Multi-award-winning Kenyan director Likarion Wainaina directed Supa Modo, Kenya’s first-ever superhero film and most successful film ever, which won more than 50 international awards, including Best European Film For Children, European Children’s Film Association, 2019; Generation 14Plus: Children’s Jury Special Mention, Berlin, 2018; the Artistic Bravery Prize at the Durban International Film Festival, 2018; and Best Screenplay at the Carthage Film Festival.
Now he’s back on Showmax with his next ambitious project – Kenya’s first sci-fi series Subterranea, set to premiere on 26 September 2024. A Kibanda Pictures production, the eight-part Showmax Original series follows eight participants of a psychological experiment who are placed in an underground bunker to test the effects of close-quarter secluded relationships on humans. In a twist of irony, the world ends and the eight are now trapped in the bunker with nowhere to go.
Assembling Kenya’s finest actors, Subterranea stars Kalasha winners Foi Wambui (Crime and Justice), Peter Kawa (County 49), and Nice Githinji (The Caller), as well as Kalasha nominees Melvin Alusa and Melissa Kiplagat (both from Country Queen). Filmmaker Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann (director of Best Documentary at 2018 Durban International Film Festival, New Moon) who makes her debut as an actor, Makena Kahuha (Kina), Biko Nyongesa (Sense8), Pauline Komu (Groove Theory), the finest theatre kid on the block, Kenyan Theatre Awards winner Dadson Gakenga (Subira), and newcomer Chintu Chudasama round up the ensemble.
“I’m always keen on experimenting with genres. In 2018, we made Kenya’s first superhero film with Supa Modo. Six years later, we are presenting Kenya’s first-ever sci-fi series,” says Likarion. “In Kenya, and maybe other places, there’s this misconception that sci-fi always means futuristic or lots of laser guns, but sci-fi can also be about exploring the impact of actual or imagined science on human psychology or behaviour. That is what Subterranea is all about. It’s not a futuristic show but rather a series where we dream about science and how our characters react to it.”
Likarion also co-produces Subterranea alongside series creator and head writer Brian Munene, with Martin Kigondu (County 49) and Arnold Mwanjila (Taliya) also serving as writers.
Previously, Brian has written for Showmax and CANAL+’s first-ever co-production, the Kalasha-winning, AMVCA-nominated Kenyan police procedural and legal drama Crime and Justice; the Kalasha-nominated political thriller County 49; Kenya’s first military series Mpakani; and the 2018 Oscar nominee for Best Live Action Short, Watu Wote: All of Us.
“Subterranea tackles very human themes that our Kenyan audience will identify with,” says Brian. “We have eight individuals with very different personalities stuck in a bunker and they have to find a way to work together to survive, so themes of family and unity come out very strongly. There are also themes of broken institutions and mental health. We dug deeper and asked ourselves: ‘What are some issues in Kenyan society that we normally don’t see on TV?’ So Subterranea explores Issues such as male postpartum depression, PTSD among our armed forces, and cults in Kenya and their impact on followers.”
