Synopsis
Our Land, Our Freedom tells the story of 2 extraordinary Kenyan women - a mother and daughter, Mukami and Wanjugu Kimathi, who share a mission to shine a light on the too-long-kept secret atrocities of British colonial rule in Kenya. Mukami was a freedom fighter in Kenya's 1950's independence movement, and was married to it's iconic leader, Dedan Kimathi. In 1957, Kimathi was hanged by the British, his body disposed of anonymously. Since then, Mukami has been searching for Kimathi's remains, but becomes too frail to continue. Her daughter, Wanjugu,determined to fulfill her mother's last wishes, takes over this quest. Along her journey, Wanjugu learns of a buried history of colonial atrocities, including concentration camps, mass graves, and the vast theft of land that left hundreds of thousands Kenyans destitute. This sparks a new mission for Wanjugu: she realizes she must demand compensation for the landless. Working closely with her mother, she transforms into a powerful leader in her own right, advocating for exposing past colonial crimes, while building a nation-wide grassroots movement for land resettlement
Directors`
Note
Our motivation stems from the belief that it is time that Kenyans author their own history. We were both born in independent Kenya but, having been taught a British history at school, we knew nothing of the true nature of colonial rule. We wish to challenge British accounts and centre the Kenyan experience; to tell of what ordinary Kenyans suffered under colonialism - and of the independence struggle - by those who lived it, so that future generations have a more accurate perspective of this era. We wish to connect the dots between historical context and present-day issues, emphasizing that colonialism is not a closed chapter of the past; rather it is alive today in its profound impacts.
Kimundu
Nanji
