Kisumu Produced “Bangarang” Movie Awarded at the 43rd Durban International Film Festival for Best African Feature Film
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- August 2, 2022
The Odongo Robbie-produced film Bangarang has done it again after bagging an award at the recently ended Durban International Film Festival for Best African Feature Film.
BANGARANG is a film inspired by actual events of the Kenyan Post Election violence that led to the death of the six months old Baby Pendo.
Synopsis of Bangarang
Otile, a poor ‘bodaboda’ rider, is jobless ten years after graduating with a second-class honours degree in automotive engineering. When election violence erupts after the disputed Kenyan presidential elections, Otile leads other rioters in the streets of Kisumu. To him, this is the only opportunity he can vent his anger at the government’s bad leadership, which he holds responsible for his joblessness. On one fateful day, as he runs for his dear life from the anti-riot police, he finds himself inside Dan’s house. The police trace him and beat everyone in the house, including Dan’s six-month-old child, Baby Joy. And now Otile runs into exile from the fear of being falsely implicated by the police for Baby Joy’s death. Who killed Baby Joy?
Now celebrating its landmark 43rd year, this prestigious South African international film festival is a unique phenomenon on the African cultural calendar.
The Durban International Film Festival fulfils a facilitative function as a promoter of the film industry, creating networking and cultural exchange platforms. It was initiated as a safe space for intellectual and creative dialogue to start conversations that spark innovation and question the world we live in and the lenses through which history is portrayed during a time of conflict and extreme racial tensions. It continues to do so, tackling contemporary challenges through various initiatives and industry engagements.
The Durban International Film Festival is one of six festivals presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The other festivals are the Time of the Writer festival, the JOMBA! Dance festival, the Poetry Africa Festival, Cabaret and Beyond and Artfluence Human Rights festival.
