Kisumu-based movie selected for prestigious Burkina Faso film festival after streaming in 195 countries
Months after screening worldwide in 195 countries, Bangarang, a Kenyan movie shot in Kisumu County and based on true events around 2017 post-election violence in Kisumu that saw the death of Baby Pendo, it has been selected for the 28th edition of the Film Festival -Panafrican Film & Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in Burkina Faso.
FESPACO, established in 1969, is a two-week festival that celebrates African cinema and is held after every two years.
The theme for the 2023 festival is “African Cinema and Culture of Peace.”
“Our film ’Bangarang’ has received an Official Selection to the 28th edition of FESPACO Film Festival, Burkina Faso. What a beautiful way to start 2023!” said Mr. Odongo Robbie Wuodcaro, the movie’s Kisumu-based Writer and Director.
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Bangarang is set to be screened alongside 169 other films selected from over 1,200 submitted from 35 African countries.
Nairobi News previously reported that Bangarang was based on the post-election violence and the death of Baby Pendo who was killed in an instance of police brutality in the 2017 General Election.
Bangarang is the story of Otile, a poor bodaboda (public service motorcycle rider) operator who is still jobless after 10 years of tarmacking despite graduating with a second-class honors degree in Automotive Engineering.
Otile’s story comes to life when the post-election violence erupts in Kisumu following the disputed presidential election and Otile chooses to lead other rioters to the streets- using this opportunity to vent his anger regarding the government’s poor leadership that he also holds responsible for his unemployment.
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On a fateful day, Otile runs for his dear life from anti-riot police and seeks shelter in a friend’s house, Dan, and when the police catch up with him, they beat everyone in the house, including 6-month-old Baby Joy, who ends up dying.
“I wrote this Story in 2017, from my very personal experiences. With every election since 2007, I have been in the middle of post-Election Violence at my home in Manyatta, near Kondele. In 2007, I lost Friends who Police shot.
In 2013, while trying to avoid the chaos, I had a near-fatal accident that left me scarred. Then in 2017, when police beat Baby Pendo, I worked nightshift in Aga Khan Hospital. I saw her in ICU before she succumbed,” Mr Odongo told the media.
Bangarang was released in December 2020 and is an Internationally-acclaimed movie with 30 Awards and Selections.
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