Ng'endo Mukii
Kenyan filmmaker, Ng'endo Mukii further exposes the patriarchy engrained in our society with a her film documentary titled 'Kesho Pia Ni Siku', which chronicles a Black-owned small business called Kanyoko Fabrics & Designs, run by Njeri.
Kesho Pia Ni Siku, which means Tomorrow Is Another Day' in Kiswahili, is a film part of Stories In Place, a collection of stories that chronicle small businesses as they navigate a world in flux. The stories are powered by a partnership between Vimeo and Mailchimp and some of their favourite filmmakers to bring viewers seven beautiful shorts documenting Black-owned small businesses.Synopsis: "Njeri is a smooth-talking, hymn-singing, 67 year old grandmother who runs Kanyoko Fabrics & Designs in Nairobi, Kenya — a business she unintentionally started from the boot of her 1990 Toyota Corolla." The story unpacks how Njeri's career was excelling until the interference from her husband, and how that changed her career progression.
The film previously played at the Currents New Media festival in Santa Fe and was viewed in the form of a hybrid in-person and virtual festival.
Njeri, the owner of Kanyoko Boutique, who is featured in Kesho Pia Ni SikuApart from Kesho Pia Ni Siku, Ng'endo has also been named among the African artists part of the Generation Fire Disney+ Original anthology of animated films being produced in collaboration with Triggerfish Animation. Out of 70 Directors who were invited to pitch stories, she is one of the selected in the final group of 10, alongside fellow African talent such as: Ahmed Teilab (Egypt), Simangaliso “Panda” Sibaya and Malcolm Wope (South Africa), Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane (South Africa), Shofela Coker (Nigeria), Nthato Mokgata and Terence Neale (South Africa), Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove (Zimbabwe), Tshepo Moche (South Africa), Raymond Malinga (Uganda) and Lesego Vorster (South Africa).
Some of her most renowned previous work includes the critically acclaimed Yellow Fever, which explores beauty politics through hair, skin bleaching and body image as well as This Migrant Business that delves into the movement of African migrants to Europe and the Middle East from a smugglers perspective.
This multidisciplinary artist has carved out a name for her self as a versatile filmmaker, who directs, writes and animates stories by consistently mirroring social issues in her work through various important themes. Her work epitomises Nina Simone's words "An artist's duty is to reflect the times," which she executes brilliantly and carefully.
Njeri's story makes you wonder how many African women's untold stories are out there, most of which we will never get to know. Thanks to Ng'endo, we get to know this story. This is why documenting African women is imperative, and so is how they are documented.
Ng'endo's enlightening insightful work is always a refreshing perspective, the kind of work that should be circulating around schools.
Watch Kesho Pia Ni Siku here.
Click here for more on Ng'endo's work.References:
Source: Ng'endo Mukii Vimeo
Photo Credit: Ng'endo Mukii Facebook
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Film