The much anticipated local flick Nairobi Half Life will most likely come to a screen near you towards the end of next month, according to one of the writers Serah Mwihaki.
Mwihaki says the film, which was written and shot in 2010, will travel to Durban before it comes to back Nairobi and hits the cinemas here.
“We don’t know the venue yet, but we’re planning for a late August launch. First, part of our team is going to Durban for the International Film festival there, where the film will be debuted,” she told Capital Lifestyle.
The team behind the film includes director David Tosh Gitonga, writers Serah Mwihaki, Charles “Potash” Matathia, Samuel Munene and Billy Kahora, producers Sarika Hemi Lakhani, Tom Tykwer, Ginger Wilson, Marie Steinmann, and Guy Wilson.
And here’s the synopsis: a young man (Mwas) aspiring to be an actor leaves the village for Nairobi to pursue his dream. He is quickly acquainted to the term ‘Nairoberry’ and loses all his belongings one day one. As he tries to get back on his feet with a little help from some crooked friends, he is drawn into the irresistible world of crime. Soon his acting career kicks off and he has trouble separating the two.
Joseph K Wairimu acts as Mwas in the movie, which also stars Olwenya Maina and Nancy Wanjiku Karanja.
“Nairobi Half Life is an unbridled but inspiring film and Mwas is a true testament that what stands between us and our goals, is us,” said Serah, who has been in the film industry for more than a decade now.
Serah admitted that the post production took a while but the film is finally out and they’re quite happy with the results, including the fact that it will screen at the Durban International Film festival on the evenings of July 21 and 24.
“The term Half Life,” she adds, “symbolizes the double life that Mwas is leading and incorporates the cigarette phrase too.”
In Kenya, when one smoker asks the other for a half-life, it means that they’re asking to share and finish off the last half of the cigarette, usually regarded as the best part of the stick.