Stories of Our Lives is an anthology of five short films with LGBT themes from the East African republic of Kenya. It was made by the Nairobi-based art and activist group The Nest Collective, many of whose members prefer to conceal their identities to avoid possible persecution under Kenya’s notoriously draconian anti-gay laws. The film is still banned in it some country. The five dramas are mostly personal and domestic inspired by true incidents. ASK ME NICELY Kate, a rebellious young high school girl, meets first-love Faith, a fellow student. They begin a secret relationship, until the school principal takes action to separate the two by suspending Kate from the school. Back at home, Kate impulsively has a sexual encounter with a boy in her neighborhood. Two weeks later, Kate and Faith have an awkward reunion leading to their separation. RUN After negotiating a business deal, Patrick stumbles upon a local gay bar with his homophobic best friend, Kama. Patrick later returns to the clu...
ASK ME NICELY
Kate, a rebellious young high school girl, meets first-love Faith, a fellow student. They begin a secret relationship, until the school principal takes action to separate the two by suspending Kate from the school. Back at home, Kate impulsively has a sexual encounter with a boy in her neighborhood. Two weeks later, Kate and Faith have an awkward reunion leading to their separation.
RUN
After negotiating a business deal, Patrick stumbles upon a local gay bar with his homophobic best friend, Kama. Patrick later returns to the club for a night out, hoping no one will find out. But his friend does, leading to a violent confrontation, making Patrick run for his life.
ATHMAN
Farm workers Ray and Athman have been close friends for years. Athman is smitten a by a new girl Fiona making Ray jealous. They try to talk it tout with Athman reminding him that he is not gay. Thankfully their friendship sticks but Ray now has to make a difficult choice. Watch his love everyday with another person or move away and never see him again.
DUET
Jeff is waiting in a hotel room far away from home. He has been saving for months to fulfill his ultimate fantasy of having sex with a white guy. Finally, there is a knock at the door. He asks if they can talk a little before engaging in any physical activity. The two sit and have a conversation about inter-race relations, eventually leading them to finally doing it.
EACH NIGHT I DREAM
When local legislators threaten to enforce anti-gay laws, mobs gather to evict people suspected of being homosexuals. As tension in their neighborhood increases, Liz visualizes dramatic escape plans for herself and partner Achi.
Making impressive use of limited resources, Stories of Our Lives is clearly a passion project shot completely in black and white. A handful of the chapters feel too slight, and some of the unschooled performances feel a little stiff. All would have benefited from the extra breathing room afforded by the running time of a full-length feature. Even so, the makers have made a brave, beautiful, timely film, which boldly stands up for hope and love in the face of bigotry and bullying. (6/10)
Comments