Ndoto Za Elibidi – The Dreams of Elibidi

Produced and Directed by Nick Reding and Kamau Wa Ndung’u
2013 | 1h 30m

Ndoto Za Elibidi, S.A.F.E.’s first full-length feature, is many things at once: a stage play turned into a feature film, a documentary and a testimony on the impact of the plays message. It was devised originally as a stage play with actors from the Nairobi slums.

The story pivots around the theme of acceptance and love as its colourful protagonists – parents, four daughters and their lovers – come to terms with HIV and ghetto life.

Cutting back and forth from fiction to documentary, from the original stage play to the actual locations, it takes us on two parallel journeys: we watch the film, but we are also watching it through the eyes of the ghetto audience as they watch the play tell the story of their lives. This extraordinary position gives us a double pay off.

The play was performed for over five years throughout the Nairobi slums, reaching over half a million people. The film version was made after repeated requests from partnering schools and clinics for a DVD version of the performance.