“Poetry does not get consumed.  Poetry doesn’t diminish or lose its value even though it is read or experienced many times, just as with Diego Quemada Diez’s previous film, I Want to Be a Pilot.  It will be almost 20 years since Pilot came out and yet it still stirs emotions and enlightens.  Poetry is eternal.

I Want to Be a Pilot is an incredible film and work of art, which deserves all of the awards it has already received. When we look at our world today; often cruel and filled with extreme suffering, this exquisite film helps point the way. The director and writer, Diego Quemada-Diez delivers an exceptionally moving and poetic vision. The viewer is swept up in the moment as the camera follows Omondi through the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. Poignantly, we hear the child’s voice, clear and honest as he speaks the words of a poem, which narrates his world for us. A stark and almost unbearable reality is juxtaposed with the child’s resilient dream of hope and possibility. The choice of music is brilliant as the words of “Sweet Honey in The Rock” hauntingly inspires us, “…by your life be you spirit; by your heart be you woman; by your eyes be you open…” I Want to Be a Pilot is more than a superb work of art and filmmaking. It is an inspiration. It will speak to you through its beauty, artistry and the dignity of the human spirit it conveys. Ultimately, it offers us a chance to respond. As it presents a picture of the many faces of our humanity, it does so with a gentle and captivating touch. This is a film which has the potential to heal.”