The director of a critically acclaimed lesbian romance film is suing the Kenyan government for censorship.
Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu was left devastated after the Kenya Film Classification Board banned her film Rafiki earlier this year, despite it being selected to premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
The movie was banned for its "clear intent to promote lesbianism”. Homosexuality remains illegal in Kenya, with those charged facing up to 14 years imprisonment.
“I don’t necessarily consider myself an activist; I truly consider myself a storyteller," the director said, according to Vanity Fair.
"But when somebody starts to infringe on your rights to be creative and exercise your work, that becomes a problem."
The film's local ban is particularly upsetting as it makes Rafiki ineligible for the 'Best Foreign Film' category at the 2019 Oscars.
“It’s not a government’s right to say what you can imagine and what you cannot imagine, and who is allowed to exist,” Kahiu said.
"That’s not a way that you can run a country, because we’re made up of diverse people.”
When asked what she expected would come of the battle for Rafiki's release, the filmmaker replied: “I have no idea. I’ve never sued a government before!”
