In Rafiki, filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu adapted the award-winning short story “Jambula Tree” by Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko and transposed the deeply affecting and richly textured story of love and discovery between two young women to the vibrant, bustling streets of Nairobi. In 2018, Rafiki became the first Kenyan film to screen as part of the prestigious Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival, to great acclaim. Following this world premiere, the Kenya Film and Classification Board announced the film would be banned in Kenya “due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law.” Kahiu sued the government over unconstitutional infringements on freedom of expression, which led to a temporary lifting of the ban to allow the film to screen to packed Kenyan audiences for two weeks and qualify for the Oscars. With the ban reinstated, Kahiu continued to appeal the judicial order over the next two years. On 29 April 2020, a High Court in Kenya upheld the 2018 ban. Immediately following the court’s ruling, the Creative Economic Working Group of Kenya put out an official press release denouncing the ban.

This interview was conducted before the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others, and the global protest movement against anti-Black racism that persisted and followed in its wake. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.