ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa.

Why you should listen

Born in Nairobi, TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu is part of the new generation of African filmmakers. Her films have received international acclaim and have been screened in more than 100 film festivals around the world. To date, Kahiu has written and directed six films and is working on her second feature length film.

Kahiu's first feature film, From a Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan-African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance and went on to win best short film at Cannes and the silver at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Pumzi also earned Kahiu the Citta di Venezia 2010 award in Venice, Italy. She is currently in post production on her second feature film, Rafiki, as well as a feature length documentary Ger about UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany.

More profile about the speaker
Wanuri Kahiu | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Wanuri Kahiu: Fun, fierce and fantastical African art

Wanuri Kahiu: Sanaa maridadi ya Kiafrika inayochekesha na kushangaza.

Filmed:
894,360 views

Tumeshazoea hadithi za kutoka nje zikieleza Afrika kama sehemu ya vita, umasikini na uharibifu, anasema Wanuri Kahiu ambaye ni mwenza wa TED. Furaha ipo wapi? Anatambulisha "AfroBubbleGum" -- Sanaa ya Afrika ambayo inasisimua, yenye kufurahisha na isiyo na mjadala wa kisiasa. Kuwaza tena thamani ya mambo ambayo si makubwa. Kama anavyoelezea Kahiu kwa nini tunahitaji sanaa ambayo inagusa sehemu yote ya mapitio mwanadamu ili kuelezea hadithi za Afrika.
- Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

