The
cinema of Kenya refers to the film industry of
Kenya. Although a very small industry in western comparison, Kenya has produced or been a location for film since the early 1950s when
Men Against the Sun was filmed in 1952. Although, in the United States, jungle epics that were set in the country were shot in Hollywood as early as the 1940s.
Kenyan cinema[edit]
Rather than featured films with fictional content, Kenya has mostly produced documentary films often relating the conditions of the people and poverty in the main cities of Kenya. Since 2000 feature films on DV technology production have increased in the country. They include Dangerous Affair, Project Daddy, and Money & the Cross by Njeri Karago, Babu's Babies by Christine Bala, Naliaka is Going by Albert Wandago, The Price of a Daughter and Behind Closed Doors by Jane Murago-Munene, The Green Card by Brutus Sirucha, Malooned by Bob Nyanja, All Girls Together by Cajetan Boy, Help by Robert Bresson and
From a Whisper by
Wanuri Kahiu and Jitu Films movies: Mob Doc, R2 Security, Zeinabu Rudi Nyumbani, Chasing Moses, Selfish, Me, My Wife and Her Guru, Grave Yard and Through Hell and The Hammer by Cezmiq Cast and the banned horror film Otto the Bloodbath.
Feature films before 2000 include 'The Battle of the Sacred Tree (1995) by Wanjiru Kinyanjui which won several awards (OCIC and The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame award in the US), Saikati and Saikati Enkabaani by Anne Mungai and Kolor Mask by Sao Gamba. Numerous short fictions are also on the increase such as Ras Star by Wanuri Kahiu,
Subiraby Kenya-based Indian film director Ravneet Sippy Chadha, Life in D Major by Angelo Kinyua, and Extracts of Me by William Owusu.
Other low-budget independent filmmakers using digital technology to shoot their films and sell them locally on DVD and VCD format have spawned the Riverwood Industry. Though it originally takes it name from River-road, the busy street where music tapes and electronics are sold, Riverwood is fast capturing the attention of the mainstream TV stations and pan-African broadcasters. Mburu Kimani's
The Race earned an award at the inaugural Kalasha Awards (Kenya's TV and Film Awards) for
Best Riverwood Film.
[1] Other films in this genre include Simiyu Barasa's
Toto Millionaire (2007), and numerous other vernacular films like
Kihenjo and
Machangi
Films such as 2006's
I Want to Be a Pilot relates an emotional tale of a young boy living in poverty in Nairobi who has dreams and aspirations of becoming an airline pilot and being set free from his life of hardship.
In 2007 Vivid features, a big Kenyan Media house, decided to diverse from their traditional services and venture into local feature film production. During this time Vivid managed to produce 24 Kenyan feature films under the name of Jitu Films with different directors such as Alexandros Konstantaras, Evelyn Kahungu and
Hawa Essuman. Jitu tried to help to create a dependable market for Kenyan films by helping developing a cinema going and a DVD buying culture for local Kenyan films as well as reaching other audiences outside Africa. To beat piracy Jitu has their original DVDs on sale only for under a dollar in all big Supermarkets and shops . The DVDs are original high standard quality with extra menus with other film trailers etc. In 2010 Jitu Film's “Otto: the Blood Bath” earned its reputation not only by being the first Kenyan Horror movie being banned the last years by the Kenyan Censorship Board as “Too horrific even to an adult” but by winning the first price as the Best East African Film in the last edition of the Rwanda Film Festival.
Film such as 2010's Togetherness Supreme a fictional feature flm by
Nathan Collett have received national and international attention
[2] for revealing some of issues affecting Kenyan society. Togetherness Supreme tells the story of Kamau, an artist, who uses his talent to promote change in
Kibera. Togetherness Supreme tells a story of love, conflict, and ultimately, of reconciliation.
[3]
Kibera Kid directed by Kenya-based director
Nathan Collett is a short twelve-minute film which covers themes of crime and poverty in the slums of
Kibera,
Nairobiand also morality as the young protagonist must make a choice between living with a gang of thieves or living a life free of crime. The story is fictional but the circumstances and reality depicted are not. The film received seven international awards and received attention at various film festivals worldwide including the
Berlin Film Festival and it was accoladed with a
Student EMMY in Hollywood. It has been profiled by
BBC,
Reuters,
Al Jazeera English and many others.
