It's mid-morning in downtown Nairobi, not that you'd know it. The nearby bustle of the Kenyan capital has been skilfully kept at bay, thanks to the seclusion of the walled compound I find myself in. Housing buildings belonging to the government, the tranquil grounds are today playing host to The First Grader, arguably the most important film production in the country since the Oscar-winning adaptation of the John le Carre novel The Constant Gardener.
When I arrive, The First Grader's director, Justin Chadwick - best known for the 2008 period drama The Other Boleyn Girl - is fussing over some foliage that is threatening to spoil his shot - a crucial confrontation scene that comes near the climax. But pruning problems aside, he couldn't be happier. 'It's been the best single experience of my life,' says the British filmmaker. It's the penultimate day of the six-week shoot, and tears, hugs and grand pronouncements seem to be the order of the day.
Sitting quietly, dressed in a charcoal suit, is Naomie Harris, the British actress best known for her work in Pirates of the Caribbean and Miami Vice. 'I don't think any of us knew how moving, how emotional, it was all going to be,' she explains. A few moments later, Harris' Kenyan co-star, Oliver Litondo, arrives on set. Despite having appeared alongside Sidney Poitier in 1975's The Wilby Conspiracy, Litondo last acted 20 years ago - but he too has felt the emotion. 'Having met all these people,' he sighs, 'you now have to part and go your own way.'
If there's a reason for this genuine sentiment, you can probably put it down to the story they are telling. The First Grader tells the true tale of Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge, an 84-year-old Kenyan villager who had fought for the Mau Mau rebellion against the British occupation during the 1950s. When the Kenyan government announced in 2002 that it was proposing free primary school education for all, Maruge demanded that he be allowed to join his village's local class. Becoming what Guinness World Records would later certify as the oldest first-grade pupil ever, he set about learning how to read and write.
It's a remarkable story, made more so by the fact Maruge (played by Litondo with great dignity and grace) would later address the United Nations about the need for education in Africa. Described in some quarters as 'an African Slumdog Millionaire', Chadwick's film came second in the Audience Award vote at the Toronto Film Festival last year - only losing out to eventual Oscar winner The King's Speech. 'There's so much cynicism and manipulation with films generally, and [The First Grader] is not one of those films,' says Harris. 'There's something genuine about it, and that genuineness affects people.'
Partly, everyone seems to be inspired by Maruge, whose indomitable spirit stems from his time facing torture at the hands of the British. 'I met him twice,' says Chadwick of Maruge, who died aged 89 in 2009. 'I had to stay longer because I could see he was dying, of cancer. That's the heartbreaking thing - he was never able to see this, and see what we've done with it. But meeting him and really researching into what happened in education in Kenya, and going to an African school and seeing how those children were and going to the places where it all happened really informed the script.'
Chadwick's initial fascination with the story stemmed from his own upbringing in northwest England, where his father worked for a dress company in Manchester and his mother was an art teacher in nearby Bolton. 'I know that if I hadn't come across one teacher, I would never have gone to the local theatre at 11 years old and then joined Manchester Youth Theatre. That changed my life. Education is the most important thing for me. I know it's an obvious thing to say. But all you need as a child is one good teacher to come across. And Jane Obinchu is clearly a brilliant teacher.'