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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nLike the best lesbian films, \u2018Rafiki\u2019 pays homage to the traditions of queer cinema in all of its glory, featuring strong women with agency in their own lives, as well as high entertainment value, and bold visuals. Think Park Chan-wook\u2019s erotic Korean thriller \u2018The Handmaiden\u2019 (2016), Dee Rees\u2019s film about first love and the coming-out of a young black lesbian, \u2018Pariah\u2019 (2011), and Spike Lee\u2019s \u2018She Hate Me\u2019 (2004) with Kerry Washington and Dania Ramirez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the integration of lesbians in all types of mainstream media such as film, prime-time television shows and Internet based web series,\u201d says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution, which is distributing the film in South Africa. \u201cThere\u2019s been a welcome evolution in the representation of lesbians on screen. Consider Charlize Theron as the degenerate Aileen Wuornos in 2003\u2019s \u2018Monster\u2019, versus her ball-busting feminist icon Lorraine Broughton in 2017\u2019s \u2018Atomic Blonde\u2019. \u2018Rafiki\u2019 is part of that new wave of lesbian cinema featuring powerful characters who make their own choices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 screened at over 150 film festivals worldwide and has won more than 20 awards. It\u2019s an important and brave film, coming from a country that recently upheld a law banning gay sex, keeping same sex relations punishable by up to 14 years in jail, and drawing strong criticism from the celebrities and activists around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Rafiki\u2019 was banned from cinemas in Kenya by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) for promoting same-sex relationships. Being banned from screening in its home country meant that it could not be submitted for Oscar consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category, as the Academy requires that all submissions be screened for at least seven days in their countries of origin. Writer-director Kahiu with a group of artists started a lawsuit against the government claiming damages; the high court agreed to temporarily lifting the ban for seven days to allow Kahiu to meet the requirements for submission. \u2018Rafiki\u2019 made $33 000 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, Brazil and upcoming in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kahiu and the group of artists continue to sue the government to have the film permanently unbanned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film is produced by South African Steven Markovitz, who has been producing fiction and documentaries for more than 20 years in countries throughout Africa. His fiction work has screened at Cannes, Berlinale, Toronto, Venice and Sundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu\u2019s film, \u2018Rafiki\u2019, opens in South Africa on 30 August 2019. Based on Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko\u2019s 2007 Caine Prize winning short story \u2018Jambula Tree\u2019, \u2018Rafiki\u2019 (\u2018friend\u2019) tells the story of a tender love that blossoms between two friends, Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva). They support one another to… Continue reading Acclaimed Lesbian Film Rafiki Releases At Local Cinemas on 30 August 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}