NAWI

Creating NAWI was a deeply personal journey for me. As a native of Turkana, a woman and a mother I grew up with the struggles, particularly regarding early child marriage and education for young girls and women. To me, Nawi’s journey is a vessel for the untold stories of my people, carrying the responsibility to inspire positive change and eliminate harmful practices.

Working with a seasoned and professional team who understood the significance of this story for Turkana and beyond was both humbling and empowering. I gained so much knowledge and skills in cinema, and at the same time, it was able to share so much of our culture and traditions.

I do a lot of music since I was a child and working together in our directing team and with the whole crew reminded me a bit of playing in a band. Different instruments, different players and in the end, everything comes together in that one emotional piece of art. This complexity of producing and directing a film in the real world is still amazing to me.

Being the first woman director in my community to complete a full-length film is… monumental. Words cannot capture the honor and hope I feel. This achievement is a testament to the power of dreams, intentionality, passion, and discipline, supported by an incredible team. Our collective determination to use our knowledge and experience to tell African stories and create opportunities for others is stronger than ever.

The future is bright, and our lives have been profoundly impacted through the NAWI film. Here’s to more purposeful work and to making a difference, one story at a time.

by Apuu Mourine

_______

According to UNICEF Kenya is home to over four million child brides today.

From the moment I read Milcah’s short story I realized that NAWI is more than beautiful and tragic story that is necessary to tell. It is a narrative that transcends borders and cultures to explore universal themes of hope, sacrifice, and the pursuit of dreams.

Seven years ago, Toby and I were approached by an educational non-profit, the “Learning Lions”, to direct a movie in Turkana. Since then we became familiar with the culture while looking for the most compelling stories from the region .

Last year, we launched a writing competition together with the Learning Lions. The winning story by the first-time writer Milcah Cherotich became the foundation of NAWI. Her story portrays a girl facing forced marriage.

From a Western perspective, child marriage exists and is problematic. And that’s as far as most peoples’ understanding goes. To get our story beyond that limited point of view, we always knew that we would need local expertise in the directing team – which is how we got to meet Apuu and Vallentine a year before the shoot. I don‘t know if a multi-director constellation like this had been done before, but for NAWI our four-headed hydra model opened endless doors of creativity and cultural explorations.

Their insights allowed NAWI to delve beyond a superficial understanding and explore the reasons behind old norms while it immerses our audience in the rich culture of the proud Turkana tribe.

As four directors who bring different backgrounds and perspectives to the story, we hope to have translated it into a movie that will resonate with audiences globally. We aim to create a cinematic experience that challenges preconceptions, fosters empathy, and – most importantly – inspires action.

We believe that by telling Milcah‘s story, we can contribute to the global dialogue on child marriage, the importance of education, and gender equality, no matter where and what you are born.

by Kevin Schmutzler