This Kenyan Short Film Has Been Nominated for an Oscar

'Watu Wote' is based on the real-life events of the 2015 Mandera bus attack.

This Kenyan Short Film Has Been Nominated for an Oscar

Kenyan film Watu Wote has been nominated for an Oscar award for Best Live Action Short Film.


The film premiered at Nairobi's Junction Mall on Tuesday coinciding with its Oscar nomination. The short film, which was produced in 2016 as the graduation film for the Hamburg Media School master class program, already bagged a Student Oscar in 2017.

The film is based on the real-life events of the Mandera bus attack which was carried out by Al Shabaab in 2015.

The militants attacked the Nairobi-bound bus and demanded that the Muslim passengers identify and separate themselves from the Christian passengers. However, a Muslim man led the other Muslim passengers in shielding the Christians from being shot and killed by the militants.

The director of the film, Katja Benrath, says the film was a tribute to the 28 people who were killed by Al Shabaab on that fateful day.

Watch the trailer for Watu Wote below.

​Photo illustration by Kaushik Kalidindi, Okayplayer.
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