Memory of Princess Mumbi

Directed by Damien Hauser

Kenya

2025

79 mins

Unclassified 15+

A retro-futurist romance from Kenya about filmmaking, beauty and AI. This innovative indie dazzled audiences across the festival circuit, including Venice, Toronto and London.

In 2093, filmmaker Kuve travels to the African kingdom of Umata, a coastal city made of treetop villages where neo-technologies have been outlawed. Kuve wants to make a documentary about the city’s revival since the Great War of the 2070s. There he meets local actress Mumbi. As the two work together, they quarrel over Kuve’s fondness for AI as Mumbi shows him the beauty in everyday life. But when the two fall in love, Mumbi reveals she is betrothed to the kingdom’s Prince. Director Damien Hauser’s deft use of AI to create a fully realised world previously only possible on a multi-million-dollar budget results in a multi-layered meditation on memory, loss and joy – with an emotional core that’s hardly artificial.

“… a kind of sci-fi mockumentary of boundless imagination.”

Vittoria Scarpa, Cineuropa

“… Hauser has almost single-handedly crafted a hugely impressive micro-budget sci-fi adventure which serves as both eye-popping showcase and measured critique of this ominous new technology.”

Stephen Dalton, The Film Verdict

“A digital magic trick that is almost entirely self-produced, Memory of Princess Mumbi is proof that, even with a small budget, you can make great films.”

Claire Diao, Toronto International Film Festival

“… a kind of sci-fi mockumentary of boundless imagination.”

Vittoria Scarpa, Cineuropa

Films showing at this event

Hooyo

A letter brings a young woman’s grief to the surface, reconnecting her with Somalia and her lost birth mother. Starring Edyll Ismail (Send Help).

Screens with Memory of Princess Mumbi

Tickets

Sun 7 June 2026, 4:30pm

Past Event

Dendy Newtown - Cinema 2

Sun 14 June 2026, 4:15pm

Past Event

Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 3

Event George St - Cinema 3

See more, save more with a Flexipass or Youth Pass

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Don’t miss a thing!

Whether you’re in Sydney or one of our rural locations, sign up to our newsletters for all the latest news and offers.

SFF

About

Support

General Enquiries

Ticketing Enquiries

Office Hours

MONDAY – FRIDAY: 9AM – 5PM AEDT

Discover