ASHA
[10mins, HD, 2015]Asha is a Muslim name, meaning “Hope”.
Asha is a housemaid in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2014, after small explosions in the a suburb of Nairobi, the police mete out collective punishment on Somali Muslims.
Asha goes to work as usual. On her way home, she is stopped by the police for “having the wrong name”. She appeals to the policeman - once also a victim of collective punishment against the Kikuyu, meted out by the British in colonial times - in an attempt to forge a path out of the cycle of violence.
AWARDS
International Award for Outstanding Excellence, Festival of Peace, Equality and Inspiration, Jakarta, Indonesia 2015
- Award of Merit, Best Shorts Competition, San Diego, California, USA 2015
SELECTED SCREENINGS
- CLERMONT-FERRAND Short Film Festival, France: Regards d'Afrique Section
- RAINDANCE Film Festival, London, UK,
- MARFA Film Festival, Marfa, Texas
- JO"BURG Film Festival, Johannesburg, S. Africa
- VUES D'AFRIQUE, Montreal, Canada, April
CARAVANE DES CINEMAS D'AFRIQUE, Lyons, France
-VIENNA INDEPENDENT Film Festival, Vienna, Austria May
-ARUSHA African Film Festival
-Best Shorts Competition, California
-OUT OF AFRICA Film Festival, Nairobi, Kenya,
- Festival of Peace, Equality and Inspiration, Jakarta, Indonesia
- GOA Short Film Festival, India
- Africa Films, Trinidad & Tobago
Film initiative Köln, Germany
FUNDED BY
Santa Monica Artist Fellowship (administered by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Dept, Santa Monica, CA, USA)
CREDITS
Written & directed by Meena Nanji
Produced by Meena Nanji + Titus Maina
Starring Mumbi Kaigwa
Camera by King Muriuki
Editing by Bob Brooks + Connor Hurley
Music by Vivek Maddala