Watu Wote

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]

Watu Wote
Directed byKatja Benrath
Written byJulia Drache
Produced byTobias Rosen
CinematographyFelix Striegel
Edited byJulia Drache
Music byFlorian Hirschmann
Elisabeth Kaplan
Production
company
Hamburg Media School
Running time
22 minutes
CountriesGermany
Kenya
LanguagesSwahili
Somali

Plot

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]

Cast
  • Barkhad Abdirahman as Abdirashid Adan
  • Faysal Ahmed as Hassan Yaqub Ali (Al-Shabaab Leader)
  • Mahad Ahmed as Passenger
  • Abdiwali Farrah as Salah Farah
  • Charles Karumi as Issa Osman
  • Alex Khayo as GSU officer
  • Gerald Langiri as GSU officer
  • Justin Mirichii as James Ouma
  • Saada Mohammed as Astuhr
  • Douglas Muigai as GSU officer
  • Adelyne Wairimu as Jua

Reception

Critical reception

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]

Awards and nominations

References
  1. Dahir, Abdi Latif. "This Oscar-nominated film shows how terrorists put Kenya's religious harmony to test". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  2. "2017 Student Academy Awards finalist". Academy. August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  3. "2017 Student Academy Award winners". 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  4. "Kenyan film 'Watu Wote' nominated for an Oscar Award". The Star, Kenya. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  5. Kasumov, Aziza (2018-02-22). "How Oscar-Nominated Short 'Watu Wote' Was Inspired by True Events". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  6. "Watu Wote: All of Us". oscar.go.com. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  7. "Kenyan short film on Mandera bus attack nominated for Oscar Awards - Nairobi News". Nairobi News. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  8. "Watu Wote (All of Us) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  9. "Kenyan short film on Mandera bus attack nominated for Oscar Awards". 24 January 2018.


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