Tristan McConnell in the Global Post:
Kenya's filmmakers are upending Hollywood tropes and giving the world a more complex view of their homeland.
More here
VEVE movie trailer from One Fine Day Films on Vimeo.
...Africa in the movies tends to be an exotic backdrop to one of three stories: white romance (Out of Africa, The African Queen), white heroism (Blood Diamond, The Constant Gardener, Tears of the Sun, The Ghost and the Darkness), or, occasionally, black heroism (Hotel Rwanda).
Hollywood’s Africa can be pretty or threatening, but always passive.
Now a generation of young Kenyan filmmakers are challenging the status quo, telling the stories they want to tell in high-quality feature length movies. The latest, Veve, had its Kenya premier last week before embarking on the independent film festival circuit.
Veve is a thriller about politics and khat, a mild herbal stimulant grown in Kenya, loved by Somalis and banned as a drug in the US and Europe. It’s ambitious, with an ensemble cast and a range of Kenyan locations.
