ABOUT
SYNOPSIS
OUR LAND, OUR FREEDOM tells the story of two 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 1950s independence movement, and was married to its 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 of 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.
TEAM
MEENA NANJI - DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Meena Nanji is Kenyan-born of Indian heritage. She is an award-winning director/producer of feature documentaries, experimental and fiction shorts. Her work has been recognized by the Sundance Documentary Fund, Just Films, Perspective Fund, IDA, IDFA Bertha Fund. Her films have screened on television and at film festivals internationally and largely focus on women and social justice issues, as well as race & gender rights and representation, including projects filmed in India, Afghanistan and Kenya. She is a co-founder of GlobalGirl Media, a non-profit organization that trains girls from underrepresented communities of the world in citizen journalism. She has also worked as curator/ programmer for film/video festivals, served as juror for foundation grants, and led film workshops and trainings, including in the US, Morocco, S. Africa, and India. She is based in Los Angeles.
ZIPPY KIMUNDU - DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Zippy Kimundu is an award-winning Kenyan Filmmaker who has been working in the film and television industry across continents as a director and editor for over a decade. She co-directed a short documentary, A Fork, A Spoon and A Knight with Mira Nair for Tribeca Film Institute’s ‘Power of Word Series’ and was the assistant editor on the Disney film Queen of Katwe. Zippy holds a Master of Fine Arts from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a film educator for under-represented communities at I’ll Tell You My Story, an organization that coordinates storytelling workshops in Africa for teenage refugee girls. She is the founder of AfroFilms International, a women-led film and TV production company and creative collective based in Nairobi and Kilifi, Kenya, and is currently working to ignite political consciousness and action, across continents. Her short films have screened internationally and she continues to create both fiction and non-fiction content globally.
ELIANE FERREIRA - CO-PRODUCER/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Eliane Ferreira is the founder of Muiraquitã Filmes, a production company based in Portugal and Brazil. Her first feature film as a co-producer was Fish Dreams by Kirill Mikhanovsky, winner of Prix Jeune at Critics Week of Cannes Film Festival 2006. She produced award-winning documentaries such as Fabricating Tom Zé, best documentary by a popular jury in 2006 at both Rio IFF and São Paulo IFF, Cinema Morocco by Ricardo Calil, winner of Golden Dove at Dok Leipzig 2018, I Owe You a Letter about Brazil by Carol Benjamin, Honorable Mention at IDFA 2019 First Appearance Competition, and The Repentants by Armando Antenore and Ricardo Calil, Best Documentary at It’s All True Festival 2021. She continues to produce both fiction and documentary films in Brazil and Portugal, now branching out into animation as well.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1735387/
MIRA NAIR - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Gold Lion for Monsoon Wedding, Mira Nair has achieved international renown as a director, writer and producer of feature films and documentaries. Born in India and educated at Delhi University and Harvard, she launched her career as an actress before directing award-winning documentaries. Salaam Bombay! – her debut work as a fiction film director – won the Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film of 1988. Subsequent feature films include Mississippi Masala, The Perez Family, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, My Own Country, Monsoon Wedding, Hysterical Blindness, Vanity Fair, The Namesake, Amelia, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Queen of Katwe, and the TV series A Suitable Boy. Her company, Mirabi Films, has established a laboratory to encourage young filmmakers from East Africa and India.
JORDANA BERG - EDITING
Jordana Berg has been working as a film editor for over 25 years. During this time she was primarily collaborating with Eduardo Coutinho, considered the most important Brazilian filmmaker of the 20th century. Other filmmakers with whom she has worked include the Oscar winner Megan Mylan, Silvio Tendler, José Joffily, Eduardo Escorel and Flavia Castro. She has taught masterclasses in Canada, France, the US, Argentina and Uruguay, where she was also a mentor in rough cut laboratories, advising films such as Carlo Guillermo Proto’s Ressurecting Hassan, which won the RIDM 2016 in Canadá.
FRANKI ASHIRUKA - EDITING
Franki Ashiruka was a distinguished figure in the Kenyan & African film industry, celebrated for her dedication to storytelling and her pioneering and immense mentorship role in post-production. As the Chief Editor and Founder of Africa Post Office – APO, she significantly contributed to the growth of Africa’s film industry. Until her death on boxing day 2024, Franki was passionate in “finding the narrative to make a story not just engaging, but irresistible.” This commitment inspired many creatives in the industry.
ANDREW ‘DRU” MUNGAI - CINEMATOGRAPHY
Andrew “Dru” Mungai is a graduate of the American Film Institute (AFI) class of ’11. He has been working as a cinematographer on independent feature films, short films, TV shows, commercials and music videos both in Los Angeles and in Africa. He is best known for Kati Kati, Country Queen, the first Kenyan Netflix series, and other major projects across Africa.
STEVE RUIYI - CINEMATOGRAPHY
Steve Ruiyi has worked for over 10 years as Director of Photography or Cameraman on TV shows, documentaries and feature films. He has shot numerous documentaries in Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Senegal, Zambia, Brazil, Rwanda, Uganda and Swaziland.
IBRAHIM SIDEDE - COMPOSER
WILLIS ABUTO - SOUND RECORDIST
PAULO DE CARVALHO · GUDULA MEINZOLT – CO-PRODUCERS
AUTENTIKA FILMS, Film production & film consulting company based in Berlin, Germany; founded in 2007 by Gudula Meinzolt and Paulo de Carvalho as a platform for their common activities. Gudula Meinzolt and Paulo de Carvalho merge their knowledge of more than 25 years of personal experience with the Iberoamerican film as professionals in sectors as promotion, festivals, exhibitions, (co-) production, international sales, consulting and impact distribution.
https://autentikafilms.com/en/profile.html
DERRICK KISIBI - ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
NYAMBOK - COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH
Nyambok has a diverse background in strategic communications, media, arts, entertainment, and education. Currently, he is the Communications & Outreach Manager at Documentary Africa (DocA), where he has played a significant role in co-designing the DocA Real Reel Impact Program (RRI). This program aims to holistically support documentary producers and filmmakers with their impact campaigns. With DocA’s portfolio of over 40 beneficiaries, he guides them through the production process, ensuring their films are well-positioned for distribution and outreach. Additionally, through Africa Real Collective, Nyambok is actively involved in developing and maintaining strong relationships with partner organizations, festivals (including CP3 IDFA Meet & Greet), and funders. From 2013 to 2018, he was the host and moderator of The Great Debaters Contest, a national TV show that aired on Citizen TV and KBC Channel 1. Nyambok also has experience in human rights and advocacy, volunteering during the Human Rights Day celebrations organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nairobi.
JOHN PAUL GICHENGO – SOUND RECORDIST
WANJUGU KIMATHI (SELF) · MUKAMI KIMATHI (SELF) · FAITH ALUBBE (SELF) · SWALEH GITHINJI (SELF) – CHARACTERS
