Kenyan Film To Have UK Debut In Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s Brass Monkey bar will be hosting the first UK screening of Kenyan film Ni Sisi tonight at 6:30pm.

Ni Sisi (It Is Us) is the second film produced by S.A.F.E., a Kenyan NGO and UK charity that uses street theatre and community programmes to educate, inspire and deliver social change. Founded by Nick Reding, a British-born actor and filmmaker now living in Nairobi, S.A.F.E.’s work has had a considerable impact in issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, the importance of clean water, and the futility of tribal and gender based violence.

In an effort to avoid a repeat of the violence that followed the last General Election in Kenya in 2007, Ni Sisi was first produced as a stage play two years ago. Since then, more than 96,000 people have experienced the show and its messages of peace and personal responsibility. The play was adapted to the screen to ensure that people all over Kenya could hear these messages before going to the polls last month. Ni Sisi was released to cinemas across the country in February and broadcast on television the day before the election, and it seems to have worked; despite a contested ballot being taken to the Supreme Court, the people of Kenya have responded to the call for peace.

S.A.F.E.’s first film Ndoto Za Elibidi (Dreams) has so far won ten awards at various international festivals–including Best African Film at the 2011 Festival of African Cinema–and now you have the chance to see the movie that will undoubtedly win several more, and will raise the profile of this important group even further.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmhIPOigon0]

As well as the Brass Monkey screening on Sunday, Ni Sisi will also be shown at the home of one of S.A.F.E.’s local supporters on Monday and Tuesday evening at 7:30pm, at 48 St. Alban’s Road in Edinburgh. All three events are free and open to the public, but space will be limited so please RSVP to Francesca Shaw francescashaw@xenarcha.com stating which event you wish to go along to.

For more information on S.A.F.E. and the work they do, and to make an online donation, visit SAFEKenya.org.