Lesbian film Rafiki has shattered box office records in Kenya – after a government ban was lifted for one week only.
The lesbian love story from director Wanuri Kahiu debuted to international acclaim at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but the film was banned in its home country after state censors took exception to the “homosexual” themes.
Under Academy Awards rules, submissions to the Best Foreign Language
Film category “must be first released in the country submitting it… and
be first publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a
commercial motion picture theater.”
The film is now again banned in the country, following the end of the
seven-day exemption – but in a final humiliation for state media
censors, it was revealed that the film dominated the country’s box
office in the period it was released.
Rafiki was the top performing film in Kenya for the week it was unbanned, edging out major Hollywood blockbusters The Nun and Night School.
The film grossed more than $33,000 in its week of release, with more than 6,500 tickets sold.
The start of the film was greeted by raucous applause at screenings,
while the crowds “laughed and booed” at the logo of the Kenya Film
Classification Board—the body that suppressed its release.
The re-imposed ban makes it an offence to even own a copy of the film in the country.
a lot of reviews i’ve seen of rafiki have given it a 3/5 and critics are calling it a sweet, simple, almost bubblegum-ish movie…. but like that’s the whole point of it? it’s meant to be a drama at its core, but bursting with joy, music and love.
we often take advantage in the west of the fact that we can portray the sexual, political and complicated aspects of lgbt life without it being censored, but in a country with militant homophobia and anti-gay laws, a portrayal of a lesbian romance in the modern day between two teenagers as sweet, and innocent is an incredibly brave stance to take.
rafiki is not as complex or heartbreaking or visceral as brokeback mountain, but it’s a powerful statement in and of itself to make a movie about lesbians that’s actually happy in tone for once. it’s something that larger studios here are still too scared to make lmao
you’re right and you should say it
Um also, two BLACK lesbians/sapphic women in a nice bubbly romance is practically unheard of in film, let’s not ignore the intersectionality here.
Most of the negative reviews on rafiki are that its cliche and the plot is nothing new, that its been done with brokeback mountain, carol etc and comparisons to movies like love simon, cmbyn lmao.. most of these critics are white so i’m not surprised. I personally am not expecting a perfect movie, given that its the director’s first feature film. What’s important is the context of the movie, in this case kenyan so it doesn’t matter that the west has seen these stories a thousand times already, plus the movie is primarily made for the Kenyan audience not for an international audience. The movie is opening doors for conversations regarding anti lgbt laws, it will have a bigger impact socially so its not about it being a cinematic masterpiece or being up to par with western lgbt films. I’m really excited about the positive representation it offers the kenyan and african lgbt community (at large) which is the reason its banned in the first place, also its really great to see african stories told by africans and for the world to see those stories, not the other way around which is the usual case of others creating our narratives and painting us negatively. The consistent positive reviews I have read were about the cinematography, soundtrack and there is a lot of rave about the chemistry between the actresses.. which for me will make up for all the other flaws.
Molly's Monsters 