From the Series
Part of the event
The Nest Collective, the Nairobi-based alternative arts group behind the film "Stories of Our Lives", spent several months collecting stories from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities of Kenya in an attempt to understand what it means to be queer in Kenya, a country where homosexuality is still illegal. The stories they discovered were so compelling that The Nest Collective decided to make a series of short films that address them. The anthology of these shorts is "Stories of Our Lives": five vignettes based on true experiences.
ASK ME NICELY
Rebellious Kate meets first-love Faith at high school. The school authorities find out about their relationship and separate the two, and Kate impulsively has a sexual encounter with a local boy. A few weeks later Kate and Faith have an awkward reunion.
RUN
Patrick and his homophobic best friend Kama stumble upon a local gay bar. Patrick sneaks back for a night out in the club, hoping no one will discover him.
ATHMAN
Farm workers Ray and Athman have been close for years. Feeling jealous of Athman's flirthing with new arrival Fiona, Ray makes a difficult choice.
DUET
Jeff has been saving for months to fulfil his ultimate fantasy: having sex with a white man. Far from home, there is finally a knock on his hotel room door...
EACH NIGHT I DREAM
Local legislators threaten to enforce anti-gay laws, causing mobs to gather and evict people suspected of being homosexuals. As tension in their neighborhood increases, Liz imagines dramatic escape plans for herself and partner Achi.
"Stories of Our Lives" was made in partnership with Uhai/EASHRI and Big World Cinema.
"Stories of Our Lives" is both a labour of love and a bold act of militancy, defying the enforced silence of intolerance with tales rooted in the soil of lived experience - Toronto International Film Festival
"Stories of Our Lives" is a gorgeously constructed tone-poem that taps into something deeply universal: the desire to belong, the impulse to feel wanted and needed and free. One of the most triumphant and stunning films of the year - Huffington Post
