TIFF22 REVIEW: Baba [2022]

Why didn’t you come to me? The synopsis describes six-year-old Baba (Malik Wandera) as having the ability to teleport by closing his eyes to leave any situation. To watch Mbithi Masya‘s short film Baba unfold, however, is to realize we aren’t witnessing a superhero origin story. Baba isn’t shifting from one place to another on a whim. He isn’t testing his strength to push his gift to its limits. This is instead a tale about abuse and survival with Baba’s teleportation proving not of the body but the mind. He…

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TIFF16 REVIEW: Kati Kati [2017]

“You’re here because you’re dead” Most of cinema’s best films are those that do rather than explain. These works are created by artists wielding airtight concepts insofar as attaining their goal of delivering a specific, emotion-fueled message. Kenyan creative Mbithi Masya‘s feature debut Kati Kati is a perfect example of what can be made when the right resources are supplied to the right people. Tom Tykwer, Marie Stenmann-Tykwer, and their One Fine Day shingle (originally formed to facilitate year-round artistic opportunities for children in Nairobi) helped with the former while…

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