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“Nawi” has scored an Oscar nomination for the Best International Feature Film category. The movie centres on a 13-year-old Nawi whose father wants to sell her to an older man for cattle.
Nawi has to fight against the tradition of child marriage to pursue her dream of joining high school. Shot in Turkana, the film tackles an issue of child marriage, which is common in rural Turkana. Michelle Lemuya, a winner for the Best Young/Promising Actor for Lead at the just-concluded Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), played the character of Nawi.
Another 2024 drama movie is “A Family Vacation” is showing on Netflix. Produced by Alfajiri Productions and released in August, it stars Yara Maleki (Sarah Hassan), and Jonathan (Lenana Kariba), a ‘perfect,’ dreamy internet couple with a marriage that is coming to an end. Produced by Sarah Hassan and written by Voline Ogutu, the feature film takes on the impact of social media on relationships with the character Yara, a relationship self-help books author, trying to keep up with a flawless public image.
A documentary, “The Battle for Laikipia,” explores the conflicts between indigenous pastoralists and European settlers who are fighting for land. The Samburu people, who are used to herding freely, have to go to fenced European ranches in search of land and resources in the midst of a severe drought. The film captures pastoralism, tradition, the impacts of climate change, and conservation. It won the Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024.
“Sketchy Africans” (“Sketchy AF”) is a Vincent Mbaya comedy film about an entrepreneur, Miriam (Nyokabi Macharia), and a debt-ridden theatre director, Pete (Bruce Makau). Premiered on November 30, the film at the Prestige Cinema and Motion Cinemas. Enter Otis Janam, a comedy film produced by the Kenya Theatre Awards winner Dr. Zippy Okoth. The movie is about a lazy fisherman, Janam (Nick Kwach), who wins a boat racing competition and Api (Sarah Masese). Shot in Rusinga Island, this production promises hearty laughter.
“2 Asunder” follows a bride (Stephanie Ciku Muchiri), a groom (Bruce Makau), a best man (Kevin “K1” Maina), and an overbearing matriarch (Sanaipei Tande) who are trying to keep deep family secrets hidden. Other films and short films that premiered in November are “It’s a Free Country” by Chatterbox, “The Trinity Experience,” “Letters to Dad,” “Filmmakers Hangout,” “Divas of Mutindwa,” “Crazy Blackmail,” “Makosa ni Yangu” by Phil-It Productions, and “Mini Movie Marathon.” The documentary film “Searching for Amani” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in June.
For the TV series department, “Black & Blue” has debuted on Showmax in November. The Kenyan police give the post for an Officer Commanding Station (OCS) to a civilian. A documentary team follows the OCS (Gitura Kamau) and the police as they struggle to adapt to new reforms. One more TV series is “Prefects,” directed by June Ndinya, airing on Citizen TV, that traces the lives of school prefects who rule over other students. Another TV series focused on school life is “Stero,” about a young boy (Kael Wafubwa) who fights against oppressive rules of his school. Other series include “4Play” and “Jiji”, both on Showmax.
“Counter Punch” won the AMAA 2024 award for Best Animation, and the AMAA 2024 award for Achievement in Soundtrack went to “Boda Love.” Actress Elsie Chidera Abang won AMAA Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the Canadian-Kenyan film Kipkemboi. Filmmaker Likarion Wainaina released Kenya’s first sci-fi series, “Subterranea,” which is also showing on Showmax. The TV series revolves around eight people trapped in an underground bunker where they are forced to face issues like mental health, PTSD, male postpartum depression, and depression.
County 49” and “Subterranea” actor Peter Kawa noted that collaborations among filmmakers is what saw many of these films and TV series on screens.
“Filmmakers are starting to understand the importance of collaborating as a way of working within a strict budget. One filmmaker can offer an expertise to reduce the cost of filming. What I predict is more collaborations and more films next year,” says Peter.
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