A moving coming-of-age story of two Kenyan teenagers brought together in friendship by a murder, the documentary film Searching for Amani opens a window into complex tensions between conservationists, crop-growing farmers and pastoralists in Kenya as extreme drought throws them into conflict over dwindling resources. “When there is peace, people are not being killed,” says 18-year-old Simon Ali, whose father, a safari guide, was murdered on the job at a wildlife conservancy five years ago. “I know how peace is very important, because we are victims of conflict.” The timbre of Ali’s voice hints at the time that has passed since he got the news that his father had been shot while guiding tourists through a wilderness area in Laikipia County in central Kenya. Simon Ali, Laikipia County, Kenya. Image courtesy Backroads Pictures. Since then, Ali has journeyed through five years of grief and adolescence while working on the film project, produced by Backroads Pictures and Nicole Gormley Films, in which he goes in search of answers to how, why and by whom his father was killed. Meanwhile, the backdrop to this story is an enduring drought described as the worst to have hit the region in 40 years. As Ali steps in front of the camera in Searching for Amani — amani is the Swahili word for peace — he holds his own camera as he takes on the role of a budding investigative journalist. Under the mentorship of the film crew, he learns the ropes of journalism, grills…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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