‘The Color Yellow’ Producer June Wairegi Teases ‘Sun and Moon’

Upcoming Kenyan film “Sun and Moon” (“Jua na Mwezi”) is ready to surprise the viewers. 

“We rarely see these moments of joy, tenderness and community on our screens, and with this film, we want to change that,” said its director, Omar Hamza.

“It’s a film that explores the complicated dynamics of family and the unspoken tensions that shape them. At its heart, it’s a story about the teenage experience in Africa, one that acknowledges the challenges but also celebrates the small human moments that make it worthwhile.” 

Scheduled to shoot Oct. 5-15, “Sun and Moon” also reps the next feature to go into production for producer June Wairegi who on Tuesday won a Mecas market prize at Locarno’s Open Doors. It was adjudicated by the Canary Islands event for her “developing a line of independent projects that we find courageous and inspiring. She conveys creativity, sense of initiative and a vision that connects with us,” it said in a statement.

At Locarno’s Africa-focused Open Doors, Wairegi also presented “The Color Yellow” (“Manjano”) – helmed by Omar Hamza as well. A romance-action film, it follows Rama, fresh out of high school, who puts together a team of misfits to pull off a heist to fund his elopement with a girl who’s been promised to someone else. 

Echoing the spirit of “beloved mid-budget American indie gems” such like “The Way Way Back” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Sun and Moon” is written and directed by Hamza and currently in pre-production.

As stated by producer Wairegi, it’ll blend “awkward humor, family drama and bittersweet self-discovery” by following Hawi, a 17-year-old “antisocial butterfly.” She has one goal – to join her classmates on a school trip to Mount Kenya. But her father wants to take a holiday to his rural childhood home, which is close to the mountain.

While she’s plotting her escape, Aunt Sulwe also shows up, still nursing a grudge over her brother’s scandalous memoir “My Father, the Drunk.” Soon, a quiet family visit swells into a simmering battleground.

“Like ‘Lady Bird,’ the film captures the raw push-and-pull between parents and children, centering an awkward teen finding unexpected allies. At its heart, the film is messy, funny, and shows a tender portrait of the fragile bonds that hold a family together,” it was stated.

Wairegi and Hamza are based at Giza Visuals, a Nairobi-based production house founded in 2018. The company’s already behind four independent micro-budget genre films, with a slate “dedicated to genre films” and new ambitious projects developed as intl. co-productions.  

“The film was awarded a grant from Africa No Filter, an organization dedicated to supporting the development of stories that represent Africa beyond stereotypes,” said Wairegi.

“Giza Visuals is a powerhouse in micro budget filmmaking in Kenya, and the grant coupled with a significant investment from the company to fill the finance gap in the budget offers us the opportunity to further our commitment to nuanced and positive African stories.”