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Saturday, March 10, 2018

Watu Wote (2017)

This live action short film that was nominated this year is a recreation of a real event, which is something that several of them share.  It was not my pick, but I very much liked it.
The movie gives audiences a personal look at the events that occurred on December 21st, 2015, when a bus with filled with Kenyan Muslim and Christian passengers was attacked by a group of Al-Shabaab terrorists.
It’s early morning, just before daybreak, as a young woman named Jua (Adelyne Wairimu)  makes her way to a small stall and purchases a bus ticket to Mandera. She asks the ticketing agent a question and is assured that there will be a police escort. Eventually the bus, filled with men, women and children, heads out on its 31-hour journey. Jua is not a likable character, but it becomes clear why.  Her whole family was killed by Muslim terrorists and it has left her with a visceral aversion to all Muslims.  She softens a little as the predominantly Muslim passengers speak with her.  When the police escort fails to appear, and terrorists demand that the Christians be identified, her fellow passengers refuse to give her up.  It is a film that shows us the best humanity has to offer; bravery in the face of terror.

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