Kenyan film on postpartum depression gains global recognition
- 25 Oct 2023
Act of Love is a story about a young mother who is pushed on the edge by the daily struggles of life in Nairobi
In Summary:
- Baby Anna one of the main character cries from start to the end of the film
- Act of love, which premiered in Nairobi last week on Friday, has already received invitations to prestigious festivals
A short film about a young mother's journey with postpartum depression continues to gain traction among film enthusiasts worldwide.
Act of love, which premiered in Nairobi last week on Friday, has already received invitations to prestigious festivals such as the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania and Swahili International Film Festival and Awards in Kenya.
This is in addition to Fragments Festival in the United Kingdom, and Hollywood African Cinema Connection Film Festival in the United States.
The film, written by Shelly Gitonga is based on a true story of a mother going through Postpartum depression.
Gitonga tells how a young mother is pushed to the edge by the daily struggles of life in Nairobi.
When her support system crumbles over the course of one day, she must decide whether she is able to care for her young child.
Postpartum depression, which is the onset of depressive episodes after childbirth, develops at a critical moment in a woman’s life and can continue for long periods.
Online research shows that likelihood of depressive episodes can be twice as high as during other periods of a woman’s life.
Some common signs of PPD include desperation, sadness, nausea and even thoughts of hurting self or the infant.
These symptoms often go undetected and untreated, wreaking havoc on partners and growth of infants .
“This movie was too loud from start to finish,” a gentleman who attended the premier said.
The man's reaction was in response to Baby Anna's cries from start to the end of the film.
Talia Jasmine, who was one of the main actors played the role Baby Anna.
Mugambi Nthiga, who moderated a panel of discussion at the end of the film said the film changed him.
“I think I have a change of heart. I came here expecting to see a film with a mentality of getting entertained but now I see things differently,” he said.
During the panel discussion, the film’s producer Shirleen Wangari and associate producer Naomi Mburuh spoke of how they struggled to pick and work on the film with Gitonga.
“When I saw the script, I was like, uhhhh… no. This is crazy. We are killing a baby here and I do not know how I feel about it,” Mburuh said.
“When Shelly approached me to work on the film together, the script was good but I was already working on another film. In the end, I thought why not give it a shot.”
“Producing this film was hard,” Wangari said.
Film director Eric Mwangi spoke of how he found it challenging to direct the film.
“I remember the first day we were on set, I went back home and sat quietly,” he said.
“My wife kept on wondering what was wrong with me and when she asked. I broke down into tears. What I experienced on day one of shooting this film is something I have never experienced.”
“I am glad to have been working together with a team of strong women,” Mburu said.
The co-star of the film, Mwixx Mutinda who played the role of the mother, Juliana, said she had to do a lot of research when she was picked for the role and handed the script.
“I talked to a number of mothers on how they cope with PPD and most of them ended up asking me, “Does the mother in the movie kill her baby?” and I was like wow, this is how mothers actually feel,” she said.
Mental health experts who were part of the panel discussion, said mothers need support and rest to get through this stage in their lives.
The film producers had mental health experts who were readily available for the cast and crew during filming.
The film received the People’s Choice award at the Sauti Zetu Film Festival in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The short film is live and available for watching on My Movies Africa platform, where one can rent it for two or seven days for Sh249 or own the movie for life for Sh599.
