How to Build a Library

Logline
Two tenacious women are transforming a dilapidated, junk-filled library in downtown Nairobi. But first, they must navigate the precarious halls of Nairobi's politics, raise several million dollars for the rebuild and dig up the ghosts of a colonial history, still trapped within the library walls.

Synopsis

In 2018, Shiro (writer) and Wachuka (publisher) quit their jobs to restore a derelict colonial library in bustling downtown Nairobi. Horrified at the condition of the historical, state-owned building, they successfully lobbied city officials to take-over management of the junk-filled library. 

With zero experience in building, the pair find themselves broke and with a mammoth task ahead. But with an undying passion for books, and a unique flair for glamour, instagram, and finding funds where least expected, they activate an army of homegrown artists, intellectuals, tech developers, architects and writers, all energised to transform the space into a technological hub of creativity and learning for future generations. They call it Book Bunk. 

While the cleanup & architectural overhaul of the neo-classical building requires a huge team and financial investment, it is the psychological rebuilding of these spaces that requires the most energy. The building serves as a vehicle for important conversation about the past, present and future of Kenyan society. Built in 1932 initially for white use only.  It wasn’t until independence in the 1960’s that Africans were permitted access to the library and its collection, which has been left in neglect since, dismissed as someone else’s history. 

As the Book Bunk team excavate through the dust and clutter amassed over the past 60 years, they unearth and organise tens of thousands of books, paintings, statues & photographs, all frozen in an era that is long gone, yet eerily familiar. The film explores a post-colonial identity crisis as it exists for millennials in Kenya today, and shared all over the world: what do we do with this complex history? Erase, or remember?