01
Tsotsi
Why this pick
A tense, street-level African drama driven by a young man's criminal milieu, moral pressure and the possibility of change, with similarly urgent emotional stakes.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE2012 1h 36m KEN
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
Nairobi Half Life
Drama
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved Nairobi Half Life, try these.
01
02
The Night of Truth
Why this pick
Its raw West African setting and ensemble of people navigating violence and fragile hope echo Nairobi Half Life's interest in social realities beyond easy sentiment.
03
A Screaming Man
Why this pick
A restrained but gripping portrait of compromised dignity and survival in an African city, suited to the social realism and human pressure beneath Nairobi Half Life's thrills.
04
The First Grader
Why this pick
Another Kenyan-set drama about pursuing a seemingly unreachable dream against entrenched hardship; it shares the original's empathy and belief in personal aspiration.
05
The Figurine
Why this pick
It shares Nairobi Half Life's confident contemporary African filmmaking and mounting sense that ambition can carry dangerous consequences, though through a more mysterious, atmospheric story.
Finding the atmosphere, tension and little details that made this one stay with you.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
A young man, Mwas (Joseph Wairimu) still lives with his parents in their rural home in Kenya. He makes a living by selling western action films, he dramatically acts and portrays most of the action figures in his films in order to entice his customers. He is an aspiring actor, and when he comes across a group of actors from Nairobi performing in his town, he asks one of them to help him jump start his acting career. But, in return, he is asked to give ksh1000 (approximately US$10) in order for him to be cast in one of the plays. He can only afford ksh500 and is told to take the other 500 with him to the National theatre in Nairobi. He is very excited, and, after receiving some money from his mother, he embarks on his journey to Nairobi with a brief stop over in his town to bade his friends goodbye. He meets his cousin (a gang leader) who gives Mwas an expensive radio system and some money to take to Khanji electronic shop in downtown Nairobi.
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02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
Nancy Wanjiku Karanja
Amina
Paul Ogola
Mose