What follows after death? Some may say we are reincarnated as other people or animals, others that we lay in the ground until the unknown day of resurrection, others that our spirits transcend the earth into heaven or hell and others that we simply cease to exist.
Kati Kati is a 2016-released #KeFilm that weaves a narrative around this mystery and its delivery steps into the unknown. From its opening scene, it is clear that this eerie drama will delve into themes less often explored in our local cinematic landscape. A woman clad in a hospital gown donning an owl pendant necklace walks into a seemingly deserted resort in the middle of the Savannah expanse. The camera follows behind her, roaming, discovering the space with her.
Kaleche (Nyokabi Gethaiga) meets a group of people lounging at the resort, and the first words spoken to her are by a man. “My name is Thoma, this is Kati Kati and you’re here because you’re dead.” Words that send Kaleche flying out of that place only to hit an invisible wall which makes it clear that there is no escape.
Kati Kati, Kiswahili for ‘in-between’ comes to be known as a pit stop for those departed. With no explanation on why they are there and for how long, the Kati Kati group must live out their days together in this space until their eventual departure into whatever space they are to occupy next. Each member, haunted by the sins of their past lives, has their shadow selves appear, ashen and in tattered clothes, taunting them incessantly.
Thoma (Elsaphan Njora), the leader of the Kati Kati group, takes on the counselling role where he attempts to ease this journey for Kaleche who has no recollection of her previous life. The film also allows viewers to follow the journeys of the pasts of a few other Kati Kati members such character is King (Peter Nzioki), a Pastor whose refusal to avail his church as refuge left many dead in the wake of 2007 post-election violence. Viewers watch as King and others navigate their new reality as the film takes on varying paces, plot twists and turns. Its unfolding shifts from serious and demanding, to playful and light as it tackles the difficult questions raised by its construct.
And behind the imagery is the mind from which the idea came to be. Kati Kati was Mbithi Masya’s debut film. Screened at 40 festivals globally since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film has bagged a series of awards. At TIFF it won the Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery programme. It won the New Voices/New Visions Award Special Mention at the Palm Springs International Festival, the Filmpris at the 19th CinemAfrica Film Festival in Stockholm, the Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 2017 Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival, and the Best East African Film award at the 2017 Africa Movie Viewers’ Choice Awards.
This film was produced by One Fine Day Films in collaboration with Ginger Ink. There is no denying that this partnership has been hugely beneficial for the Kenyan film industry raising the caliber of productions we have released since their inception in 2008.
“Kati Kati does not provide many answers, but they are not needed. It is the questions that the film raises about the nature of death, and what happens to our souls, that makes the film such a wonderful experience.” – Cinema Axis. Films that challenge the unknown are the kind of films that linger in our psyche. The striking images of Kati Kati will stay with you long after the film is over and it goes down in our books as one of the great #KeFilms worth your while.
