How to Build a Library

Back to list
Director Maia Lekow, Christopher King
Country Kenya, United States
Runtime 102
Year 2025
Language English, Swahili
Premiere International Premiere

Synopsis

Shiro and Wachuka attempt to convert a derelict, trash-filled library in the heart of Nairobi into a vibrant hub of culture and creativity for the city’s inhabitants. The building in question, the historical McMillan Memorial Library, built in 1931 by British colonizers, was exclusively reserved for white people until 1958. The two women, determined and dedicated to their cause, took on the ambitious project of the renovation works in 2017. However, as they go through the archive material, conflicted emotions arise within them - anger and appreciation in equal measure - as they grapple with the dilemma of which elements of Kenya’s colonial heritage are worth preserving and which should be left to obscurity. By capturing the complicated process of the library’s restoration, the bureaucratic hurdles, and the precariousness of the project in the face of political change, the filmmakers, Maia Lekow and Christopher King, simultaneously manage to explore another pivotal question; when are compromises justified in the wider debate on acknowledging and offering restitution for colonial heritage?

Screenings

19:45

Stavros Tornes

Thursday 13.3.
QA
14:00

Stavros Tornes

Friday 14.3.
QA

Cast and crew

Producer Christopher King, Maia Lekow
Writer Maia Lekow, Christopher King, Ricardo Acosta
Cinematographer Christopher King, Wambui Muigai, Emma Nzioka, Ronald Ronics, Nyasha Kadandara, Timothy Mwaura, Michael Onyiego, Steve Ruiyi
Music Katya Mihailova, Maia Lekow, Ken Myhr, Daniel Hoffknecht
Sound Maia Lekow, Nico Berthold, Christopher King
Production Circle and Square Productions
Co-production One Story Up
Executive producer Roger Ross Williams, Geoff Martz, Judy Kibinge, D.D. Wigley, Maxyne Franklin, Nikki Heyman, Geralyn Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Tegan Acton, Emma Pompetti, Melony and Adam Lewis, Jamie Wolf, Nathalie Seaver
World Sales Autlook Filmsales

 

directors picture

Maia Lekow, Christopher King



2019 The Letter (co-direction)
2025 How to Build a Library (co-direction)

2019 The Letter (co-direction)
2025 How to Build a Library (co-direction)

Online screenings: -