He Knows This Place: Film Screening and Discussion

Join the Africa-China Initiative and the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues for a screening of the documentary He Knows This Place (2024), followed by a discussion with director Melissa Lefkowitz.

Film Synopsis

Educated in Kenya and the founder of a non-profit organization in a Nairobi informal settlement, 23-year-old Liu Yi Meng Han is not like most of the thousands of Chinese nationals who live in Kenya. While relationships between Meng Han and his colleagues are flourishing, suspicion and resentment against Chinese nationals begin to rise throughout Nairobi. When his mother encourages him to attend graduate school abroad, Meng Han finds himself at the crossroads of his attachment to a country he loves and an uncertain future. This intimate short documentary delves into themes of belonging, identity, race, and the notion of home, evoking new questions about the Chinese diaspora in Kenya through the experiences of a young man caught between two worlds.

This event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Africa-China Initiative, the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues, and the African Studies and Asian Studies Programs at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, as well as Howard University’s Center for African Studies.

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Melissa Lefkowitz is a New York City-based filmmaker and sociocultural anthropologist. Since 2010, her research and film work have explored many facets of contemporary Africa-China relations, with a focus on transnational connection and fissure, media, racism and racialization, and the production of social imaginaries.