What does it mean to call another person “mine”? When does it become intimacy, devotion, belonging, and care, and when does it shift into possession, control, expectation, or the need to hold on too tightly? Wangu was born from those questions. – El Magondu, Wangu Creative Director
We won’t ask if you’ve ever thought of the contradictions that come with love, for if you’ve felt it, they’ve sure engulfed your mind beyond articulation, that is what WANGU Act 1 explores; connection and distance, tenderness and grief, certainty and confusion.
Reserved for living beings, the swahili term WANGU, is unlike the english term mine, as WANGU speaks to living connections.
The above definition is well represented as WANGU Act 1, follows two lovers as they navigate a dreamlike world where the boundaries between memory, reality, and desire begin to dissolve. As their relationship unravels, they are forced to confront what it truly means to call someone, wangu (“mine”), and whether love can survive the need to possess it.
At its heart, Wangu is a story about love and the truths that lie in between. Distorted or not, painful or beautiful, they remain real to those who experience them. Through this film, I hope audiences recognize fragments of themselves within those truths, and leave with a deeper curiosity about the stories we tell ourselves and each other in the name of love.” – El Magondu, Wangu Creative Director
Starring Brian Ogola and El Magondu, WANGU Act 1 is a multidisciplinary storytelling piece exploring the many faces of love through film, visual art, fashion, and music. It unfolds across four interconnected acts: a dreamlike psychological short film that anchors the narrative, followed by evolving expressions through a visual art installation, a fashion collection brought to life on the runway, and a musical experience that expands the emotional world of the project.
WANGU Act 1 premieres at Shah Jain Bhavan on August 1, 2026. Grab your tickets now at tickets.sanaapost.com
Watch WANGU Act 1 teaser here
