Kenya made its presence felt during the 90th Oscar awards ceremony which was held on Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood despite failing to win an award.
A sole entry from the country, Watu Wote, had been nominated for the Best Short Film (Live Action) award but the prize went to The Silent Child, a film set in rural England about the life of a deaf four-year-old girl.
Watu Wote was based on a true story concerning a tragic event where Muslim passengers in a bus shielded non-muslim travellers from an attack by Al-Shabaab terrorists as they were travelling to Mandera from Nairobi in December 2015. The Kenyan Oscar entry was also battling it out with DeKalb Elementary, The Eleven O’Clock and My Nephew Emmett.
It was not a total loss for the country since the mere nomination confirmed the strides made in quality film production and world class talent.
CREW
The film’s production crew comprised young Kenyans who are alumni of the Africa Digital Media Institute based in Nairobi, in conjunction with a crew from the Hamburg Media School in Germany. Its cast are Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahad Ahmed, Abdiwali Farrah, Charlie Karumi, Gerald Langiri, Justin Mirichii, Saada Mohammed, Douglas Muigai and Adelyne Wairimu.
Besides the film, Kenya’s superstar Lupita Nyong’o did not let down her roots, as usual.
The dazzling Black Panther star made an appearance on stage alongside Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani, to award the Best Production Design. While making a case for immigrants, she received wild applause when she announced that “I’m from Kenya”. The cheers seemingly caught Kumail by surprise as he exclaimed: “Kenya’s in the house?” to more cheers and laughter.
“Like everyone in this room and everyone watching at home, we are dreamers. We grew up dreaming of one day working in the movies. Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood and dreams are the foundation of America,” she said.
The biggest surprise was retired basketball superstar Kobe Bryant’s win for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball.
His critics slammed the organisers for ignoring sexual harassment claims against him.