Jakub Barua: Polish roots, Kenyan camera – from Łódź to Nairobi

During our event, we would like to explore how, in Jakub Barua’s work – a director, screenwriter and film producer born in Łódź (1967) and based in Nairobi for many years – the image behaves like memory: it returns, shifts, and brings the tangible (history, biography, everyday life) into dialogue with myth and symbolism. Barua is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Kenyan cinema and a leading voice in an authorial, “poetic” approach to documentary film. He is also a highly regarded photographer in Kenya – his work is held in private collections in Denmark, the UK, the USA and Italy, and his photographs regularly appear at international art auctions. In his films, storytelling often takes the form of dreamlike maps of memory. With great sensitivity, Barua weaves history and biography together with myths and symbols that shape his multicultural identity. This is held together by a distinctive, almost painterly visual language – at times slightly surreal, yet always rooted in the lived experience of place. An important early chapter of his practice was his collaboration with his brother, cinematographer Stan Barua, which helped define and develop the films’ recognisable visual style.

In the first part of the meeting, we will discuss key themes in Barua’s filmography and how his cinema guides viewers through spaces and memories – from Łódź to the Kenyan coast. We will look at how he combines lived realities (migration, war, life at cultural crossroads) with a poetic, symbolic narrative layer. Recurring motifs include Icarus as a figure of risk and transgression, ritual as a gesture of initiation and farewell, and subtle references to Conrad (Heart of Darkness). Landscape is also central – the city, the courtyard, the ocean shoreline – shown as a space of memory, legend (including flood myths) and everyday human experience. We will refer to selected films including: This–That (1989), Welcome (1990), In My Memory (1990), Forgotten Places (1994), Polish Shades (1999), My Daddy Was a Uhlan (2006).

The second part of the event will be dedicated to the project/exhibition “Hybrid BIO_GEO-GRAPHIES of Jakub Barua” (Virtual Film Memorial), developed within the CAPHE project. Prof Aleksandra Łukaszewicz will present the idea of an immersive format bringing together film, memory and technology (including VR), creating a “virtual archive” and a poetic map of belonging in a Poland–Africa dialogue. The meeting will conclude with an open Q&A – we warmly welcome your questions and comments.

Hosted by: Dr Justyna Gorzkowicz (OBeDeP) & Dr Teresa Naidoo (PUNO)
Registration: Please email obedep.london@gmail.com (we will reply with the Zoom link).

These activities form part of the CAPHE project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation under Grant Agreement No. 101086391. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.