The cinema of Kenya refers to the film industry of Kenya. Although a very small industry by 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.
History Origins of Kenyan cinema dates around 1936 with the Bantu Education Cinema Experiment of 1935 was a colonial initiative in South Africa aimed at using films as a tool for education and social control among Black South Africans. The experiment was part of the broader Bantu Education policy, which sought to segregate and control the education of Black Africans under apartheid rule. Dr. W.H. Notcutt's arrival in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania) in 1936 marked a significant development in the colonial administration's efforts to utilize films for education and propaganda purposes.
As the Director of the Bantu Education Department in South Africa, Notcutt brought his expertise and experience to Tanganyika, where he spearheaded the production of educational films aimed at the local population. These films were part of broader colonial initiatives to influence and control indigenous communities, disseminating government propaganda and promoting colonial ideologies. Notcutt's involvement in Tanganyika underscores the widespread use of cinema as a tool of colonial governance across various parts of Africa during the early 20th century. By using multiple languages, the colonial authorities aimed to reach a broader audience and convey their messages more effectively across different ethnic communities in Tanganyika. Thus the birth of Kenyan cinema began as he produced films in Kikuyu, Luo and Swahili etc. Films include Post Office Savings, Bank, Tax and Progress. others were directed towards colonial settler famers such as Coffee Under Banana Shade. He also produced one African folklore film The Hear and the Leopard.Notcutt, Latham pp 183-184
Notcutt realized local personnel can be trained to make cinema production much cheaper, Notcutt's film production in Tanganyika involved the training and employment of local African individuals, although they may have been limited to roles such as assistants, technicians, or actors in minor or stereotypical roles. The extent of their involvement and the opportunities provided for training and African participation in filmmaking 1936 films were produced and cut by Africans from start to finish.Notcutt, Latham p,187
1939 was the year the British set up Colonial film unit with the East African Branch In Kenya. The Colonial Film Unit (CFU) in Nairobi was an entity established during the colonial era in Kenya, then known as British East Africa. The CFU was part of the British colonial administration's efforts to produce films for various purposes, including propaganda, education, and documentation of colonial activities.
The primary goal of the Colonial Film Unit in Nairobi was to create films that promoted British colonial interests and ideologies, while also serving as a tool for social control and cultural assimilation among the indigenous population. These films often depicted colonial narratives that portrayed British rule in a positive light and reinforced stereotypes about African societies and cultures.
While the specific films produced by the Colonial Film Unit in Nairobi may vary, they typically included documentaries, educational films, and propaganda pieces that highlighted various aspects of colonial life, such as agriculture, infrastructure development, missionary work, and the activities of colonial administrators. In 1955 the Colonial Film Unit changed to Oversee Film and Television Center.
After Kenya gained independence from the United Kingdom on 12 December 1963, the end of British colonial rule and the transition to an independent Kenyan film industry. However, the legacy of the Colonial Film Unit in Nairobi continues to be studied as part of the broader history of colonialism and media representation in Africa.
Kenyan cinema 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. 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' (1992) and 'Saikati Enkabaani' (1998) by Anne Mungai, The Married Bachelor (1997) by Ingolo wa Keya. Kolor Mask (1985) by Sao Gamba is considered the first Kenyan feature film based on a Kenyan student who returns home from England with a white woman as his wife.
Since 2000 feature films on DV technology production have increased in the country. Director Judy Kibinge produced several trailblazing fiction films in the 2000s including Dangerous Affair (2002), Project Daddy (2004), and Something Necessary (2013). They include 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, The Great Betrayal by Ingolo wa Keya, 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.
Numerous short fictions are also on the increase such as The Baisikol (1997) by Ingolo wa Keya, Ras Star by Wanuri Kahiu, Subira (2007) by 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 its 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". 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 diversify 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 prize 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 film by Nathan Collett have received national and international attention , PRI The World, 4 August 2010 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, and is a story of love, conflict, and ultimately, of reconciliation., The Standard (Kenya), 7 August 2010]
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, Nairobi and 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.Kenya's Kibera kid savours stardom, BBC News, 20 August 2007 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 descendants of Kenyan freedom 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 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.ArtMatters.Info
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.