Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu has landed a major Hollywood assignment after Universal Pictures and Working Title chose her to direct Covers, a romance film based on first-time screenwriter Flora Greeson’s script. The appointment was announced on November 20, 2018, following an international search for the project’s director.
Universal and Working Title, the British production company owned by the studio, are backing the film. Kahiu is set to work with Working Title producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, while Alexandra Loewy will serve as executive producer. Universal’s Erik Baiers will be the supervising producer.
The new job adds to a turbulent but high-profile year for Kahiu, whose film Rafiki had been banned by the Kenya Film and Classification Board in April over its LGBT theme. Rafiki was the first Kenyan movie selected for the Cannes Film Festival, but the ban blocked its local screening and affected Kahiu’s push to submit it for Oscar consideration.
The High Court later lifted the ban on September 21, allowing the film to be screened in Kenyan cinemas. Kahiu had also sued the government and the KFCB over the decision.
Her profile rose further on June 25, when she was named a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences alongside 927 other filmmakers and entertainers from around the world, including Daniel Kaluuya, Tiffany Haddish, Amy Schumer, Emilia Clarke, Andre Holland and Trevante Rhodes. The Academy oversees the annual Academy Awards, widely known as the Oscars.
