In a barren, post-apocalyptic desert, one woman risks everything to return life to her world.

A Breath of Life: Dir. WaNuri Kahiu blends afro-futurism and eco-criticism in This captivating short film

The first thing to attract potential viewers to this film is its gorgeous and evocative visual style. Despite the film’s relatively limited budget, director Wanuri Kahiu crafts an intensely rich world with captivating visual sequences. Science fiction fans familiar with Frank Herbert's genre-defining Dune series may recognize the vast desert landscapes and emphasis on water conservation that make up the majority of film's world-building. Unlike Dune, however, this futuristic earth is, as far as we know, totally devoid of life outside of the Maitu community; where one might expect gigantic sand-worms, one sees only the gnarled husks of dead trees petrified by an unrelenting sun. The monochrome yellows and browns of the desert juxtapose with the equally monochrome and lifeless grays and blues of the Maitu bubble. A chilling sense of emptiness and sterilization pervades every scene of this film - that is, until Asha begins to dream of the Mother Tree. Dramatic, almost avant-garde dream sequences punctuate the monotony of Asha’s everyday life, igniting the imagination of the viewer just as it flames Asha’s own curiosity about life outside the bubble. The costuming in this film is equally compelling; anxious to conserve every drop of moisture within the community, residents of Maitu dress in easily removable rags, facilitating the collection of sweat throughout the day. The circumstances of this dystopian future literally strip away the artifice of everyday life, exposing humanity in its most basic form. Exposure, deprivation, and tenacity - all prominent themes in this film, and all carefully and satisfyingly cultivated by Kahiu’s expressive visual style.

If the beautiful visuals of “Pumzi” don’t sell you on the film, then perhaps Kahiu’s masterful intertwining of Afro-futurism and eco-criticism will catch your attention. Kahiu’s prophesied future launches from very real, contemporary concerns around climate change and resource shortages. Importantly, the “novum” of this sci-fi story - water conservation technology and pollution-free energy- isn’t so “new” or far-fetched from technology we have available to us today. Everything is relatively "low-tech" in this film; residents of Maitu produce electricity on the same types of ellipticals and rowing machines we might find in our own school fitness center, and the water filtration machines seem to be scrapped together from familiar plastics. Likewise, Asha's precious water bottle looks suspiciously like a Gatorade bottle with the label torn off - almost as if the survivors of the Water Wars used anything they could find from our current world to create this new life in the desert. Although the title card of the film explicitly places the story “35 years after the Water Wars,” the audience is never told exactly when the Water Wars occur. For all we know, these "Water Wars" could begin tomorrow, leaving us viewers in the same dystopian situation as the film’s characters. The not-so-distant Afro-futurism of this film creates a palpable tension between the story and the viewer. I wondered, while watching “Pumzi,” if mankind would ever have to adapt to a catastrophe like this in my lifetime. I wondered, additionally, if people today are already experiencing such circumstances. Although this film was released in 2009, the isolation of the characters and the obvious irony of a “Virtual Natural History Museum” take on even more pressing (and perhaps sinister) connotations when considered from the perspective of today’s pandemic. Like Asha, most of our interpersonal interactions are currently mediated by technology, and opportunities to engage with each other are, at least at the moment, reserved for virtual spaces. The future depicted in this film thus feels very close to home and captivates the audience for the duration of the film.

So: what are you waiting for? Take twenty minutes out of your day to take a breath and watch this beautiful work of science fiction. Linked in full below!