Mama yangu ni daktari wa watoto,
00:12
So, my mother'smama a pediatricianDaktari wa watoto,
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00:15
and when I was youngvijana,
she'dyeye d tell the craziestcraziest storieshadithi
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na nilipokuwa mdogo, alikuwa akisimulia hadithi za kusisimua
00:19
that combinedpamoja sciencesayansi
with her overactiveoveractive imaginationmawazo.
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zilizojumuisha sayansi na fikira zake zilizo hai kuliko kawaida.
00:23
One of the storieshadithi she told
was that if you eatkula a lot of saltchumvi,
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Moja ya hadithi alizonisimulia ni kuwa ukila chumvi nyingi,
00:27
all of the blooddamu rushesrushes up your legsmiguu,
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damu itapanda kutoka miguuni kwako,
00:31
throughkupitia your bodymwili,
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kupitia mwili wako wote,
00:32
and shootsshina out the topjuu of your headkichwa,
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na kutoka nje ya mwili juu ya kichwa chako,
00:34
killingkuua you instantlymara moja.
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na kukuua mara moja.
00:36
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
00:37
She calledaitwaye it "highjuu blooddamu pressureshinikizo."
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Aliita "shinikizo la damu"
00:39
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
00:41
This was my first experienceuzoefu
with sciencesayansi fictionfiction,
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Hii ilikuwa mara yangu ya kwanza kusikia hadithi ya sayansi ya kufikirika,
00:44
and I lovedkupendwa it.
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na niliipenda.
00:45
So when I startedilianza to writeandika
my ownmwenyewe sciencesayansi fictionfiction and fantasyfantasy,
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Kwa hiyo nilipoanza kuandika hadithi zangu mwenyewe za sayansi ya kufikirika,
00:49
I was surprisedkushangaa that it
was consideredkuchukuliwa un-AfricanUmoja wa Mataifa ya Afrika.
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Nilishangaa kwamba ilichukuliwa kama si Uafrika.
00:52
So naturallykawaida, I askedaliuliza, what is AfricanAfrika?
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Kwa uhalisia, niliuliza, Uafrika ni nini?
00:54
And this is what I know so farmbali:
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Na hili ndilo ninalojua kwa sasa:
00:57
AfricaAfrika is importantmuhimu.
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Afrika ni muhimu.
01:00
AfricaAfrika is the futurebaadaye.
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Afrika ndiyo kesho.
01:01
It is, thoughingawa.
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Ni kweli, ingawa.
01:03
And AfricaAfrika is a seriousmbaya placemahali
where only seriousmbaya things happenkutokea.
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Na Afrika ni sehemu makini ambapo vitu makini pekee hutokea.
01:07
So when I presentsasa my work somewheremahali fulani,
someonemtu will always askkuuliza,
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Kwa hiyo nikiwakilisha kazi yangu sehemu fulani, mtu fulani lazima atauliza,
01:12
"What's so importantmuhimu about it?
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"Ina umuhimu gani hasa?
01:14
How does it dealtoa with realhalisi AfricanAfrika issuesmambo
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Inashughulika vipi na matatizo halisi ya Kiafrika
01:17
like warvita, povertyumasikini, devastationuharibifu mkubwa or AIDSUKIMWI?"
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kama vita, umasikini, uharibifu au UKIMWI?"
01:22
And it doesn't.
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Na haishughuliki na hayo mambo.
01:24
My work is about NairobiNairobi poppop bandsbendi
that want to go to spacenafasi
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Kazi yangu ni kuhusu bendi ya muziki wa pop ambayo inataka kwenda anga la juu
01:29
or about seven-foot-tallsaba-mguu-mrefu robotsrobots
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au kuhusu roboti mwenye urefu wa futi saba
01:32
that fallkuanguka in love.
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ambaye anatokea kupenda.
01:34
It's nothing incrediblyincredibly importantmuhimu.
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Si vitu muhimu kwa kiasi kikubwa.
01:37
It's just funfuraha, fiercemkali and frivolouskijinga,
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Ni vitu vya kufurahisha, visivyo na umuhimu na vya kijinga,
01:41
as frivolouskijinga as bubbleBubble gumufizi --
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visivyo na umuhimu kama peremende --
01:43
"AfroBubbleGumAfroBubbleGum."
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"AfroBubbleGum"
01:46
So I'm not sayingkusema that
agendaajenda artsanaa isn't importantmuhimu;
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Si kwamba nasema kwamba mjadala wa sanaa sio muhimu;
01:49
I'm the chairpersonMwenyekiti of a charityupendo
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Mimi ni mwenyekiti wa mfuko wa kujitolea
01:52
that dealsmikataba with filmsfilamu and theaterssinema
that writeandika about HIVVVU and radicalizationradicalization
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ambao unashughulika na filamu na maigizo ambapo huandika kuhusu UKIMWI na msimamo mkali.
01:58
and femalekike genitalkijinsia mutilationuharibifu.
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na ukeketaji kwa wanawake.
02:01
It's vitalmuhimu and importantmuhimu artsanaa,
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Ni sanaa muhimu mno,
02:03
but it cannothaiwezi be the only artsanaa
that comesinakuja out of the continentbara.
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lakini si sanaa pekee inayotokea katika bara hili.
02:08
We have to tell more storieshadithi
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Tunatakiwa kusema hadithi zaidi
02:10
that are vibrantmahiri.
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ambazo ni za kutetemesha.
02:13
The dangerhatari of the singlemoja storyhadithi
is still beingkuwa realizedgundua.
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Hatari ya hadithi bado inatambulika.
02:18
And maybe it's because of the fundingfedha.
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Na pengine ni kwa sababu ya michango.
02:19
A lot of artsanaa is still dependenttegemezi
on developmentalmaendeleo aidmisaada.
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Aina nyingi za sanaa bado zinategemea misaada ya maendeleo.
02:23
So artsanaa becomesinakuwa a toolchombo for agendaajenda.
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Kwa hiyo sanaa inakuwa zana ya mjadala.
02:27
Or maybe it's because we'vetumekuwa only seenkuonekana
one imagepicha of ourselvessisi wenyewe for so long
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Au kwa sababu tumeona taswira moja tu ya sisi wenyewe kwa muda mrefu
02:32
that that's all we know how to createkuunda.
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na hiyo ndiyo pekee tunayoweza kutengeneza.
02:34
WhateverChochote the reasonsababu, we need a newmpya way,
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Kwa sababu yoyote ile, tunahitaji njia mpya,
02:38
and AfroBubbleGumAfroBubbleGum is one approachmbinu.
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na AfroBubbleGum ni moja ya njia.
02:40
It's the advocacyutetezi of artsanaa for art'sya sanaa sakekwa sababu.
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Ni mwakilishi wa sanaa kwa ajili ya sanaa.
02:44
It's the advocacyutetezi of artsanaa
that is not policy-driveninayotokana na sera
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Ni mwakilishi wa sanaa ambayo haiongozwi na sera
02:47
or agenda-driveninayotokana na ajenda
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au mjadala
02:49
or basedmsingi on educationelimu,
