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- Welcome to POV.
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I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS
Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
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"Library books
smell particularly nice."
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That is a great quote
from one of the characters
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in tonight's documentary
How to Build a Library,
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a film featuring
two Kenyan women
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who set out to restore Nairobi's
storied McMillan Library.
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The McMillan library opened
in 1931
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when Kenya was still
a British colony.
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It's a beautiful
Neoclassical-designed structure,
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but unfortunately,
Black Kenyans were not allowed
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inside the establishment
until 1958.
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Even though Kenya achieved its
political independence in 1963,
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scholars to this day claim
there are still remnants
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of deep-seated colonialism
in the country.
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Despite that, the library has
been a beacon for Kenyans
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and played a prominent role
in the 1970s
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during the country's emerging
intellectual movement.
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Protagonists Shiro Koinange
and Angela Wachuka
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are charismatic
access characters
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who exude resilience and passion
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as they navigate
the local political field
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while also raising money
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for the restoration
of the crumbling building
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and in effect, bringing an
entirely new attitude to Kenya.
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Koinange and Wachuka were so
committed to their mission,
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they left their professions
to take on the task
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of making an old,
formerly whites-only library
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a cultural community hub
of new activity in Nairobi.
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How to Build a Library
is directed
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by husband-and-wife team
Maia Lekow and Christopher King.
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Lekow is of Kenyan descent
and also a musician,
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and King is a native Australian
filmmaker
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who has lived in Nairobi
since 2006.
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Lekow and King met this
dynamic duo eight years ago
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when Maia was working in the
music business with Shiro,
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and Chris was doing some filming
with Waschuka
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when she was an editor
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for Africa's most contemporary
publishing house.
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The women told the directors
it was their dream
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to renovate the old colonial
library in downtown Nairobi,
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and the cameras started rolling.
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Chris King says a nice subplot
of the film
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was showing people how exciting
modern-day Nairobi is
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and showing a side of the city
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that most people
have never seen.
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King says what's really exciting
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is taking the film
to different communities
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to show the struggles overcome
by these two women
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who say they are trying
to change their world
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to what they want instead
of what they've inherited,
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adding that
their biggest challenge
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was to decolonize the libraries
themselves,
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as most of the books
populating the facility
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were written by white men.
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Thanks to our protagonists,
before long,
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the library shelves were stocked
with books
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by African
and international writers.
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When Lekow and King were asked
in a recent interview
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what books they are reading,
Lekow said, "Not many,"
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as the couple now
has two young children.
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When they're ready to start
reading again,
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I'm sure they'll know
exactly where
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they can get some great books.
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How to Build a Library
starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
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your home for independent film.