Kiko Wayne Jr, 23, came to Geelong from Ethiopia in 2018. He couldn’t speak English but learnt the language at school.
Joining a community theatre program to further improve his English, inspired Kiko’s dream of becoming a writer and actor.
In 2019 he wrote his first short play which became part of North Youth Theatre’s production, ‘Waiting for Something Better’.
Kiko developed a passion for writing his own stories. He tells us “I grew up around my grandfather who was a great storyteller, and he also inspired me to be a storyteller. I decided to tell my stories through the screen. My plan is to make more short films to raise the awareness of deaths, violence and other challenges that my people are facing.”
He was an integral to the writing and performing of North Youth Theatre’s successful show, ‘Maps of the Heart’ in 2022.
The short film ‘Ran’ is his writing and directorial film debut, for this piece he drew upon his personal experiences and observations of life,
“It was great to collaborate on this short film with Benj Binks, who is a highly experienced filmmaker. I want to see more African filmmakers stand up and tell their stories on-screen.”
With support from The Bluebird Foundation, ‘Ran’ debuted at the Courthouse in April.
Photo supplied.
HuG 