Short Animation by Stan Manthi
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 5 June for 8 June 2019)
Kenyans can be ever so proud to hear that two of their
Creatives have had their films selected to be shown during the upcoming
Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF).
The two
films, one a full-length feature, the other a short animation, were chosen out
of more than 3,500 entries received from 136 countries, practically the highest
number of entries received since the festival was launched more than two
decades ago.
Subira co-producers Vibeke Muasya and Sippy Chadha who also wrote & directed the film
The annual
film festival, which is in its 22nd year will run from July 6th-
14th on the Indian Ocean island across the bay from Dar es Salaam. ZIFF
has quickly come to rival its West African counterpart, FESPACO in Ouagadougou,
which also attracts audiences from all over the world.
This year
Subira, the award-winning feature film by Ravneet Sippy Chadha has been chosen
to open the Festival on July 6th.
“It’s a big
honor indeed,” says the woman who wrote, directed and co-produced the
semi-autobiographical film in which one of Kenya’s leading actresses, Brenda
Wairimu plays the lead character. The film will also be in competition for the
Golden Dhow in the feature film category.
Also honored
to have his film selected by ZIFF is Stanslaus Manthi whose nine-minute
animation, Caged, will also be in competition for the Golden Dhow, but in the
Best Short Film category.
Caged just
recently premiered in March at the 5th annual Mashariki African Film
Festival in Kigali, Rwanda. The animation follows the life of a depressed
middle-class Kenyan man who is trying to balance his work and personal life but
with little success.
Manthi says
his animation was inspired by events he has seen, especially among young
Kenyans who have felt intense pressure to ‘make it’ socially and financially. In
the process, they have overworked themselves to the point of feeling so
depressed they resort to substance abuse and in some cases, even suicide.
“My animation
was simply based on what I see in Kenyan society today,” says Manthi. “It’s
nothing personal; it’s just a slice of life.”
A scene from Caged by Stan Manthi
In contrast,
Sippy says Subira, which she co-produced with the Danish filmmaker Vibeke
Muasya, was very much inspired by her own life experiences. For she, like the
man in Manthi’s ‘Caged’ had felt trapped and confined by the patriarchal
culture in which she had been raised. Yet Subira makes the choice to break out
of her cultural constraints as did the filmmaker.
Subira
premiered in November last year at the Westgate Mall. At the opening, the
entire cast of Subira was on hand including Brenda Wairimu, Tirath Padam, Nice
Githinji, Ali Mwangola, Melvin Alusa and Abubaka Mwenda. A number of government
officials and foreign dignitaries also attended the premiere.
Since then,
Subira has won numerous film awards. At the last Kenyan Kalasha Awards for Film
and TV, it won for Best Feature Film, Best Director (Sippy Chadha), Best
Actress (Brenda Wairimu), Best Lighting (Sole Ogada) and Best Editing
(Roselidah Taabu and Terry Kelly). The film has also been shown at film
festivals in South Africa, Rwanda and Germany.
In the past,
four Kenyan films have won the prestigious Golden Dhow prize. There was Bob
Nyanja’s The Rugged Priest in 2011, Faras Cavallo’s Wazi? FM in 2015, Nick
Reding’s Watatu in 2016 and in 2018, Likarion Wainaina’s film Supa Modo won the
Golden Dhow.
Described as
the largest multi-disciplinary cultural festival in Africa, ZIFF is also known
as the Festival of the Dhow Countries.
As part of
the Nairobi Film Festival, Subira will be shown on Saturday, 8 June at
Prestige Plaza.
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