KATI KATI New Auteurs

Without any memories or knowledge of who she is or why she is there, Kaleche finds herself in a field. Soon she finds a group of strangers in the nearby resort who tell her the truth: She is dead and this is the afterlife, not quite heaven or hell, where everyone is waiting to move on. All they have to do to get what they want is write it down and their wish appears the very next day. The only thing they cannot have is escape. The magical realist debut feature of Mbithi Masya, a member of a popular Kenyan alternative house funk group, KATI KATI deploys memorable performances and deceptively simple cinematic techniques to give us a beautiful, dreamlike depiction of life and the possible life after it. — Sudeep Sharma

Born and raised in Nairobi, Mbithi Masya has worked on several video installations, including “Kudishnyao!,” hosted at the Rush Gallery in New York in 2012. IT’S BEEN A WHILE, his entry for the 2015 edition of the 48 Hour Film Project, won the Audience Award. KATI KATI, which is produced by German director Tom Tykwer and One Fine Day Films, premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

MK2 Films

Details

Country: Kenya | Germany

Year: 2016

Director: Mbithi Masya

Screenwriters: Mbithi Masya, Mugambi Nthiga

Producers: Sarika Hemi Lakhani, Siobhain "Ginger" Wilson, Tom Tykwer, Katja Lebedjewa, Marie Steinmann-Tykwer, Guy Wilson

Director of Photography: Andrew "Dru" Mungai

Editor: Louizah Wanjiku

Music: Sean Peevers, Ibrahim Sidede, Just a Band

Cast/Featuring: Nyokabi Gethaiga, Elsaphan Njora, Paul Ogola, Peter King Mwania

Running Time (minutes): 75 min

Language: Swahili

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