Pumzi

Pumzi is an unusual film on a number of levels: beyond being the first African film composed by an African born director it features a strong female lead, has no spoken dialogue, and features an environmental consciousness that is increasingly becoming a standard trope in science fiction. One of the best sequences in the film is towards the beginning where the lead character recycles her urine for its water content; this demonstration of female anatomy is unusual and extremely refreshing in film, which is still somewhat bound up in the conventions and patriarchal propriety of the early studio system. Because of the lack of spoken dialogue, instead suggesting that characters communicate digitally or telepathically, the acting resembles early silent films, with the bulk of the actors’ expression coming through with nonverbal cues. Finally, the tension between the environmentally restoring actions of the lead character and the society in which she resides clearly eludes to current attitudes towards efforts at environmental protection and restoration.