Winner takes it all

Film director Wanuri Kahiu’s From A Whisper trounced major productions from across the continent at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) bagging five awards, she talks to Shirley Genga.

Pulse: How would you describe yourself in three words?

Wanuri Kahiu: Creative. Earnest. Ummmmm? How can I say "in constant search of being a better servant to the Most High" in one word?

P: Which African director inspires you?

W: The late Sembene Ousmane was a remarkable storyteller who wrote passionate and poetic stories about Africans and he was always true to his ethnicity.

P: You received a number of awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in categories normally dominated by Nigerians how did this make you feel?

W: From A Whisper scooped the awards for Best Editing, Best Soundtrack, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture in the Africa Movie Academy Awards. The film had been nominated in 11 categories, Including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actors. The cast went to represent the film in Nigeria and met Danny Glover and Forrest Whittaker! Wow! I am honoured that the film received the recognition. It shows the amazing ability of the cast and crew.

P: There is word going round that someone is claiming that you stole his or her script and that this is the reason you never went for the awarding ceremony?

W: What? That is so funny… It’s the first time I’ve heard that. I’d like to meet these people. There is a Best Screenplay Award owed to them. Is Pumzi one of their films too? I am proud of my film. I am proud of my cast and my crew. We did well. I am humbled to represent it anywhere at anytime. I didn’t go to the award ceremony in Nigeria because the flight was cancelled and they couldn’t rebook my flight to get to the ceremony in time.

P: What do you think contributed to the success of your film From a Whisper?

W: We want to see films about ourselves. We want those films to be as good as the films we are used to. We want quality story telling. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be portrayed as any less than that. There is no reason why we should be portrayed any less than that.

P: What inspired you to explore the sensitive subject of terrorism with From A Whisper?

W: It’s important to remember our recent past however turbulent or sensitive. I was inspired to tell a story about people and not about statistics. I try to remember that every single person that makes up a statistic, a populace, has a life, has a breath and has a story to tell. In my films I work to honour the universal ‘us’.

P: What are some of the challenges of being filmmaker, now that you are involved with another project?

W: Being a filmmaker can be a very lonely adventure. The film community is at its infancy. Finding the right people to work with, people who will build with you and support you is difficult. My mission is to try and build a team of people that I can continuously work with in Kenya and on the continent. Finding people in the industry who believe in you despite past tribulations… well, let’s just say, I’m still looking.

P: Are there any challenges that you specifically face because you are a female moviemaker?

W: I face the same problems any woman faces in any professional position. Most times I look too young and I guess too female to be taken seriously. However, my father says that to earn respect you must give respect. I try to practice this.

P: Last year you filmed a documentary about the life of Wangari Maathai? What have you learnt from the project?

W: For Our Land is a documentary about my hero, Professor Wangari Maathai. It is part of the Great Africans Series on M-Net. For the universe to work in such a way that I make a film about her reminds me of that song in Sound of Music that says "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good". I must have! Because I got to meet and film the most courageous, focused, inspirational super hero I have ever met.

P: Tell us about you latest movie projects that you are involved in t?

W: I am so excited about my next film Pumzi. It is a futuristic film about East Africa in the future where there is no water. Everyone is forced to live inside the walls of a crater and recycle everything. The film is partially funded by The Changa Moto fund in Kenya, Goethe-Institut and Focus Features. One of the things that excites me is that I get to direct a film in which Focus Features is behind. They are my worldwide, favourite film company. I mean they produced Motor Cycle Diaries, The Pianist, and Burn After Reading… I mean, really…Wow.

P: What other film projects have you been involved with in the past?

W: My first Kenyan film was Ras Star. My first professional film was a behind the scenes documentary of Catch A Fire, a film about a South African freedom fighter directed by Phillip Noyce.

P: What do you look for when picking their cast for a movie?

W: I look for imagination when choosing a cast. Someone willing to take a journey in someone else’s shoes for a moment. When I meet the person at the audition I just know.

P: What makes a person a great film director?

W: A good director is a great storyteller.

P: When did you know without a doubt that you wanted to make movies?

W: When I was about 16, I walked into Raphael Tuju’s Ace Communications looking for something to keep me busy during the holidays and fell in love with the world of visual stories.

P: Do you think it is important to study film in university as opposed to just waking up one day and deciding to make a film with no knowledge whatsoever?

W: I tried to make all my free time about the industry. I interned anywhere and everywhere that would have me and I tried to make my Management Science degree to cater for the world I was going to be a part of. As for my Masters in Film from UCLA, that was a dream come true. It was truly special to eat, drink and breath film. I think there are many ways to peel a potato, and I know and respect many filmmakers who have never been to film school.

P: Are you seeing someone, if so what do you love about him?

W: Yes I am. I love the honesty of our relationship.

P: What qualities do you look for in a man?

W: Creative. Supportive. Spiritual. Loving. Kind. Funny…. I could send you my list. I made one. After watching The Secret. I know (gag)… How cheesy is that?

P: You used to stay in Nairobi what made you move to Mombasa?

W: I’ve always wanted to live in Mombasa. I am in love with the ocean. It is the one place that makes everything make sense. I thought it was time to live my dream before it was too late.

P: What would you advice someone who would love to be a movie director?

W: Filmmakers are storytellers. So they should write and tell stories about their own experience. They should write three pages a day.

W: I intend Pumzi to be my best short film ever. Then I intend to make an epic Mau Mau film.

P: How do you think Kenyan and the government can help you grow?

W: I think we Kenyans should all support our local artists. Be they filmmakers, visual artists, and musicians. Artists are the people who portray us to the outside and define us to ourselves. Artists are the eyes of a nation, a look into its soul.