Africa Is a Country

The donkey that carried the cloud on its back

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

The donkey that carried the cloud on its back

By
Steffan Horowitz

A Kenyan film asks in order to evolve, what part of ourselves do we keep and what part do we leave behind.

A still from the film.

This is just a short post to give everyone a heads up on a crowd funding campaign for a new documentary on the construction of Africa’s largest port on the island of Lamu, Kenya. The film will be directed by Nairobi-based German-Kenyan photographer and filmmaker, Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann (remember the ‘My Favorite Photographs‘ post she did for us last year).  The film seeks to explore the question: in order to evolve, what part of ourselves do we keep and what part do we leave behind? According to the film’s crowd funding page,

“The Donkey that Carried the Cloud on its Back” is a quirky and impressionist film about an island which appears not to change yet a looming cloud is approaching and breaking the steadiness and surety of the island’s constant way of life.

“Bracketed by the two monsoon rains, the film follows Fatuma as she prepares to begin a new life and get married and concludes as she leaves her parents’ house to be wed. The documentary returns again and again to public spaces that feel the coming port; the main, sleepy square, the port site and the beach that no one visits.

“It definitely seems like it has potential and with touches of magic realism embedded within the narrative and imagery, it will hopefully be quite original. With only a little over a week left to raise funds (the crowd funding campaign ends on December 22), the filmmaker and producer are slightly more than halfway to their fundraising goal of €8,500. So be sure to check out the film’s crowd funding site and support an interesting documentary film project.”

It definitely seems like it has potential and with touches of magic realism embedded within the narrative and imagery, it will hopefully be quite original. With only a little over a week left to raise funds (the crowd funding campaign ends on December 22), the filmmaker and producer are slightly more than halfway to their fundraising goal of €8,500. So be sure to check out the film’s crowd funding site and support an interesting documentary film project.

Update: Here’s a teaser for the project:

Further Reading

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.