Presented by the Goethe-Institut
Co-presented by the Toronto Black Film Festival
In 2008, Berlin director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas) started to invite African filmmakers to write and produce their own stories. A decade later, his project One Fine Day Films has mentored 1000 filmmakers from 21 African countries. GOETHE FILMS highlights 6 Kenyan-German features that have come out of these collaborations and have won awards from Los Angeles to Rotterdam.
A showcase of new directions.
Something Necessary (Germany, Kenya 2013, 85 min) by Judy Kibinge
Language: Swahili, with English subtitles
Nominated for the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago IFF 2013
Festivals 2013: TIFF, IFF Rotterdam, Shungu Namutitima International Film Festival (Zambia), Chicago IFF
SOMETHING NECESSARY is a film about the pivotal period in the life of Anne, a woman struggling to rebuild her life after the civil unrest that swept Kenya following the 2007 elections, claiming the life of her husband, the health of her son and leaving her isolated farm in ruins. Joseph, a troubled young gang member who participated in the countrywide violence, is drawn to Anne and her farm seemingly in search of redemption. Both he and Anne need something that only the other can give to allow them to shed the painful memories of their past and move on – but will either of them find it?
In 2017 director Judy Kibinge was invited to join the Oscar Academy and is now one of two Kenyans in the Academy jury.
“Aesthetically, the work seems to have paid off with Something Necessary, the visual texture of the film is not only stunning but refreshingly unfussy, with its simple, wide shots of barren countryside landscapes, its crowded and colorful scenes of city life.” – IndieWire
Judy Kibinge is a writer, producer and director born in Nairobi, Kenya. Her career in filmmaking benefited greatly from her background in advertising as Creative Director at McCann Erickson, one of East Africa’s largest advertising agencies. Despite never having attended a film school, Judy left advertising to become a filmmaker. Her documentaries have been nominated three times for Best Documentary at the African Academy Awards, with one winning best short documentary. Currently, Judy is setting up an East African Documentary Film Fund supported by the Ford Foundation which aims to play a transformative role in the documentary film industry of the region by holding training sessions, screenings and giving documentary film grants.
All GOETHE FILMS are open to audiences 18+
Part of the Goethe-Institut's focus on German film
