Wanuri Kahiu’s film 'From a Whisper' won an award at this year’s Pan African Film Festival and even closed the festival with an encore screening. The film, a sensitive drama about the impact of the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi won the festival’s Best Feature Narrative Award.This stunning narrative by Wanuri revolves on the one hand around a Kenyan family that was caught up in the bombing of the American Embassy by Al Qaeda terrorists - a daughter’s experience of the bombing. On the other hand, the movie focuses on Abu, a Muslim intelligence officer who is investigating the bombing. Abu has a complex and deep friendship with one of the terrorists. This film gives riveting and enriching insight into the complex narrative that is our life.
The 18th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival took place from February 10-17 in Los Angeles at the Culver Plaza Theatre. With the theme “Get Involved” this year had 135 films representing 36 countries, including 40 in competition, 64 feature length films, and 12 world premieres.
Ayuko Babu, PAFF’s Executive Director said the festival is different from other film fests because “In a Black festival, you can say this; many Black people came, different genders, classes, gay, straight, a whole cross-section. Also, there’s very little public space where African people can come together and hang out among themselves, check out other people and see what Nigerians, Cubans, Guatemalans, etc, are doing. It’s a chance to get different aspects of the African personality together. Non-Blacks get a whole new sense of what Black culture is.”