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au inayotegemea elimu,
02:51
just for the sakekwa sababu of imaginationmawazo:
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ni kwa ajili ya fikira:
02:54
AfroBubbleGumAfroBubbleGum artsanaa.
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Sanaa ya AfroBubbleGum.
02:56
And we can't all be AfroBubbleGumistsAfroBubbleGumists.
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Na hatuwezi wote kuwa watu wa AfroBubbleGum.
02:59
We have to judgehakimu our work
for its potentialuwezo povertyumasikini pornPorn pitfallsmitego.
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Tunatakiwa kutathmini kazi zetu kutokana mashimo ya kudhihirisha taswira ya umasikini.
03:03
We have to have testsvipimo
that are similarsawa to the BechdelBechdel testmtihani,
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Tunatakiwa kuwa na majaribio yanayorandana na jaribio la Bechdel,
03:09
and askkuuliza questionsmaswali like:
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na kuuliza maswali kama:
03:11
Are two or more AfricansWaafrika
in this piecekipande of fictionfiction healthyafya?
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Kuna waafrika wawili au zaidi wenye afya katika kipande hiki cha kufikirika?
03:17
Are those samesawa AfricansWaafrika financiallykifedha stableimara
and not in need of savingkuokoa?
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Waafrika haohao wapo imara kiuchumi na hawahitaji kuweka akiba?
03:23
Are they havingkuwa na funfuraha and enjoyingkufurahia life?
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Wanaburudika na kufurahia maisha?
03:26
And if we can answerjibu yes
to two or more of these questionsmaswali,
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Na kama tutajibu ndiyo mara mbili au zaidi katika maswali haya,
03:29
then surelyhakika we're AfroBubbleGumistsAfroBubbleGumists.
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basi kwa uhakika sisi ni AfroBubbleGumists.
03:32
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
03:33
(ApplauseMakofi)
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(Makofi)
03:38
And funfuraha is politicalkisiasa,
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Na furaha ni siasa,
03:40
because imaginefikiria if we have
imagesPicha of AfricansWaafrika who were vibrantmahiri
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kwa sababu fikiria kwamba tuna taswira ya waafrika ambao walikuwa wanasisimua
03:44
and lovingupendo and thrivingInayostawi
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na wenye upendo na uhimilivu
03:46
and livingwanaishi a beautifulnzuri, vibrantmahiri life.
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na wanaoishi maisha mazuri na ya kusisimua.
03:49
What would we think of ourselvessisi wenyewe then?
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Tungewaza nini kuhusu nafsi zetu?
03:51
Would we think that maybe
we're worthythamani of more happinessfuraha?
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Tungewaza labda tunastahili furaha zaidi?
03:54
Would we think of our sharedimeshirikiwa humanityubinadamu
throughkupitia our sharedimeshirikiwa joyfuraha?
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Tungewaza ubinadamu wetu tunaoshirikishana kupitia furaha tunayoshirikishana?
03:59
I think of these things when I createkuunda.
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Huwa ninawaza kuhusu hivi vitu ninapofanya utunzi.
04:01
I think of the people and the placesmaeneo
that give me immeasurablepimika joyfuraha,
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Ninawaza kuhusu watu na sehemu ambazo hunipa furaha isiyo na kipimo,
04:05
and I work to representkuwakilisha them.
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na ninafanya kazi kuwawakilisha.
04:07
And that's why I writeandika storieshadithi
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Na ndiyo maana ninaandika hadithi
04:08
about futuristicfuturistic girlswasichana that riskhatari
everything to savesalama plantsmimea
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kuhusu msichana anayewaza kesho ambaye anajihatarisha kwa kila namna ili kuokoa mimea
04:13
or to racembio camelsngamia
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au kufanya mbio za ngamia
04:15
or even just to dancengoma,
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au hata kucheza tu,
04:18
to honorheshima funfuraha,
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kwa ajili ya heshima ya furaha,
04:19
because my worldulimwengu is mostlyzaidi happyfuraha.
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kwa sababu dunia yangu huwa na furaha mara nyingi.
04:21
And I know happinessfuraha is a privilegeupendeleo
in this currentsasa splinteredkunathibitisha worldulimwengu
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Na ninajua furaha ni upendeleo katika dunia ya sasa iliyogawanyika.
04:25
where remainingiliyobaki hopefulmatumaini
requiresinahitaji diligencebidii.
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ambapo kubaki na matumaini kunahitaji bidii.
04:31
But maybe, if you joinkujiunga me
in creatingkujenga, curatingwakala and commissioningkuwaagiza
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Lakini labda, kama utaungana na mimi, kutengeneza, kuhariri na kutoa vibali kwa
04:36
more AfroBubbleGumAfroBubbleGum artsanaa,
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sanaa zaidi ya AfroBubbleGum,
04:38
there mightnguvu be hopetumaini
for a differenttofauti viewmtazamo of the worldulimwengu,
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kutakuwa na matumaini kwa mtazamo tofauti wa dunia,
04:41
a happyfuraha AfricaAfrika viewmtazamo
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mtazamo wa furaha wa Afrika
04:43
where childrenwatoto are strangelyajabu traumatizedwana matatizo
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ambapo watoto wanaweweseshwa kwa namna isiyojulikana
04:45
by theirwao mother'smama darkgiza sensehisia of humorucheshi,
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kutokana na ucheshi wa mama zao ambao ni wa kutisha,
04:47
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
04:48
but alsopia they're claimingkudai funfuraha,
fiercemkali and frivolouskijinga artsanaa
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Lakini pia ni sanaa inayochekesha, isiyo na umuhimu na ya kijinga
04:53
in the namejina of all things
unseriouslyunseriously AfricanAfrika.
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katika majina ya vitu vyote ambavyo ni vya Kiafrika.
04:58
Because we're AfroBubbleGumistsAfroBubbleGumists
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Kwa sababu sisi ni AfroBubbleGumists
05:00
and there's so manywengi more of us
than you can imaginefikiria.
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na tupo wengi sana kuliko unavyoweza kufikiria.
05:04
Thank you so much.
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Asante sana.
05:05
(ApplauseMakofi)
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(Makofi)
Translated by Nelson Simfukwe
Reviewed by Joachim Mangilima

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa.

Why you should listen

Born in Nairobi, TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu is part of the new generation of African filmmakers. Her films have received international acclaim and have been screened in more than 100 film festivals around the world. To date, Kahiu has written and directed six films and is working on her second feature length film.

Kahiu's first feature film, From a Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan-African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance and went on to win best short film at Cannes and the silver at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Pumzi also earned Kahiu the Citta di Venezia 2010 award in Venice, Italy. She is currently in post production on her second feature film, Rafiki, as well as a feature length documentary Ger about UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany.

More profile about the speaker
Wanuri Kahiu | Speaker | TED.com