BY Chioma Obii-Obioha, 1:00am December 19, 2011,

An African Filmmaker Makes History With Sci-Fi: Pumzi

I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure that I’ve never yet seen or heard about a futuristic sci-fi movie written and directed by an African. So, please excuse my extreme excitement as I introduce this movie and its insanely brilliant writer-director. Feel free to describe me as “biased” in addition to being overly excited when I say that the fact that the writer-director is a woman gives me unspeakable joy.

The writer-director is Wanuri Kahiu, multiple award-winner at the 5th African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2009 in the Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Original Soundtrack and AMAA Achievement in Editing Awards for her movie “From a Whisper.”

Her newest movie, Pumzi, was screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and met with rave reviews. The 20-minute short film tells the story of a young woman in post-apocalyptic Nairobi who leaves her underground highly technologically equipped city in search of life above ground when she receives soil samples that lead her to believe that life might thrive once again above the surface.

Since my words cannot do this trailer justice, here it is:

 

Last Edited by: Updated: March 25, 2016

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