Rafiki

In Nairobi, Kena and Ziki, two young women who ought to keep away from each other because their fathers are rival candidates in the same election, become friends and then fall in love. Everything is seen in the neighbourhood and the gossip turns into violence quickly. Wanuri Kahiu adapted a story by Monica Arac de Nyeko. The visual language is deliberately bright, with pinks, blues and purples drawn from Nairobi's street aesthetic standing against the darkness of the subject. It was banned in Kenya for presenting homosexuality favourably; Kahiu went to court and the film was allowed to screen in the country for seven days only, so that it could qualify for an Oscar submission. It was the first Kenyan film shown at Cannes. Who it is for: viewers who like African cinema and queer love stories. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a happy ending.