Damien Hauser’s The Memory of Princess Mumbi is a film reminiscent of what seems like the director’s various influences, but of course, he tries to put in his own spin on them, as tells a futuristic story. This story spans three decades but concentrates itself on a decade, the 2090s, and about two diasporic filmmakers. Those filmmakers are Damien (Hauser) and Kuve (Ibrahim Joseph). From Nordania (future Switzerland), they go to Pesa (Kenya) to film a documentary about post war depression. They cast an interviewer, the titular Mumbi (Shandra Apondi), who convinces them to make a multigenre film. Despite her being betrothed to a Prince (Samson Waithaka), she elopes with Kuve, taking her back to Nordania. She leaves, marries the Prince, and he becomes an actor, but fate would have them back together.
AI is a prominent element in The Memory of Princess Mumbi, using the element to create metacinema. Within this fictional world, Mumbi questions the filmmakers’ use of AI altering reality. They use AI to either reinforce diasporic gaze or take the film back from her supposed control. Sadly, the use of AI here undermines the questions about it – one can’t lie to question truths. The film’s heart are the conversations between Kuve and Mumbi, and the AI takes away that authenticity. I get that some scenes are more difficult to create, like the vibrant, future world of Pesa. But I refuse to believe that other scenes, like ones on the beach, are impossible without using slop.
- Rated: Unrated
- Genre: Romance, Science Fiction
- Release Date: 9/13/2025
- Directed by: Damien Hauser
- Starring: Ibrahim Joseph, Samson Waithaka, Shandra Apondi
- Produced by: Damien Hauser, Kaleem Aftab
- Written by: Damien Hauser
- Studio: Out of My Mind Films (KE)
