Cinema of Kenya
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.
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.
These films often depicted colonial narratives that portrayed British rule in a positive light and reinforced stereotypes about African societies and cultures.
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.
[10] 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 Kenya Film Commission aims to promote the industry not only within the country but to raise international awareness and interest from potential investors.
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.
The University of Nairobi produced a film titled The Epitaph (A story about a traumatised girl who is in campus but who cannot forget that she lost her brother in a violent students' strike in high school in which she participated unwillingly).
Kamandura Girls' High School stole the viewers hearts with a witty script titled Anti-Dre which won many awards including the overall winning film.
The category of the screen dance which is akin to music video was still an uphill task and the films presented were weak in production skills.
Their most remarkable film in the year was their documentary titled Omurogi that explored the practice of witchcraft in Kisii county (region around Lake Victoria).
This was evidence that the workshops to train teachers on film skills held at State House Girls' High School in Nairobi had borne fruit.
Kangubiri Girls' High School had a winning thriller Science fiction story titled The Return to Planet Earth.
Elimu Academy won top honours with their film Tamasha about the pain of a girl whose father, a soldier, has to go to Somalia for peace-keeping.
Although film is the latest genre in the drama festival, it is set to influence largely the playing field in the professional arena in Kenyan cinema.
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.
[14] The annual Lola Kenya Screen (also known as Lola Kenya Children's Screen) audiovisual media festival, skill-development programme and market for children and youth in eastern Africa was established by creative and cultural entrepreneur, arts and culture journalist and creative writer Ogova Ondego in October 2005.
Deriving its name from a Bantu language word meaning watch or see films in Kenya, the first edition of the festival was held in Nairobi between 7 and 12 August 2006.
Following the first event in 2006, Films by Children for Children, the first nine-short animation made won the Grand Prize at the 5th World Summit on Media for Children/1st Kids for Kids Africa festival, and went on to be shown in countries such as Germany, Poland, Finland, Kenya, Australia, China, Denmark, and Brazil and other African countries such as South Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal.
[15] The 3rd Lola Kenya Screen ( 11–16 August 2008), attracted participation from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, with all participants coming in to watch the wide variety of films from 56 nations and to be equipped with skills for making films, appreciating and judging audiovisual media production, presenting programmes and filing daily reports on the festival.
This is aimed at equipping children and youth with the skills to understand, appreciate, and create quality audiovisual productions in particular and arts in general.
While the Festival Press is aimed at uplifting the standards of creative and cultural journalism in eastern Africa, the Production Workshop empowers children and youth to make at least five quality, low-budget, moving images per year.
The film brought the rural Kenyan landscape to the silver screen and innovatively incorporated traditional Maasai song with a symphony orchestra.
It was developed in partnership with the Maasai community, and actual tradition and legends were used as a basis for the story and used tribesmen from the Loita Hills area with no former acting experience.
It retold the story of Danish author's Karen Blixen's love affair with Kenya and Hunter Denys Finch Hatton in particular.
