“Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives,” but Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
Against all odds, Ziki and Kena fall in love in Nairobi. In doing so, they must deal with the scrutiny of their community as they come into their sexuality, and navigate the forces that refuse to recognize their relationship. Director Wanuri Kahiu celebrates queer existence in Kenya, while also acknowledging the oppressive realities of queerness. Rafiki, a word that also means ‘friend’ in Swahili, is seminal in the inquiry of queer lives in Africa. It sets the stage and establishes the language and required audacity for these stories as they continue to emerge.
Kika Memeh & Ogheneofegor Obuwoma, FOCUS Curators
Presented by
Samantha Mugatsia, Sheila Munyiva, Jimmi Gathu, Nini Wacera, Dennis Musyoka, Patricia Amira
Kenya
2018
In English and Swahili with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Tim Headington
Producer
Steven Markovitz
Screenwriter
Wanuri Kahiu, Jenna Bass
Cinematography
Christopher Wessels
Editor
Isabelle Dedieu
Production Design
Arya Lalloo
Wanuri Kahiu
Born in Nairobi, Wanuri is part of the new generation of African storytellers. Her stories and films have received international acclaim. Her films screened in numerous film festivals around the world. Rafiki (2018) is her second feature film and was the first Kenyan film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival. She is the co-founder of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a media company that supports, creates and commissions fun, fierce and frivolous African art.
Filmography: From a Whisper (2008); Pumzi (2009); Look Both Ways (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Another World
This hit anime from Hong Kong gives us an unpredictable, sometimes darkly karmic tale taking place on either side of the afterlife involving a headstrong princess with bad karma and the spirit guide who tries to help her get on a better path.
Alipato At Muog (Flying Embers & A Fortress)
Burgos' impassioned documentary about the military abduction of his brother Jonas, an activist and organizer, and the subsequent cover-up, recently became only the second doc to win the Filipino Academy Award for Best Film.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...
GoodFellas
The ultimate crash and burn movie, Scorsese's exhilarating gangster film is infused with the excitement of fast cash, girls, guns and drugs. Yet this brazenly amoral movie also captures the brutality, betrayal, and spiritual void of the criminal world.