[4] Other than this directors such as Collett have shot other short films such as
The Oath, a 2005 historical short set in the 1950s during the
Mau Mau uprising under the British colonialism in Kenya. It portrays the struggle between two brothers on opposite sides of the conflict. Many of the actors used in the film were descents of Mau Mau fighters.
Whilst the number of films shot in the country has increased in recent years, the country lacks the financial resources and investment needed to produce larger scale feature films and employ professional actors. It is far behind other African film producers such as
South Africa and
Egypt who have been producing feature films since the early twentieth century.
Government promotion of film making[edit]
The Kenyan government has made a conscious effort to develop Kenyan cinema as an industry, and in 2005 the government helped establish the
Kenya Film Commission (KFC) which came into operation in mid-2006. The Kenya Film Commission aims to promote the industry not only within the country but to raise international awareness and interest from potential investors. The commission falls under the Ministry of Information and Communication that is headed by
Samuel Poghisio. It supports the Kenyan film industry by providing facilities for screenings and filming and organising various workshops to educate local film-makers seeking to enter film production. It is also responsible for advising on licensing and immigration; as well as facilitate the filming process for film makers. The Commission is also establishing a database that will list film directors, producers, agents, local talent, stakeholders and service providers to raise the profile of the Kenyan film industry.
[5][6]
In 2012 the Ministry of Education introduced film production in schools, colleges and universities drama festival. This project coordinated by Dr. Simon Peter Otieno of the department of Literature, University of Nairobi saw schools, colleges and universities attempt film-making in the festival. In 2012 the films 'Conflicted Successions' by the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, 'Time' by Elimu Academy, 'A Time to Cry' by Chogoria Girls' High School, 'Benji' by Lions Primary School, 'Flashback' by Karima Girls' high school, 'The First Drop' by Kayole One Primary School, 'A Story is Told' by Nyagatugu Boys' High School, 'Angel' by Kakamega High School, 'The Contest' by Kenya High School, 'Anne-Brittah' by Bulimbo Girls' High School, 'Dreams of Tomorrow' by OLM Mugoiri Girls' High School, 'Last Friday at Ten' by Gitwe Girls' High School and 'Pressure Points' by Menengai High School were major highlights. Being the first year of the festival the quality of productions was surprisingly high. A few of the presentations were experimental and lacked the technical quality.
2013 saw what would be arguably the first Science Fiction story in Kenya. This was a film titled 'Messenger' by Rwathia Girls' High School that presented a story of an alien that steals the identity of a form one student. Other highlights in the secondary school category included 'A Rose for Salome' by Chogoria Girls' High School, 'The Red Rose' by Nyagatugu Boys' High School, 'A Letter to Auntie' by TumuTumu Girls' High School, 'Sins and Scenes' by Our Lady of Mercy Mugoiri Girls' high School, 'Black Rose' by St. Annes Secondary School Lioki, 'The Portrait' by Kangubiri Girls' High School, 'Tumours of Bitterness' by Othaya Boys' High School and 'Kosa La Mwisho' by Kajembe High School.
The primary school category saw the screening of 'Words' by Elimu Academy. In the colleges and universities category the film to mention was 'Remember the Name' by the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, 'Love Taken to a Mysterious Place' by United States International University, 'The Twist' by Mount Kenya University, 'Let's Play Pretend' by Moi University. In a bid to promote participation in this new genre in the drama and film festival, the Ministry of Education introduced genres like documentary, cinematic poetry, screen-narrative, screen-dance and adverts. In 2013 many Early Childhood institutions participated in the screen poetry category. The screen-dance was presented by Kangubiri Girls' High School, Kayole One Primary School and Nkamathi Primary School.
In Nairobi the
Hot Sun Foundation was established to help train and expose the talents of young people living in the areas of poverty and educate them in filmmaking, acting, script writing, camerawork. The foundation was responsible for producing films such as Kibera Kid.
