Memory of Princess Mumbi

Big-budget movies depicting a futuristic Africa are rarely produced on the continent, largely due to a lack of the significant resources required. Swiss-Kenyan filmmaker Damien Hauser has found a radical solution to this problem: the use of artificial intelligence.

Drawing on modern technology to visually restore kingdoms, Hauser presents us with sumptuous settings while focusing on the human aspect: namely, the life and death of Princess Mumbi (touchingly portrayed by Shandra Apondi), as told by the filmmaker Kuve (a brilliant Abraham Joseph), who is threatened by his rival, the prince (played mischievously by Samson Waithaka), to whom the beautiful princess has been promised…

Drawing on his passion for his characters and his affection for his actors, Hauser brings to his fourth feature heavier emotions — mourning, loss — and uses the magic of images to encourage us to capture (and revisit) the lives of those we have loved.

Through the use of cinema, ranging from mockumentary to mainstream, from interviews about the Great War to red carpets in front of movie theatres, Hauser juggles genres and tones. Here, romantic comedy (prince and princess) rubs shoulders with humour about war veterans who are not sad enough, while making a declaration of love to the art form and reflecting on its future. A digital magic trick that is almost entirely self-produced (with more than a year of post-production done alone), Memory of Princess Mumbi is proof that, even with a small budget, you can make great films.

CLAIRE DIAO