Film
Rafiki
Rafiki is a quietly powerful Kenyan love story about two young women from opposing political families who fall in love in Nairobi. It's intimate and tender, shot with real affection for its characters' inner lives. For anyone seeking stories about queer joy and courage that centre African voices and perspectives, this is essential—and for the rest of us, it's just a beautiful film about what it costs to choose yourself.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like love stories that stay tender and specific about everyday life, where the bright colours and the hush of a conservative town say as much as the dialogue.
Skip it if you want sharp plot momentum, since its gentle, unhurried pacing lets some scenes drift and a few stretches feel slight.
What it asks of you: Runs about eighty minutes and keeps its attention close on two faces, so you will be watching the glances and silences as much as the story.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Moonlight2016
Three chapters of a Black queer man's life, told with poetry and restraint. Like Rafiki, it finds profound intimacy in quiet moments and understands that love stories aren't always about the happy ending—they're about who we become.
But Very slow and deliberately paced. Some find the fragmented structure emotionally distant rather than moving.
Carol2015
A 1950s love story between two women that captures the electric pull of forbidden connection and the ache of impossible choices. Both films ask what you'll sacrifice for love, and both answer unflinchingly.
But The ending is bittersweet and unresolved in ways some viewers find frustrating rather than realistic.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019
A French film about two women—an artist and her subject—falling in love over the course of a commission. Visually stunning, deeply sensual, and shares Rafiki's focus on the texture of female intimacy and desire.
But Deliberately languid pacing. If you need plot momentum, this will feel like watching paint dry—literally.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rafiki
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Heartbeats2010
Both explore how female desire and female friendship are intertwined and equally consuming. Both centre women's emotional lives in ways mainstream cinema rarely does.
Xavier Dolan's debut: two friends fall in love with the same emotionally unavailable man. It's not a queer love story, but it captures the same intensity of desire, jealousy, and the way love between women can be more powerful than love for men.
But Very deliberately styled—Dolan's visual maximalism can feel performative or pretentious. Some find the self-consciousness exhausting.
More like this (8)
Pariah2011
A Brooklyn teenager navigates identity and desire while her parents struggle to accept who she is. Raw, honest, and anchored by a fearless lead performance. The emotional stakes feel as real as they do in Rafiki.
But Deals with parental rejection and homophobia head-on. Not a comfort watch if you're looking for uncomplicated triumph.
Courage Under Fire1996
Deepa Mehta's Indian film about two women discovering love in a repressive marriage. Like Rafiki, it's a radical act of representation set in a conservative context, told with both tenderness and anger.
But Released to significant controversy and censorship; the political backdrop can overshadow the intimacy for some viewers.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post2018
A queer teen sent to conversion therapy finds community and first love. It has Rafiki's warmth and its understanding that surviving in a hostile world is an act of resistance.
But The subject matter is heavy. The film's lightness—which is actually its strength—can feel tonally inconsistent if you want your serious films serious.
Thelma & Louise1991
A Norwegian film about a closeted young woman whose repressed desire literally manifests as supernatural power. Stunning cinematography and a fresh angle on the cost of hiding who you are.
But Blends genres in ways that might feel like tonal whiplash if you go in expecting pure romance.
Pride2014
LGBTQ+ activists support a Welsh mining community in 1984. Not a queer love story, but it shares Rafiki's belief that solidarity and joy are revolutionary acts in hostile times.
But Ensemble cast means individual stories are sketched rather than deep. The tone tilts toward uplift, which doesn't always ring true.
The Half of It2020
A queer teen ghostwrites love letters for a friend's crush—on the person she loves herself. Witty, achingly tender, and genuinely funny about the mess of desire and loyalty.
But Netflix film with a teen-movie sheen. If you want grit and consequences, this leans too far toward the romantic.
Aftersun2022
Both use close observation of bodies and faces to convey what cannot be said aloud. Both are about the gap between inner life and outer safety. Both trust the audience to read silences.
Not a love story at all—it's about a father and daughter on holiday, shot with extraordinary tenderness and an undercurrent of unspoken sadness. It understands intimacy without declaration, the way Rafiki does.
But Deliberately oblique. The film trusts you to feel rather than understand. Some viewers find this rewarding; others find it frustrating and hollow.
Incendies2010
Both centre young protagonists caught between family loyalty and personal freedom. Both use political conflict as the pressure that tests love. Both understand that sometimes there is no safe choice, only the one you live with.
A Canadian-Lebanese film where two siblings uncover shocking truths about their mother's past in war-torn Lebanon. Structurally intricate, emotionally devastating, and—like Rafiki—about how family and political rupture collide with personal survival.
But Extremely heavy subject matter involving war crimes and incest. The twist ending is shock for its own sake to some viewers. Not light viewing.
People
Cast
Sheila MunyivaZiki- Jimmi GathuJohn Mwaura
- Nini WaceraMercy
- Dennis MusyokaPeter Okemi
- Patricia AmiraRose Okemi
- Neville MisatiBlacksta
- Muthoni GathechaMama Atim
- Nice GithinjiNduta
Charlie KarumiWaireri- Hellen AuraElizabeth
Directing
- Wanuri KahiuDirector
Writing
- Monica Arac de NyekoShort Story
- Jenna Cato BassWriter
- Wanuri KahiuWriter
Production
- Nini WaceraCasting
- Georges SchoucairCo-Producer
- Gerhard MeixnerCo-Producer
- Marie-Pierre MaciaCo-Producer
- Reinier SelenCo-Producer
- Roman PaulCo-Producer
- Ruben ThorkildsenCo-Producer
- Wanuri KahiuCo-Producer
- Tim HeadingtonExecutive Producer
- Steven MarkovitzProducer
Recommended by
Pariah, Zombeavers, Moolaadé, Pumzi, Undressed, The Chaperone, The Correction, Lionheart, Mosquita y Mari