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AFI DOCS: Maia Lekow and Christopher King on THE LETTER
THE LETTER will have its Virtual World Premiere at AFI DOCS 2020 on June 21. Get ticket to online screening now.
“This is a universal story of the increasing vulnerability of our elders and the indestructible power of women and the importance of family.” – Maia Lekow, co-director of THE LETTER
Watch directors Maia Lekow and Christopher King talk about the film:
Karisa lives in Mombasa, one of the largest cities in Kenya. He gets a call and discovers he has a delicate family problem: his grandmother has been accused of being a witch. Fearing for her life, he returns to his family’s village to figure out who wrote the letter accusing her of witchcraft and why. Using Karisa’s family as the jumping off point, we visit other elders accused of being witches and uncover the violence inflicted on them.
What starts as an almost absurd family situation gets exposed to be a complicated human rights issue. Exploring unique modern cultural and religious clashes, Maia Lekow and Christopher King’s film is still able to achieve an intimacy and charm, that is, in many ways, magical.
THE LETTER will be available to screen online on June 21 at DOCS.afi.com. Following the film, watch a recorded discussion with directors Maia Lekow and Christopher King and subject Karisa Kamango. Get tickets to the online screening.