5 reasons why 'Supa Modo' will be your new favourite African film

"Supa Modo". Picture: Supplied

"Supa Modo". Picture: Supplied

Published Apr 10, 2019

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Jo (Stycie Waweru) is a witty nine-year-old terminally ill girl obsessed with Jackie Chan movies. 

When she is taken back to her rural village to live out the rest of her short life, her only comfort is her dream of being a superhero - a dream her rebellious teenage sister Mwix (Nyawara Ndambia), overprotective mother Kathryn (Marrianne Nungo) and the entire village of Maweni think they can fulfill.

Director Likarion Wainaina says he drew heavily on his own childhood in making this film. "I drew from that time when I was nine years old and I had my first cinema experience in an old shack at the edge of Kibera slums in Kenya. I saw Jackie Chan star in Legend of the Drunken Master and right there and then I knew I wanted to make films. From that moment onwards, films became my solace. Every Saturday I would go back to that shack and for three shillings per movie, I would let my mind be transported to other worlds. Worlds that gave me hope, excitement and fear."

Here are five reasons we think "Supa Modo" will be your new favourite African film:

1. It has won over 50 international awards, including at Berlin

2. "Supa Modo" has a rare 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes

3. It's produced by Tom Twyker

4. "Supa Modo"  is a love letter to the imagination

5. It is a celebration of life in the face of death.

The multi-award-winning Kenyan superhero film "Supa Modo" is now streaming on Showmax.

Watch the trailer below.

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