Tales of the Accidental City, a 55-minute film based on stories by Sitawa Namwalie, Kevin Mwachiro, Margaret Muthee and Maïmouna Jallow from Humans of Nairobi, will be exclusively previewed at Prestige Cinemas in Nairobi on Saturday, February 13.

The film is directed by first-time movie director and award-winning theatre actor Maïmouna Jallow. The film tells the story of four Nairobi residents who find themselves stuck together in an anger management class after being accused by the courts of various misdemeanors.

In a press release provided to Brittle Paper, Jallow says that “through the four characters, I wanted to explore what it means to live in any African city today. I have travelled to all parts of this continent and whether I’m in Nairobi, Accra or Addis, I often feel like our cities are not made for the majority. They are forced to live in the cracks and constantly have to fight a system that should be there to serve them.”

The film is produced by Positively African, an organization based in Nairobi that works at the intersection of theatre, arts and social justice. The film was shot in one location over four days with a budget of only $10,000, thanks to a grant from the African Culture Fund. The actors rehearsed on Zoom and had just one day of tech rehearsals on location, to get used to speaking straight to camera as though they were on a real call on their laptops and mobile phones.

Doors for the screening will open at 4pm local time in Nairobi. The film screening will begin at 5pm, followed by a Q&A with the cast and director at 6.30pm.

Watch a trailer of the film here: