Kenyan actor wins big in US film award

By Chris Wamalwa in USA

Kenyan leading film actor Oliver Litondo on Monday won the Best Actor award at the 11th Annual AARP movies award gala for his role in the movie The First Grader held in Beverly Hills, California.

This was sweet victory for Litondo who has worked so hard to get the movie recognised in spite of marketing and distribution challenges.

Actor Oliver Litondo and Former boxer Laila Ali speak onstage at AARP Magazine's 11th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 6, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. [Photo: Chris Wamalwa/ Standard]

Mr Litondo received an award in a category that included famous actors George Clooney, (The Descendants); Mel Gibson, (The Beaver); Gary Oldman, (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); and Kevin Spacey, (Margin Call).

Litondo shared the stage with legendary actors and directors such as Sharon Stone, (Lifetime Achievement Award), Martin Scorsese (receiving the Breakthrough Achievement Award for Hugo and Meryl Streep, (Best Grownup Love Story award on behalf of The Iron Lady).

Litondo’s win was a big surprise to the audience most of who had never heard of him or even seen the film.

"I’d dare say not a quarter of the people in that room had seen The First Grader, which slipped in and out of theaters virtually unnoticed last year, and is only now becoming available on video-on-demand and DVD," wrote AARP’s Bill Newcott.

Commenting on Litondo’s wins, Mr Newcott said all the audience had seen was a 50-second clip from the movie, of Litondo’s character, an illiterate Kenyan elder named Kimani Maruge, begging a first grade teacher (Naomi Harris) to teach him how to read.

"Yet so gripping was that little vignette, and so powerful was the realisation that Litondo had come all the way from Kenya to receive this award, that this packed ballroom of Hollywood’s elite couldn’t stay in their seats," he said.

Litondo was gracious and humble. His strongest words were a plea for filmmakers to come make movies in Kenya, where "our young people are educated but unemployed."

The short piece gripped the Hollywood royalty who immediately realised that Litondo traveled all the way from Kenya to accept the award. Litondo played the part of Murage, the 84-year-old man who enrolled in a remote Kenyan primary school so he could learn to read.

When it premiered in the US, The First Grader passed almost unnoticed. Very few Kenyans watched until it was shown on Home Box Office (HBO) an American premium cable television network. Though the drama was little known, the AARP editors gave it rave reviews and decided to consider it for the award.

"The First Grader was no box office giant, and aside from Naomi Harris, its cast was unknown to American audiences. It slipped in quietly among the films under consideration for our awards this year, and as our editors, one by one, watched The First Grader, the enthusiasm for it grew.

When we finally voted for our winners in early December, among the George Clooneys and the Gary Oldmans and the Kevin Spaceys, Litondo was as close to a unanimous choice as I’ve ever seen," said Newcott adding, "We’re gratified when we see our selections echoed by the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations; it’s always fun to run with the Big Boys.

"But even more satisfying when we discover something special; something that the rest of the entertainment world has somehow overlooked. How many more First Graders, and Oliver Litondos, are out there, just waiting for us to shine a spotlight on them?"