German film
Watu Wote |
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Directed by | Katja Benrath |
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Written by | Julia Drache |
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Produced by | Tobias Rosen |
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Cinematography | Felix Striegel |
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Edited by | Julia Drache |
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Music by | Florian Hirschmann Elisabeth Kaplan |
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Production company | Hamburg Media School |
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Running time | 22 minutes |
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Countries | Germany Kenya |
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Languages | Swahili Somali |
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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]
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
External links