Kenya’s Oscar Entry ‘Nawi,’ About an Arranged Child Marriage, Picked Up by Atlas (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comLeo Barraclough International Features Editor Atlas International Film has taken international rights for “Nawi,” a drama about a 13-year-old Kenyan girl who yearns to go to high school but instead is going to be forced into an arranged marriage.
The film was Kenya’s official entry for the best international feature film category of the Oscars. The film centers on Nawi, played by Michelle Lemuya Ikeny, whose aspirations of attending high school are shattered when she learns that her father plans to marry her off to a stranger.
Despite her family’s need for the dowry, Nawi refuses to accept her fate and resists the marriage. Her ally in this struggle is her brother Joel.
However, Nawi’s father remains entrenched in tribal traditions, swayed by the counsel of uncles, stepbrothers, and the elders of the clan.
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