Documentary, 2nd Prize
The world as a whole may have come around somewhat to the idea that their exist a whole spectrum of sexualities from heterosexual to homosexual and beyond. In Africa, a continent who’s societies on the whole are still very traditional, such ideas are only now starting to be raised as an entirely new generation is beginning to live their lives free of any past traditional constraints. Morine is one of Nairobi’s few transgenders belonging to a small and exclusive group that did not even exist until recently. As a transgender Morine has made the conscious choice not only to accept her sexuality, but accept it openly in a society where such a choice is still technically illegal. The result is not only a woman who has had to develop a very thick skin, but also one of a woman very much at ease in her own body. Still living in the same community where she grew up, Morine now owns and works in her own hair salon. This has not only gained her a lot of respect among her peers, but has also allowed her to create a much better life for herself and help her move into her own apartment across the road from the slum in which she grew up.
Tobin Bryce Jones
