Bingu movie in Kenya
A Malawian film on the late president Bingu wa Mutharika’s regime will share the spotlight with some of the continent’s finest at Kenya International Film Festival (Kiff), which started on Wednesday.
According to film director Ezaius Mkandawire, the hour-long Malawi Awakening caught the attention of the organisers during his trip to the film-makers’ training organised by the European Social Documentary (EsoDoc) early this year.
“All participants presented some of their works. When I did mine, Kenyan Film Commission chief executive officer [Charles Asiba], who runs the festival, invited me for a talk and expressed interest for the film to screen during the 7th edition of Kiff,” said Mkandawire.
Asiba said the film got recognition because it represents this year’s theme: Governance and human rights in Africa.
“It gives life to the events that are unforgettable in modern Malawi. It may not be as big as what happens in other countries in terms of the casualty levels, but the impact on the country’s psyche is ever great,” said Asiba.
The revolutionary film premiered at the Protest Arts International Festival in Zimbabwe last year. Among other things, it mirrors the deteriorating human rights and governance record of Mutharika’s seven-year-old regime, critiquing the July 20 2012 anti-government protests in which 20 people died.
Mkandawire said Malawi Awakening is an expression of the film-maker as well as the characters—the deceased leader who will be burried on Monday and human rights activists.
Inspired by national protests
However, the budding film producer, who is also vice- president for the Film Association of Malawi, said the film was inspired by the gravity of the nationwide protests.
Mkandawire expressed optimism about his film’s success whose national release is expected later in the year. He, however, ruled out the possibility of releasing it for the market, arguing it is always difficult for him to try and make money out of people’s misfortune
The film festival is expected to end Saturday.
