REVIEW: ATHARAKA (Simon Mitambo, 2024)

What does it mean to belong to a place? To be of the sun and soil, the river and the tree, the seed held like a living treasure?

ATHARAKA (‘Those of Tharaka’, Kenya) invites us to step into a world where nature and culture are not separate realms, but a single way of being.

Through immersive storytelling, this short film reveals how colonial legacies, modern extractivism, and generational uprooting have endangered ancestral knowledge in Tharaka. Yet, it also shows us a movement of return: the revival of tradition, communal ties, and the power of oral memory.

Luminous images, intimate portraits, and vibrant landscapes create a tender experience—one that honors the faces, gestures, and customs of those who continue to carry their identity in their hands, voices, and daily practices. The direction and cinematography beautifully capture everyday life, and the depth held in small acts: carrying an animal, touching the water.

e were proud to include this film in the most recent selection of Ecos Shorts Festival, as part of our Human Rights edition. In times when climate change and forgetting threaten to erase centuries of wisdom, Atharaka offers a breath of fresh air and reminds us that the next generations must become guardians of life.