EVENT
Gŵyl Ffilm WOW Film Festival: THE BATTLE OF LAIKIPIA (12A)
25 March 2025
16:30
Yr Egin
This year marks the 24th edition of WOW, which celebrates the best of Welsh and world cinema.
The Festival showcases a rich variety of films that highlight local talent and global stories.
______________________
Director: Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi
Language: English, Swahili with English subtitles
In Kenya’s Laikipia region, the lives of herders and landowners collide in a battle driven by climate change, colonial history, and electoral tensions. This film dives into the struggles of Simeon, a Samburu herder fighting to protect his cattle and culture from encroaching electric fences, and Maria, a descendant of British colonists, who views her land as a legacy to preserve. Their opposing worlds—one focused on ancestral ties to the soil, the other on modern landownership—are explored with a deep sense of empathy, offering a nuanced perspective on the complex conflicts shaping the future of this region.
- - - - - - - -
“A powerful picture, and an important one” - Screendaily
“Brilliant….Peter Murimi and Daphne Matziaraki’s illuminating documentary illustrates the symbiotic relationship between land rights and climate justice….A film that superbly demonstrates how the conflicts of the present cannot be extricated from the baggage of the past” - The Guardian
