THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is not a gloom, grey and gutsy drama that narrates the tale of the slums in Kenya, but a feel good experience. The fast-paced treatment by Kamau wa Ndung’u and Nick Reding makes ‘Elibidi’s Dream’, the lone contender from the African nations in the Competition section of the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala, an exciting movie.The movie is a pointer towards the need for creating awareness on AIDS, narrated in a unique way by mixing a stage play along with the incidents in the movie. A real excited audience is watching a play that is performed at a stage set in the Mathare slum at Nairobi. The Play is narrated by George Elibidi, a man from the Western Province coming to Nairobi in search of a better life.Elibidi has four daughters who are later presented on the stage. The whole family’s story is taking place in front of the audience watching the play. And the beauty of the narrative lies where the characters move out of the stage, following the story. The camera follows Elibidi’s daughters, their innocence, and love. His elder daughter Petro is dating Pablo, her sister Shiko a happy-go-lucky gal, while another sister Nite is dating Ken. The younger girl, Mshere is the most sensible among the four and is in love with Vinny, Pablo’s brother.Meanwhile Pablo tests positive for HIV. This changes the tune of the movie and takes it to the level of a roller coaster ride, which is an unexpected method used in a movie intended to create awareness on AIDS. Pablo rapes Mshere and what follows is the confrontation between Elibidi, his wife and their daughters.Here the director has cleverly used the power of the theatre to communicate with the audience, straight to their hearts. The film also conveys its message beautifully by blending reality and fiction perfectly. The movie begins with a group of slum dwellers gathering together to watch a stage play. And when the play begins, a pan shot of the audience shows the anxiety in each and every face. They watch it with utmost curiosity, concern, smile, cheer and often with laughter to the funny situations. From the real life situation, though the movie switches to the cinematic mode, the bond with the stage is never broken. The characters were brought back to the stage for the core scenes to make sure that both the elements are weaved together till the end.The audience are watching a play, watching themselves, and remain the strongest character in this movie.
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