“For me, my activism is through my work.” – Zippy Kimundu on filmmaking under risk and Movies that Matter’s Activist Lens Programme

From Nairobi to New York to Amsterdam, Zippy Kimundu has had a film-making career highlighted by bravery and risk-taking. We sat down with her during IDFA 2025 to discuss her documentary Our Land, Our Freedom, her experience with Movies that Matter’s Activist Programme, and her future projects.

Our Land, Our Freedom (2023, co-produced and co-directed by Meena Nanji) centers around Wanjugu Kimathi, the daughter of the first leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, also known as the Mau Mau. Deeply moved by her mother’s stories about the Mau Mau struggle, Wanjugu started the Dedan Kimathi foundation through which she raises funds to support and resettle Mau Mau veterans and their families, many of whom were detained, tortured and forcefully resettled by British colonial forces during the Mau Mau uprising. The documentary was part of the Movies that Matter Festival in 2024 with both Zippy Kimundu and Wanjugu Kimathi in attendance, the latter as a special guest in the Activist Lens Programme.

Reflecting on her experience at Movies that Matter with Kimathi, Kimundu states “I remember [Wanjugu] saying that’s when she realised that she was an activist” – despite all the work done in her community, Kimathi felt like her efforts were a necessary change in her community that she felt called to lead, and not necessarily activistic in nature. However, through the Activist Lens programme and meeting likeminded trailblazers, she became “quite confident and reassured that the work she was doing was important”, says Zippy.

At the end of the filming process, Wajungu had resettled 30 people in her community. Today, she has resettled over 4,000. But apart from the material achievements of her initiative, Our Land, Our Freedom has also played a role in raising awareness about the struggle of the freedom fighters and the atrocities committed under colonial rule. “People knew very loosely what happened”, claims Zippy, with many shocked reactions from audiences upon the premiere of the film in Kenya. It also led to lots of press recognition and discussion around the atrocities and the resettlement of the Mau Mau, which was ultimately one of the goals of the film.

“We still learn a very British history. So the film was a really good tool for educating people and to feel empathy for the elders, right? So I think that was a win for us.”

However, despite a reinvigorated public discourse, premiering the film came with its own struggles. Due to controversy around the subject matter and Wanjugu’s public and financial role in the resettlement initiative, the activist had to be kept in a safehouse for a period after the release of the documentary. In terms of how she perceived her own safety as a filmmaker, Zippy explains that being behind the camera helped her maintain anonymity and avoid persecution during the filming process – “for me, my activism is through my work” – with the priority being to keep Wanjugu safe as the public face of the movement. Kimundu also highlights the importance of funding from Movies that Matter in organising screenings around Kenya to reach as many communities as possible – “everywhere we’ve gone with the film across the world, it’s the same reaction. There’s tears, there’s pain, there’s, really, like, an understanding of what people went through and a willingness to ask, what can I do, you know? And I think for a film, I think that’s a big thing.”

After Our Land, Our Freedom, Zippy Kimundu continues to champion filmmaking centered on human rights and marginalized stories – among various projects, she has recently directed a documentary for BBC Africa Eye about the children’s sex trade in Kenya. Despite gaining lots of public attention with over one million views online, the release came with arrests and accusations of libel from government authorities. Still, the filmmaker advocates for action without fear – “if I don’t tell the stories, who will?”

Movies that Matter supports human rights festivals around the world. In this series, we highlight the stories of several people involved in our international programmes to discuss their projects and the impact they are making. The International Support team is committed globally by financially supporting human rights film festivals (Grant Programme), film screenings at embassies (Embassy Film Menu), an outreach programme for activists (Activist Lens Programme), coordinating a partnership between festivals (Human Rights Film Network) and workshop programmes for film festival organisers (Cinema without Borders).