Watu Wote | |
---|---|
Directed by | Katja Benrath |
Written by | Julia Drache |
Produced by | Tobias Rosen |
Cinematography | Felix Striegel |
Edited by | Julia Drache |
Music by | Florian Hirschmann Elisabeth Kaplan |
Production company | Hamburg Media School |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Countries | Germany Kenya |
Languages | Swahili Somali |
Watu Wote: All of Us, or simply Watu Wote is a 2017 Kenyan-German, live-action short film directed by Katja Benrath, as her graduation project at Hamburg Media School. The film is based on a December 2015 bus attack by Al-Shabaab in Mandera, Kenya. [1] The film received critical acclaim, winning a Student Academy Award for Narrative, [2] [3] and received an Academy Award nomination for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards. [4] Production faced difficulties when the crew's camera was stolen before filming had begun. [5]
Jua, a Christian living in Kenya, boards a chartered bus to visit a relative and is uncomfortable being surrounded by Muslim passengers. The bus is stopped by the violent terrorist group Al-Shabaab, whose members demand that the Muslims identify the Christian passengers. [6] [7]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. [8]