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ARCHIVE

8th(2006)



Saikati, the Flying Doctor / Saikati The Enkabaani

Anne G. Mungai

  • Kenya
  • 1998
  • 90min
  • Beta
  • color

SYNOPSIS

The film begins when Saikati, a girl from the Masai who went to the city for her studies in the previous Saikati, returns to her hometown after graduation. She decides, however, to go back to the city to be an emergency doctor instead of a bride in an arranged marriage. By becoming a doctor, she wishes to devote herself to curing villagers whose lives are in danger if they do not get proper treatment, people like her own father. However, her new life in the city is not easy. Other students look down on her, frame her, and abandon her in trouble only because she is from the countryside. Her first boyfriend in the city betrays her. The city¡¯s despairing stares at women just make her life harder.
 After the huge success of Saikati in Kenya, director Anne G. Mungai tackles issues of social prejudice and the obstacles that African women face during their search of self-fulfillment in the sequel Saikai, the Flying Doctor. Based on her own experiences as an impoverished country girl, she paces the story in the easy-going style of popular cinema, despite of the gravity of the matters addressed. Unlike Hollywood films which center on a single hero/protagonist, the film relates Saikati¡¯s ¡®dream-come-true¡¯ story through her relationships with other people around her, including immediate family, relatives, comrades, and other women. In the pursuit of more opportunities to reach mass audiences, the director takes up matters of women¡¯s rights and social development. (Billy Choi)

PROGRAM NOTE

The film begins when Saikati, a girl from the Masai who went to the city for her studies in the previous Saikati, returns to her hometown after graduation. She decides, however, to go back to the city to be an emergency doctor instead of a bride in an arranged marriage. By becoming a doctor, she wishes to devote herself to curing villagers whose lives are in danger if they do not get proper treatment, people like her own father. However, her new life in the city is not easy. Other students look down on her, frame her, and abandon her in trouble only because she is from the countryside. Her first boyfriend in the city betrays her. The city¡¯s despairing stares at women just make her life harder.
 After the huge success of Saikati in Kenya, director Anne G. Mungai tackles issues of social prejudice and the obstacles that African women face during their search of self-fulfillment in the sequel Saikai, the Flying Doctor. Based on her own experiences as an impoverished country girl, she paces the story in the easy-going style of popular cinema, despite of the gravity of the matters addressed. Unlike Hollywood films which center on a single hero/protagonist, the film relates Saikati¡¯s ¡®dream-come-true¡¯ story through her relationships with other people around her, including immediate family, relatives, comrades, and other women. In the pursuit of more opportunities to reach mass audiences, the director takes up matters of women¡¯s rights and social development. (Billy Choi)

Director

  • Anne G. MungaiAnne G. Mungai

    Born in 1957 in Kenya, Anne G. Mungai has had her professional training in Kenya and Germany. She currently studies at Cardiff University, UK for her Master¡¯s Degree in Political Communication. She began her directing career with the 1 hour docu-drama Wekesa at Crossroads in 1986 and has directed numerous documentaries and feature films receiving many awards at various film festivals. Her filmography includes Saikati (1992), Root 1 (1994), Tough Choices (2000), Promise of Love (2000) and many others.

Credit

  • ProducerCatherine Muigai
  • Screenwriter Anne G. Mungai
  • Cinematography Peter Coleman
  • Editor Ettie Feldman