Private Project

The Cut

This is a story of two siblings (John and Jane) who have an unbreakable bond despite the challenges they face in their rural home. John’s father want to marry off Jane at an early age so that he can enjoy her dowry but John is adamant to save his sister from his father’s evil plan. John plans their escape to the big city but will he succeed?

  • Peter Wangugi Gitau
    Director
    Child for hire, Early marriage, Heroic Cut, Pendo Prey&Pray.
  • Peter Wangugi Gitau
    Writer
    Child for hire
  • Ibrahim Rashid
    Key Cast
  • Patrick Macharia
    Key Cast
  • Halima Jatan
    Key Cast
  • Miriam Kinuthia
    Key Cast
  • Onesmus Kamau
    Key Cast
  • Jackson Odiaga
    Producer
  • Peter Wangugi Gitau
    Producer
    Child For Hire
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 2 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 31, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    21,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Kenya
  • Country of Filming:
    Kenya
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 5D Mark III
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cape Town International Film Market and Festival
    Cape Town
    South Africa
    October 13, 2017
    Africa
  • Silicon Valley African Film Festival
    San Jose
    United States
    September 30, 2017
    World Premiere
  • Toronto Black Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    February 16, 2018
    Canadian Premiere
  • European Film Festival
    Nairobi
    Kenya
    May 16, 2018
    Kenyan Premiere
Director Biography - Peter Wangugi Gitau

Peter Wangugi Gitau is an award winning filmmaker and has worked collaboratively and individually on a variety of socially engaged interdisciplinary projects for over eight years.
He has made theater productions, documentaries and fiction films touching on social economic issues in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya .

Peter has worked with several Non Governmental Organizations on different film projects among them; Film-aid International, World Food Programme, Windle Trust Kenya, Population Services Kenya and AMREF Health Africa.
He has also directed award winning Kenyan TV shows Pendo & Prey n Pray among many others.

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Director Statement

A participatory approach was adopted in the development of the film. Children borrowed from their experiences and those from the community to write stories themed on child rights abuse. These stories formed the foundation of the script. Most of the scenes in the film were drawn from real life events that the children came up with in their narration.
Themes covered in the film are; Gender Based Violence, Alcoholism, FGM, Child Marriage, Sexual Abuse and Maternal Health.
After scriptwriting all the children at the Child Development Centre were presented with a chance to audition for different roles in the film, with two of them assigned the main characters and the rest as supporting cast. The youth most of whom are former beneficiaries of DCINP (Dagoretti Child in Need Project) and from the community also participated in the technical part of the film with most of them training in the following departments; Make-up and special effects, Sound recording, Scripting, Production design including art on set, Continuity, Camera assistants and Boom operators. During filming on location the mentors in these departments trained the youth with hands on approach.