13-23 nov 2025
EN/NL
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Truck Mama
Program
Truck Mama

Truck Mama

Zippy Nyaruri
Kenya, South Africa, Saudi Arabia
2025
85 min
World Premiere
Luminous
Synopsis

“My family was shocked when they found out that I'm driving,” says Eva, a Kenyan woman, as she sits behind the wheel of a truck, heavily pregnant. She botched up her school years and was the only one in her family not to graduate. Pretty foolish, she admits in hindsight, but now she is glad to have chosen a profession she can be proud of. She sees more of the world than her brothers and sisters do.

Two years after the birth of her second child, she returns to the road, even though it’s sometimes a struggle for her to combine single parenthood with her work. The nanny is not always reliable. During the long drives, she keeps in touch with her son by mobile phone.

A combination of observational scenes and cinémavérité creates a multifaceted portrait of the vivacious Eva and a nuanced picture of the emotional dilemmas faced by many economically independent women. When her truck breaks down during a dangerous journey from Kenya to Sudan, Eva needs all the strength she can muster and is even forced to rethink her future.

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Credits
85 min
color
DCP
Spoken languages: English, Swahili
Director
    Zippy Nyaruri
    Zippy Nyaruri
Production
    Zippy Nyaruri for Visual Asili Limited
    Zippy Nyaruri for Visual Asili Limited
Co-production
    Portia Cele for MoonBow Productions
    Portia Cele for MoonBow Productions
Cinematography
    Zippy Nyaruri,
    Joachim Claus,
    Peggy Mbiyu
    Zippy Nyaruri,
    Joachim Claus,
    Peggy Mbiyu
Editing
    Jordana Berg
    Jordana Berg
Screening copy
    Zippy Nyaruri
    Zippy Nyaruri
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