in court. [ cheers ]
kevin mwachiro is a writer and journalist. kamau: so how free can you be? like, are there places in kenya where you could walk around holding hands with your partner? malcolm: you could try. kamau: are there places you can go where it s not an experiment? malcolm: no. i think at all points it s an experiment. anthony: well, so where s the threat from? where is it most dangerous? awuor: i think violence is like from homophobes. all of it is based around, like, desire of the penis. right, so if you see two women kiss, it s hot because you think you can get in there. kamau: oh, they re just one penis short. awuor: yeah, you know, they need me to help them out with the dick. but if you kawira: there s an abundance. [ laughter ] awuor: and the violence, like against lesbians, always comes in the part where like men realize, oh, they re not attracted to me. malcolm: i ve always had this