DEATH OF DARKNESS - PROJECT PITCH
This documentary is part of a diptych on modernization. The first film Birth of Light focusses on a tribe in Kenya going through a transition from darkness to light with an electrification program.
In contrast to Illaut, Northern Kenya in a early stage of modernization and urbanization, the next film will focus on an advanced stage of this development in an ever-luminous megacity in China.
Birth of Light follows a nomadic community on the brink of receiving electricity and how it affects their way of life.
In the remote desert community of Illaut, Northern Kenya, the Samburu are nomadic pastoralists who live by the rhythm of the sun and the moon. What will remain of their customs once electricity makes an appearance? Will artificial light, water pumps, refrigerators and a mobile network threaten their culture? How will the temptations of modern times change things?
The Samburu have spent a decade living under pylons that provide electricity to cities. The government is now making efforts to connect this community as well, resulting in structural changes to their way of life. For example, in order to have safe electrical connections, impermanent huts must make way for permanent houses with fencing, turning public land into private property. Electricity offers new possibilities, but also brings a new dependence with consequences for the Samburu's formerly self-sufficient way of life.
The transition the Samburu are going through comes at the tail end of a broader global transformation; since 2007, more than half of humanity has been living in cities. The Samburu settle in villages, while some move to the nearby city. We as viewers share the Samburu's excitement amid the changes, but we also feel melancholy at the disappearance of a traditional way of life.
