In our eighth episode of The African Imaginary Podcast, host Khangi Khoza talks to Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu about her Kenyan roots, why she invented Afrobubblegum to reclaim African joy on screen, and how she took on her own government over a banned film.
Wanuri Kahiu is a Nairobi-based filmmaker and writer whose work receives global acclaim. Her award-winning film Rafiki was the first Kenyan movie to be invited to Cannes Film Festival and has since won multiple awards across the world. Kahiu is a cultural leader for the World Economic Forum, an advocate for freedom of expression, and an ‘Afrobubblegum’ activist – championing the need for the creation and curation of fun, fierce, and frivolous African art. Kahiu is a director for the Hulu series Washington Black (starring Sterling K. Brown), director of the Netflix film Look Both Ways, starring Lili Reinhart, and is attached to direct the musical Once on This Island for Disney.
