Margareth and Eric are lovers, but she is a Kikuyu and he is a Luo. These two largest tribes of Kenya are engaged in an ancient cultural and political conflict, one that seems to be the main obstacle standing in the way of their future together. Yet the real problem in their relationship is of a personal nature. Margareth is torn apart by an inner conflict. She is split between tradition and modern spirit, between emancipation and submission, between inner rebellion and the incapacity to act. Nairobi Love Story depicts the difficulties Margareth and Eric face in building a future together in a society that is dominated by traditions and religious restrictions.
Maria Weber (Austria) | Nairobi, Kenya | 2009 | 45 min | English, Swahili, Kikuyu and Luo spoken, English subtitles
You Are my Africa
Dutch premiere
For filmmaker Helmut Schulzeck from Germany, the word Africa has been synecdochal for Cape Town since he met a Kenyan woman there named Wangechi Njenga. She embodies his Africa. This ‘Black and White Love Story’ captures the filmmaker’s first trip to meet his in-laws in Kenya. How does the German-Kenyan married couple deal with all the minor conflicts and misunderstandings that everyday life in Kenya presents them with? And how do Africa and Europe react to them as a couple? This autobiographical film attempts to address mixed-race relationships at a very personal level – on location in Germany, Cape Town and the Kenyan highlands in the Laikipia District.
Helmut Schulzeck (Germany) | Kenya, Cape Town, Germany | 2007 | 79 min | German, English and Kikuyu spoken, English subtitles
