Chuchu real/full name is Elizabeth Waithera, He is a Kenyan film director, photographer, gospel singer-songwriter and
visual artist. Chuchu Hail from Nairobi Kenya, He first came to attention as a member of Kenyan music
group Just A Band and subsequently as director of Kenyan LGBT film
Stories of Our Lives.
Chuchu Career
After leaving college in 2006, where he studied
telecommunications,Chuchu began his career as a graphic designer,
working in advertising. He quit his job to become a freelance graphic
designer in late 2006.
In 2008, Chuchu co-founded Just A Band together with fellow members
Bill “Blinky” Sellanga and Dan Muli, whom he had met while studying at
the Kenyatta University.[6] Jim performed multiple duties in the band,
including co-producing the band’s first three studio albums, Scratch to
Reveal, 82 and Sorry for the Delay, creating graphic art for the band
and directing many of the band’s videos- including “Ha-He” which spawned
viral hit Makmende, causing the video to be subsequently described as
Kenya’s first viral internet meme by the Wall Street Journal, CNN and
Fast Company.
In 2012,he co-founded the NEST, a multidisciplinary art space and
collective in Nairobi.In March 2013, Chuchu produced and released
Imaginary Chains as pseudonymous act Adeiyu. One of the EP singles –
Hollow – was featured in the Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape 55.He followed
this EP by releasing the single You Can’t Break Her Heart in September
2013.
In October 2013, Just A Band announced that Chuchu had left the band
to pursue his solo projects. Following his exit, Chuchu then directed
his first short film Homecoming as part of the African Metropolis
project, which premiered at the 2013 Durban International Film Festival,
then went on to screen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival,
and the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Santa Barbara
International Film Festival, the Film Festival Locarno and the Seattle
International Film Festival in 2014.
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In April 2014, Chuchu’s photography series titled Pagans was featured
in the 2014 edition of Dak’Art, the 11th Biennale of Contemporary
African Art, as part of the Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media
Surrounding African Queerness exhibition in Dakar, Senegal. The show was
cancelled a day after its opening by Senegalese authorities, who ruled
that ruled that future exhibitions addressing the issue of homosexuality
must be closed or canceled.
FILMOGRAPHY
2015 – “To Catch A Dream”, Short Fashion Film (Director/Writer)
2014 – “Stories of Our Lives”, Anthology Feature Film
(Director/Co-Writer)
2013 – “Homecoming”, Short Film as part of the African Metropolis project. (Director/Writer)
2013 – “Dinka Translation” and “Urban Hunter”, Short Fashion Films for Chico Leco Presents (Director/Writer)
AWARDS/NOMINATIONS
Jury Award, Berlinale Teddy Awards (2015)
2nd Place, Panorama Audience Award, Berlinale (2015)
Best Cinematography, Bokeh International Fashion Film Festival (2014)
PRODUCTION
2015: Mayonde – Angels (Single)
2014: Mayonde – Isikuti Love (Single)
2014: Jarel – The Plus Minus Collection (EP)
2013: Various Artists – The NEST Presents: Legacy (Compilation EP)
2012: Mayonde – Magic In The Air (Single)
2011: The Just A Band Boxing Day Special (EP)
2011: Kudish: The Sound of Soup (Mixtape)
