ACT OF LOVE
Juliana, a young mother, is pushed to the edge by the daily struggle of life in Nairobi. When her support system crumbles over the course of one day, she must decide whether she is able to care for her young child.
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Eric MwangiDirector
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Shelly GitongaWriter
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Shirleen WangariProducer
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Naomi MburuhProducer
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Mwixx MutindaKey Cast"Juliana"
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Talia JasmineKey Cast"Baby Amina"
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama, True Story
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Runtime:26 minutes 9 seconds
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Completion Date:May 19, 2023
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Production Budget:20,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Kenya
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Country of Filming:Kenya
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Language:English, Swahili
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Shooting Format:4K
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Cannes Film Agency
Official Selection -
Zanzibar International Film FestivalZanzibar
Tanzania, United Republic of
Official Selection -
Swahili International Film Festival and Awards
Official Selection -
Fragments Festival
United Kingdom
Official Selection -
KUGOMA Film Forum Mozambique
Mozambique
Official Selection -
Sauti Zetu Film FestivalDar
Tanzania, United Republic of
Official Selection -
Sauti Zetu Film FestivalDaresalaam
Tanzania, United Republic of
People's Choice Awards -
Fankeena Film Fest
Somalia
Official Selection -
Under Our Skin Festival: International Festival on Human RightsNairobi
Kenya
Runners Up: Best Kenyan Short Film -
HACC
Official Selection -
Botswana International Film FestivalGaborone
Botswana
Official Selection -
Mashariki African Film Festival
Rwanda
Official Selection -
Mashariki African Film Festival
Rwanda
Winner Best Short Film -
Global Film Exhibition
United States
Official Selection -
Mombasa International Film FestivalMombasa
Kenya
Best Short Film -
Kitale Film WeekKitale
Kenya
Official Selection -
Luxor African Film Festival
Egypt
Best Short Film -
Bantu Film FestivalGaborone
Botswana
Official Selection
Distribution Information
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YAKWETU Online LimitedDistributorCountry: KenyaRights: All Rights
Eric Mwangi is a Cinematographer and Director with filmmaking experience in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. His goal is to bring an African perspective to the global pool of life-changing stories, thereby contributing to the expansion of the African Cinema language. His stories focus on ordinary characters with unique drive and faced with impossible odds who are pushing the boundaries to create systemic change for the benefit of all.
His projects range from Documentaries, TV commercials and brand films to short films and feature films, working through production houses such as Zero Point Zero Productions [New York], Zeleman Productions [Ethiopia], YCF Productions [Zambia], Docubox [Kenya], One Fine Day Films and LBX Africa [Kenya], Skoll Foundation [USA], Freestyle Media [Kenya] among others.
Some of his career highlights include filming for the National Geographic Explorer Series on the ongoing Rhino Resurrection episode with Ami Vitale and Taylor Rees; Cinematography for the acclaimed Zambian TV drama UBUNTU, a first from that country on Showmax; a Netflix sizzle reel with Academy Award-Winning Director Roger Ross Williams; Emmy Award-Winning Documentary TV Show Anthony Bourdain - Parts Unknown; among others. He is also an alumnus of the American Film Showcase documentary residency at USC, California.
Act of Love was an incredible journey that was quite revealing and transformational for me on an issue that is very well felt and understood by women. I was a student of this story as I consulted with the incredible writer, Shelly Gitoga, from whose life this story is borrowed. The approach we settled on was to explore the contrasts between Juliana's expectations and her actual needs, then find a way to marry the arrising tensions into a story that makes her realise how important her child is, despite her circumstance.
I see this film as a type of baptism for Juliana into the motherhood journey. I would love for audiences to be so immersed in her troubles and left with no room to breathe. She has a critical goal in mind, but the child feels like an inconvenience.
To do this, I used a largely handheld approach to the shots, following her every goal, with quick cuts around urgent situations like fighting against time and obstacles to get to a job interview. This way, we can relate to her goals and aspirations and her inconveniences as well. We gasp for air with her and in the end, we exhale with her when relief comes.