A scene from the film
The Goethe-Institut in Accra will on Thursday, February 8 begin its film series for 2018 with the screening of ‘Nairobi Half Life’, a Kenyan crime drama directed by David Tosh Gitonga.
‘Nairobi Half Life’, which will be screened for free, is the story of a young, aspiring actor Mwas from rural Kenya who dreams of success in the big city.
In order to make this dreams come true, he sets off for Nairobi, the city of endless opportunities.
Unfortunately, his possessions are stolen and he finds himself alone in a city, where he doesn’t know a single soul. Mwas subsequently befriends a young gang leader and gets roped into a world of violence and crime. He gets arrested and even spends a day in jail.
In a twist of events, he meets a Nairobi crook Oti (Olwenya Maina) who becomes a close friend and takes him into his criminal gang. The gang itself specialises in snatch and grab thievery, with vehicle parts being their main targets.
He convinces the gang to move up from stealing parts to stealing cars in order to earn more. During that time, he falls in love with Amina after coming to see her at the lodgings where she receives customers and even takes her out to see films. Nevertheless, he still tries to fulfil his dream of becoming an actor. But whilst he is fighting for survival, it proves increasingly difficult to keep the two worlds apart.