15th March 2021…Kenya Film Commission has today announced the launch of the 4th Edition of Kalasha International Film and TV Market and winners of the 2nd Cycle of Film Empowerment Programme in a press briefing in Nairobi.
The event was graced by Mr. Ernest Kerich – a Board Director at Kenya Film Commission, Mr. Joshua Akwara – Ag. CEO, Kenya Film Commission and Management team from Kenya Film Commission.
Giving his remarks at the launch ceremony, Mr. Kerich noted that:
“We are glad to launch the 4th Edition of Kalasha International Film and TV Market following the postponement of the previous edition due to onset of the Covid – 19 pandemic. The film industry has proven to be resilient in the face of the global pandemic as seen from the recent and upcoming film releases. Our objective is to showcase Kenya as a major regional hub for film and TV production, post-production and distribution across all platforms and genres while reinforcing the uniqueness of Kenya as a shooting location.”
Kalasha Market is a three-day trade fair showcasing companies from East Africa, and the rest of the world offering high-level interaction for trading and sharing ideas with side events that include conferences, workshops and pitching sessions all that will revolve around this year’s theme – “The Future of Content Creation in Africa”.
It is also a platform for all those in the media industry to broaden their competitive edge in the East African Film and TV Market by attending as a delegate and/or booking a booth at only USD 350 for the entire 3 days of the market. Exhibitors can either book a Regular, Executive or Deluxe Package.
We expect over 1,000 visitors during the entire market cutting across the stakeholders mentioned above as well as film students from universities across the region. Registration is done via http://kalashainternational.com/register-now/
The 4th edition will take place at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi from 5 – 7 May 2021. This event will feature side events such as a Pitching Competition where winners will get a chance to walk away with cash prize of KES 500,000 in each of the following categories: Animation, Film (Short/Feature), TV Shows and Documentary.
FILM EMPOWEREMENT PROGRAMME – CYCLE TWO
The Kenya Film Commission in line with its mandate and function of promoting development of local content and establishing a Film Fund established a Film Empowerment Programme to provide film and video-related funding in Development (of feature films, documentaries and TV Concepts); Production (of feature films and documentaries), Festivals and Markets.
Individuals, companies and organizations were required to submit funding applications to the Commission from October 5th 2020 to December 18th 2020 in any of the categories identified above. Specific conditions were laid down for each funding category, and it was important for applicants to take careful note of the conditions before submitting their application. With this, we intend to increase the number of quality local films made in Kenya.
The 2nd Cycle witnessed a 200% increase in submissions received as compared to the 1st Cycle while exhibiting great story ideas which showcased diversity and potential to culminate into award winning films. Features was the most common genre in the submissions for production funding closely followed by the Animation genre for children content. It was however noted that there were few entries in the documentary genre with unexplored genres such as mockumentaries and historical dramas.
A total of 172 submissions were sent to the Commission for consideration. While each category of funding had its own specific criteria, the ultimate goal was to ensure that filmmakers ranging from emerging to those with experience benefit equitably from the film industry empowerment programme funds.
The focus of this financial year was on Children’s Content. The Commission collaborated with Communications Authority to jointly execute the programme in line with their mutual interest of promoting the development of local content. The total amount allocated for the 2nd Cycle of the programme was Ksh 29,343,000.
The winning projects are;
