A child looks at the neighborhood of Kibera from above. He points to it, his finger like an antenna. His gaze is determined; he wears a strange apparatus on his head, from which wires connect to his radar-hand—a technology of which we know nothing. This character explores the narrow streets of Kibera, greets passersby with his fist, and unleashes the dreams they nurse in their minds. Here are their dreams, one after another: the superhero Mr. Impossible (and all the other superheroes of Kibera, a project of the artist collective Maasai Mbili); the superhero designer; a trip to the moon with spaceships made of Ugali (a typical Kenyan cornmeal dish) to party with aliens; a skilled engineer and an aerospace pilot ready to take up the challenge; the acrobat, Dj Max who performs on Matatu; the singer Beautiful Stranger who records her first hit; and many others. The child who reads dreams gathers all the children of the city behind him, and everything eventually turns into a big party—one which really happened in the middle of the Kibera neighborhood among its little shops, bars, churches and mosques, and thousands of artisans.
Bisu Ndoto, the title of the video clip, means “dream” in Sardinian and Swahili. It brings together the two souls of the project, which started with some workshops in schools in Iglesias, Sardinia, in February 2017, and which has lived its central and final phase with the cinema, art, and music workshops in Nairobi.
The video is based on the dreams of a group of children and young adults from Kivuli and Ndugu Ndogo rescue centers: Albert, Allan, Amos, Arafat, Cate, Cristal, David, Dennis, Domitila, Douglas, Evan Kibe, Jeremy, Mary , Michael “MC Barr” Barnabe, Newton, Peter, Phylis, Rebecca, Samuel, Samuel, Sarah, Shedrak, Stella, Stephen, Simon, Teddy, Titus, and Vanessa. Maasai Mbili participated in the video, with their and Njung’e Peter’s project “The Superheros of Kibera.”
With the children as protagonists, the video was shot and edited by the director Andrea Canepari with the support of Guido Bosticco, Guido Mariani, Cherimus, and the children themselves.
The music, produced by Francesco Medda in the recording studio of Mega Link Ent. of Kivuli Center, contains the contributions of: Charles “Sober Boy” Kaylech, Hussein Farouk “The Tall Guy” Ali, Idris Abdul Ismail, Mopel “Original Xloader,” Carlo Spiga “Makika.” Guido Bosticco, and Andrea Canepari. The mix was made by Francesco Medda “Arrogalla” and Carlo Spiga.
The costumes and props were made during workshops led by Derek MF Di Fabio. The stories were written and staged during workshops directed by Andrea Rossi, Matteo Rubbi, and Emiliana Sabiu. The scene photographs were taken by Vincenzo Cammarata.
The workshops and video clips were also created in collaboration with: Chiara Avezzano, Fiammetta Caime, Camilla Garelli, Vincenzo Cammarata, Jack Matika, Boniface Okada, Niccolò Terzi. A special thanks to Alberto Colzani for his support.
