Sam Soko
2020
Boniface “Softie” Mwangi has long fought injustices in his country as a political activist. Now he’s taking the next step by running for office in a regional Kenyan election. From the moment Boniface decides to run, telling his wife, Njeri, in passing with a hesitant laugh, he responds to each challenge with optimism. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents becomes increasingly harder to combat with idealism alone. And Boniface soon finds that challenging strong political dynasties is putting his family at risk. Should country really come before family, as he’s always believed?
CREDITS
Sundance Special Jury Best Editing World Cinema Documentary award
Best Film at Encounters South African Film Festival
Silver Prize Feature Documentary El Gouna Film Festival
Best Documentary at Durban International Film Festival
Nominee Emmy Award Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary feature
Best Documentary at Lunenburg Documentary Festival
Nominee Peabody Award
Nominee Best Feature at the IDA Documentary Awards
❛ Softie is a documentary that is unapologetically unveiling the corruption, violence, tribal interests and intimidation that revolve around the political system in the country ❜
— Nation
❛ It’s hard to walk away from “Softie” without feeling at least a little bit more optimistic for progress. ❜