Award-winning film ‘Softie’ now streaming on Showmax

Softie since its release has become Kenya’s most successful documentary both locally and internationally.

Directed by Sam Soko, who also co-produces alongside Toni Kamau, Softie follows Boniface Mwangi’s political pursuit and the pressures it puts on his family.

Known for his outspokenness against injustice and daring protests that have seen him constantly clash with the police, Boniface, who calls himself ‘The People’s Watchman’, is currently arguably Kenya’s most prominent activist.

Filmed for seven years, Softie traces Boniface’s love and commitment for his country through his early days as a photojournalist at the centre of the 2007 post-election violence, as a vocal activist, and as a politician looking to create a better Kenya for his children.

In the film’s 96 minutes, the film follows Boniface on his new journey as he tries his hand at politics during the 2017 elections, hoping to change the system he’s so persistently fought from within. “I’m going to topple the government,” he tells his young son in one of the film’s clips.

Softie offers a very intimate look at Boniface’s life and bold activism, and the toll that it takes on his family – wife Njeri Mwangi and their three young children, who at some point, are forced to flee to America when they start receiving death threats.

As he wrestles with his duty to country and to family, Boniface is faced with the ultimate question: Should country come before family?

Softie made history in 2020 as the first-ever Kenyan film to run in cinemas for seven consecutive weeks. The film is currently streaming on Showmax.

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