Proving that her startling debut, I Am Not a Witch, was no fluke, writer/director Rungano Nyoni’s offers us On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, a brilliant and provocative film that examines how community and tradition can clash with right and wrong.

In the middle of the night, Shula, apparently driving home from a costume party where she has dressed like Missy Elliott, stumbles across the dead body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin and deeply embedded rituals are enacted, they become increasingly at odds with revelations about the character of the deceased.

While there’s a quirky, off-center storytelling sensibility here that’s quite exciting, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl has serious subjects on its mind. Ultimately, Nyoni’s film is about how cruelty and injustice are woven into social systems, and for many people the perpetuation of those systems is far more important than those who suffer within them. 

Beautifully written, photographed, and acted, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is a big step forward for a major young African filmmaker. ~SM