After a long wait, Tufilamu Pictures is set to officially release 1988, a short film on the atrocities that happened at the infamous Nyayo Chambers on YouTube, on Friday 10th April 2020.
Starring Helena Waithera, Mike Njeru, Raymond Ofula and Qwachezz Kwach, ‘1988’ is a simulation of the late 80’s Kenyan society, that was too often characterized by civil rights infractions against free speech, punctuated by detainment that too often were associated with violent torture at the infamous Nyayo Chambers.
Written by Charles Chanchori and directed by Robert Asimba, 1988 is the story of Khoti Babu, a law student at University of Nairobi, who gets on the wrong side of the law with alleged bad-mouthing of the government.
Typical of numerous treasonous charges in this leg of Kenyan history, Khoti is subjected to brutal treatment and blackmailed into turning in his Marxist professors at his university, in exchange for immunity and a secure government job.
Law enforcement officers were often the henchmen for this regime and they were greatly feared by all, save for a select few who were never cowered into fear for exercising their constitutional right, that is, free speech.
1988 can also be said to be a modern-day adaptation as democracy and dictatorships often have blurred lines between them for modern African countries.
The official launch to the public comes at a time when most of the political events have been overshadowed by a global pandemic. The story revisits, a great piece of history that has remained untold for years now.
The events are told chronologically with the footage featuring de-saturated color and a couple of archival inserts edited seamlessly to take you back in time.
Through the short film, Tufilamu Pictures seeks to set a precedent for future historical adaptations of a genre that can rightly be termed as unpopular. The team is also working on a full feature film that will be released on a later date.
1988 was first premiered at Metta Nairobi then consequently screened at Anga Diamond Plaza.
