2018 has been a year of milestones for Kenyan filmmaker, writer and director Wanuri Kahiu. Her lesbian film Rafiki was Kenya’s first film to screen at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which was banned in her native country. For the movie to be eligible for the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film next year, Kahiu sued the Kenyan Government and the ban was temporarily lifted. In June, the filmmaker signing a mega-deal with foremost American film company The Gotham Group.
She was also among those enlisted into the hallowed Oscars Academy. Now, according to Deadline, Kahiu is set to direct her next project – a Los Angeles-set romance titled Covers for Working Title and Universal. There is not much else released about the movie except that it will take place within Los Angeles’ music scene. The only other interesting note about the film so far is that the script is from first-time screenwriter Flora Greeson.
Given the romantic arc of Rafiki, Kahiu is more than capable to helm Covers. Born in Nairobi, Kahiu is a part of a new generation of African storytellers receiving attention and international acclaim. Kahiu’s 2008 feature From a Whisper is based on the real events surrounding the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi for which she wrote the screenplay, won multiple awards at the Africa Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Her short sci-fi Pumzi, which she wrote and produced, is a haunting parable about a world without water. It screened at Sundance in 2010, won the Venice Film Festival’s Award of the City of Venice, and was named best short film at Cannes in 2010. We will bring you more updates as details for Covers gets released.
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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