Rafiki review – Touching tale of taboo love

By Peter Feldman

Kenyan filmmaking reaches a zenith of creativity with Wanuri Kahiu’s fascinating production Rafiki, her second feature film.

It explores the lesbian relationship between two tormented souls in a country where same sex is forbidden by law.

The film is a bold, honest and revealing account of two sensitive people searching for an identity and based on a 2007 Caine Prize winning short story, Jambula Tree, by Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko.

Rafiki focuses on Kena (Samantha Mugatsia), a lanky tomboy type, and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva), a more flamboyant individual with hair artfully twisted into colourful locks. These two teenagers are on the verge of experiencing true love for the first time, but it comes at a terrible price.

These friends turned lovers support one another in pursuit of their dreams, facing a conservative society where mounting family and political pressures take a heavy toll on their psyche.

What makes the story even more intriguing is that Kena’s father, a shopkeeper, and Ziki’s father, a more seasoned politician, are opposing candidates in the local municipal elections.

Mugatsia and Munyiva are both superb in their respective roles, producing touching scenes which will resonate with audiences. They are strong women who have to negotiate a minefield of extreme sexism, family expectations, malicious gossip and the homophobia of the Christian church.

One brutal scene, punctuated with vicious cruelty, brings home the harrowing dilemma faced by the gay community.

The film is not afraid to confront worrying issues facing Kenya and is sharply critical of the hypocrisies of Kenyan culture, so it’s not at all surprising to learn Rafiki was banned in that country.

Kahiu does an excellent job in capturing the vibe of Nairobi, and its colourful streetscapes, and her portrayal of young vivacious love owes something in its context to ground-breaking productions such as Romeo and Juliet, Spike Lee’s She Hates Me and the Oscar winner, Moonlight.

Simple and direct, Rafiki (which means friend), is a courageous cinematic enterprise that should be applauded for its unyielding stance.

The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival as part of the official selection. It has been screened at over 150 film festivals worldwide and has won more than 20 awards.

By being banned in Kenya by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFC), it meant that Rafiki could not be submitted for Oscar consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The Academy requires that all submissions be screened for at least seven days in their countries of origin.

Writer-director Wanuri Kahiu and a group of artists started a lawsuit against the government claiming damages and the high court agreed to temporarily lifting the ban for seven days to allow Kahiu to meet the requirements for submission.

Rafiki made $33 000 (about R500 000) in gross earnings in that week of release, making it the second highest grossing Kenyan film of all time. More than 6 500 people flocked to cinemas in Kenya and hundreds were turned away with theatres reaching full capacity.

The film has been released in cinemas across Europe, North America and Brazil.

Kahiu and the group of artists continue to sue the government to have the film permanently unbanned.