Disabled Kenyan teens climb Kilimanjaro & smash stereotypes in Philip Knowlton’s KUPENDA

Atlanta-based director Philip Knowlton’s documentary Kupenda will attest that it truly isn’t about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb that counts.

His film depicts the efforts of Kenyan teens Hassan, Fumo and Mercy to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The three teenagers have disabilities, and on the coast of Kenya, people with disabilities are often deemed cursed and therefore shunned. Kupenda follows the story of their determination to climb Africa’s highest mountain and defy their community’s long-held stigmatization of disabilities. Kupenda will be screened virtually this Saturday at the ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto. Now in its 5th year, the ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto showcases Canadian and International shorts, features, and documentaries about Deaf and disability cultures and by filmmakers and actors with disabilities and/or who are Deaf.

Knowlton was introduced to Cynthia Bauer, co-founder of the non-profit Kupenda for the Children, while working on his first feature length documentary in 2005. “I had the opportunity to interview her for that project, and after that, I continued to follow the amazing work that Kupenda does in Kenya and now worldwide.” They reconnected in 2015, and while discussing a possible documentary short project, Bauer mentioned that they were taking three of their students, Hassan, Fumo and Mercy, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Knowlton felt instantly that this should be documented on film, so a few months later, “there we were in Tanzania ready to climb”. Lauren Boswell Blair’s book An Unlikely Gift was the starting point for Knowlton’s film research. It tells the story of how Kupenda (“love” in Kiswahili) came to be. Blair’s book was “really instrumental” in shaping the documentary’s arc and identifying the key people to highlight in the film. 

On the production side of things, the main challenge was to capture the three teenagers’ story while also climbing the mountain. The crew planned ahead, going  into each new day with a clear idea of what they were hoping to capture. Nonetheless, as with most documentary film shoots, they needed to be prepared for the unexpected and ready to adapt. As when their cameras stopped working and an ice storm rolled in just as the teens were summiting, forcing them to use an iPhone and a GoPro for the grand finale shots! 

Piecing the story together in the edit was also a challenge. While the film focuses on the students’ journey, it also tells the story of Bauer and Kupenda’s other co-founder Leonard Mbonani, and communicates the organization’s mission.  In earlier versions of the edit, Knowlton found that the film “felt a bit disconnected, like you were watching a series of short stories strung up together.” So over the course of a year, he re-worked the story with the help of producers Ryan Schwartz, Steven Berger, Joshua Rofé and editor Jason Rosenfield. They ultimately found a throughline that flows, making it one cohesive film. Composer Mauricio Yazigi’s arresting score further unified and elevated the picture as a stirring epic.

From the evocative score to the mesmerizing mountain vistas to the ultimate triumph of the film’s three resolute and charismatic teenagers, Kupenda will linger in the heart long after the end credits. But at the same time, the film exposes the abuse, neglect and stigmatization that people with disabilities endure, and the role that community and church can play in perpetuating these horrors. So is this powerful film intended as a teaching tool?  By way of response, Knowlton offers a quote by French film director Jean Renoir that he has always loved: “You have to make a film thinking that you’ll change the course of history. But you must also be humble enough to think, ‘if you touch two people, you’ve done something extraordinary’”. In telling this incredible story, their “hope has been that the Kupenda documentary will inspire its viewers while raising awareness about the organization and its mission to advocate for children with disabilities.” Along the way, the filmmakers have also realized its potential impact as a teaching tool that could be helpful in educational settings, and they are currently exploring those avenues.

As he reflects on his biggest learning over the course of making the documentary – both about himself and about disabilities – Knowlton returns to the “very humbling” opportunity to visit the students’ homes and meet their families: “All of their stories really moved me. They reminded me of what Cindy often says – that, above all, people with disabilities are PEOPLE first and foremost. And like everyone, they want to feel loved.” He stresses how much Hassan, Fumo and Mercy had already been through in life, so it should be no surprise that they showed such tenacity, strength and perseverance in their journey up Kilimanjaro. 

“They sent the message loud and clear to their community that disability is not inability. I hope people see the film and find inspiration to climb their own mountain, whatever that may be.”

News You Can Use

What: Kupenda, directed by Philip Knowlton | Producers: Ryan Schwartz, Steven Berger, Joshua Rofé | Editor: Jason Rosenfield | Composer: Mauricio Yazigi 

Where: ReelAbilities Film Festival: Toronto

When: Saturday, May 23, 2020 

• Kupenda Film Screening, 4 PM |Running Time: 70 minutes 
• Virtual Q&A with Philip Knowlton and Cindy Bauer from Kupenda, moderated by Linda Luarasi, 6 – 6:30 PM

Info and Tickets: reelabilities.org

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2020