When 84-year-old Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge registered for his local primary school he made headline news around the world.

Now the story of the elderly Mau Mau fighter who wanted to learn to read has become the centre of a slick and powerful feature produced by BBC Films.

Shot on location in the Rift Valley by British director Justin Chadwick and a mostly Kenyan film crew, The First Grader follows Maruge (played by 70-year-old former Kenyan TV news anchorman Oliver Litondo) and his head teacher Jane (British actress Naomie Harris) as they deal with the media attention and local backlash against his claim to a free education.

With the subtle use of flashbacks to show Maruge's fight against British colonisers and torture in Mau Mau prison camps, Chadwick is not afraid to revisit the brutality of the independence struggle and tackle the complex ethnic politics surrounding Mau Mau survivors in contemporary Kenya.

The film's release is well-timed as survivors, aided by 300 boxes of newly released evidence, continue their legal battle for compensation from the British government.