Vote for Kibera (2018)

Known for being the largest urban slum in Africa, Nairobi’s Kibera, has been a background for many films over the years, from the 2007 Students Emmys winner Kibera Kid to the 2018 documentary film Vote for Kibera.

Directed by Czech filmmaker Martin Páv, Vote for Kibera paints a different and fresh portrait of Kibera rarely seen in many films that seek to tell its story. Using a series of interviews with Kibera residents, Vote for Kibera captures the hope and creativity of a place that has long been riddled with stories of poverty and despair.

Among those interviewed is Don Wilson, a photographer who uses his lens to capture the positive side of Kibera. Other than Don, we also meet local artists, a teacher, and a boxing coach who are all trying to improve their lives and those of people around them. Nevertheless, in the film’s final part about the presidential elections in Kenya, the frustrations, hopelessness, and violence in Kibera bubble to the surface.

Vote for Kibera won the Audience Prize at the 2018 Jihlava Documentary Film Festival in Czech Republic.