Mwende Says

The More Things Change is a fiction anthology feature film from the Nest Collective 2 years in the making, that was released this month and premiered at the NBO Festival. Made in partnership with Forum Civ, as part of the Wajibu Wetu program, it is a unique narrative of exploring political resistance in Kenya through different eras including a speculative future.

Co-directed by Collective members Akati Khasiani and Mars Maasai, the film explores what happens when an ordinary girl takes on a powerful adversary at great personal cost. It stars Nyawara Ndambia (Supa Modo), Melvin Alusa (Mission To Rescue, Crime and Justice, The First Grader, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind), Bryan Ngatia (Too Early For Birds), Emmanuel Mugo (Sense8, Pillow Talk, This Is Life) and young luminary Stycie Waweru (Supa Modo, Just In Time, Lusala).

Dr. Akati Khasiani is a storyteller and musician. She DJs under the name Atiani, favouring old-skool and throwback mixes. She is one of the lead artists behind Strictly Silk, a unique dance party whose guests, artists and service providers are diverse women and non-binary people only. She has a strong interest in the presence and participation of queer persons and femmes in and around African cultures, communities and spiritualities. Her work has been published at Jalada Africa, and she has been expanding her storytelling practice into film and other genres.

This is the recording of a Twitter space I moderated on digital safety for women and how especially the media shapes these conversations in collaboration with Pollicy. The amazing speakers included Abigail Arunga, Cecilia Maundu and Bina Maseno.

The internet is the knowledge hub of the world and African voices and work is still not as visible as it should be. I give my two cents of why it's important to curate and document and some of my experiences when it comes to research.

Mwende Says is back with Season 2 after a break and I'm super excited to share new content with you! Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes.

2020 has been a ridiculously unprecedented year. Most of the year is a blur to me. It simultaneously feels like a few months and a few years. I've been on the edge majority of the year and I can't even tell you how I managed to get through most of the year.

So on this episode, I share what 2020 taught me, with the help of a few friends who've been kind enough to send in their voice notes.

I had a great conversation with Sam Soko, the Director of Softie, a documentary film about activist Boniface Mwangi, his wife Njeri and their children.

I'm back to the podcast after taking an impromptu mental health break. With all that is going on in the world right now, I definitely needed the breather. I felt like I'd lost Mwende Magic and needed to find it again. It took a little longer than I'd have liked, but though I'm not yet at 100%, I'm feeling more in sync with the work I'm doing and the direction I'm going in. Next week we go back to regular programming and I'm pretty excited! Thank you for all your support and to everyone that checked in.

This week's episode is mini reviews of some of my favourite African TV shows and films including Queen Sono, Blood & Water, Kina, Supa Modo, Katikati, Plan B, Living in Bondage: Breaking Free and Cook Off.

I also highlight the ongoing conversation on social media around the mistreatment of Kenyan creatives, that's under the hashtag #KECreativesDeserveBetter Twitter handle @WatchdogKE

For this episode, I'm basically going on a rant on racism, imperialism, police brutality and imagining freedom. So I may not be as eloquent as I'd like to be but yeah this is necessary! I'm also asking us to think about freedom and what working towards that would like.

On this episode, we talk all things menstrual hygiene. May is Menstrual Health month and May 28th is Menstrual Hygiene Day.

Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management and was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2014.

May 28th has a symbolic meaning. May is the 5th month of the year and women menstruate an average of 5 days every month. Also, the menstrual cycle averages 28 days.

So this is a conversation we can never have enough of because it affects so many of us around the world. I share my experience and also chat with 2 experts - Dr Karen Muthembwa, OB GYN, and Florence Kamaitha, founder of Pad Heaven Initiative.