Throttle Queens: Kenyan Motorcycling Women

AFRICA DIRECT: African stories by African filmmakers. Perspectives from a diverse continent; storytelling in the hands of local talent.

Letting their hair down, riding free and feeling positive is what drives Nairobi’s Throttle Queens.

This short film from filmmaker Joan Kabugu celebrates Ciku Mbithi and the women of the Throttle Queens biking club. Through the city and out onto the open roads, their love of motorcycling brings them exhilaration, freedom, adventure – and a sense of control over their lives.

Joan Kabugu is a writer and filmmaker based in Nairobi. She is the founder of Ecila Films which focuses on women, teens and Indigenous communities. Her debut feature film is Marikiti Women; she has written many hours of TV content and directed several environmental and other short films. She is currently completing a multimedia documentary about a deaf dancer called Sounds of Silence.