Film Number

7504

Title

A CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN CULTURE: CHALLENGING NEO-COLONIALISM, NGUGI WA THIONGO

Producer

WFA

Date

1983

Gauge

U-matic LB

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Running Time

26 mins 00 secs

Description

Part of the sixth session of a 10 week Celebration of African Culture, held at WFA Media and Cultural Centre in Manchester between February and May 1983. Interview with Ngugi Wa Thiongo around a table with Gus John, Gareth Richards, Paul Okujie, Fred Coker and two others. Ngugi describes his detention in Kenya and the suppression of the community theatre in Kenya, run by peasants and workers around literacy and culture, he was involved in. He talks about his writings in this context - 'I Will Marry When I Want' performed in 1977 and the attempt to perform 'Mother Sing for Me' at Kenya's National Theatre which was prevented. He talks about the Mau Mau, the Kenyan Land and Freedom movement, their resistance to colonialism and how those forces were betrayed by pro-colonial forces at independence. He talks about other people still in detention in Kenya. Gus John makes a statement on behalf of the Committee for the Relief of Political Prisoners and the Manchester committee.

[Catalogued as part of 'Revitalising the Regions' a Screen Heritage UK project, 2011]