NICE GITHINJI
Nice Githinji began her career as a stage actress, first appearing on the Phoenix Player’s stage in Richard Stockwell’s Bad Blood. Following a stellar performance in that show, Nice has evolved into one of the industry’s most active voices and has carved herself a niche as a performer who never leaves her audiences wanting.
Nice’s versatile portfolio shows her playing roles that range from Mary-Magdalene in the acclaimed musical Jesus Christ Superstar to Rizzo in Grease the Musical. She is active on the Kenyan scene as an actor, content creator, vocalist and TV show host and acting coach with a list of credits that include Nganya, which she co-created for Iflix, William Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor, Subira and Rafiki.With up to ten awards and nominations under her belt, Nice also runs an initiative dubbed JiNice Visafe under her company, Creatives Kinetic Hub, where she mentors upcoming performers.Nice is probably one of Kenya’s most driven artists, striving to make the industry bigger and brighter. Nice is a force to be reckoned with; a voice that cannot be stopped, an expert performer and a consummate professional.
CAROLE GIKANDI OMONDI
Carole Gikandi is a creative storytelling Film Editor with over 20 years career experience in media and entertainment environments.Carole’s film credits are impressive and include several international award-winning films at Kalasha Awards and the Zanzibar International Film Festival, including Ndoto za Elibidi, Ni Sisi, Watatu and the Short Live Action Drama Watu Wote nominated for an Oscar in 2018.
Carole has many “firsts” under her professional hat. She has worked on major international projects including top series for MNET Africa Magic, feature length movies, documentaries, training content and factual productions. She has been the series editor of five series of the highly acclaimed Tazama! –Kenya’s first ever educational factual TV magazine show – rated second most popular program across Kenya. She has also been Editor and Director of three series of ‘Agenda Kenya’ – Kenya’s first ever series of ‘as-live’, audience-based, political talk shows.
Carole brings insights from last year’s edition having been one of the Jurors in 2019.
EUGENE MBUGUA
Eugene Mbugua is a content creator, writer, producer and director. Eugene was the youngest producer with a show on Kenyan national television when at 22; his first TV show Young Rich premiered on Kenya’s K24.
Eugene has gone on to create and/or produce more television shows among them Young Rich, Get in The Kitchen, Our Perfect Wedding, Stori Yangu, My Friend, Being Bahati, Foods of Kenya and The Best of. These shows have aired on K24, KTN, NTV, Maisha Magic East, Showmax, Iflix, Kwese, StarTimes and Trigger.For his work, Eugene has earned several accolades. In 2014, he was listed by Business Daily among Kenya’s male Top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs. In the same year, Eugene also won the Kalasha Award for Best Editor for his work on the film Child for Hire. In 2016, Forbes listed Eugene among the 30 most promising entrepreneurs under the age of 30 in Africa and again in 2017, Forbes Africa listed Eugene among the Top 30 under 30 entrepreneurs in Africa.
Other than producing, Eugene is among the panel of judges for the annual Riverwood Awards and contributes to the Saturday Nation on matters film and television. Eugene holds a degree in television production and print media from United States International University – Africa
ARJEN WESTRA
Nairobi-based Arjen Westra is a journalist, screenwriter, actor, and author born in the Netherlands. With over two decades of writing experience, Westra has spent the last 25 years writing articles for several Dutch newspapers, magazines and traveling the African continent as a tour guide.
He researched, photographed, and wrote four best-selling guidebooks about several African countries. He moved to screenwriting because some stories just should be told and mainstream media are not always the right channels to address issues.
Over the past years, he has written a handful of screenplays. Most of his work has a multicultural/social angle. Recently, he made his debut as a writer/director of the short movie I Just Missed You.
His work as a tour guide adds to his mission to bridge cultural gaps. He hopes it also adds a spark to the characters he writes. Westra has contributed to several books and radio broadcasts as an Africa-correspondent and has acted in an award-winning Kenyan movie.
Westra is a member of the Kenyan Scriptwriters Guild reading committee. When he is not traveling he likes to coach young writers with their script and work on his own projects
MWENDWA KILUNDO
Mwendwa Kilundo is a trained and seasoned marketer by profession, specializing in digital to help brands, personalities and businesses launch and thrive in the online world.He is a vibrant art enthusiast and considers himself an amateur art collector. He deeply relishes artistic expression and has composed poetry pieces for schools performed all the way to the National Competitions.
Mwendwa has been the vice-chair to Spoken heart-Maseno Chapter, the largest and the most powerful arts platform that nurtures artists being the beginner grounds for acclaimed artists such as Nadia Mukami, Saisi the Poet, Bolo Blink amongst a nexus of others. He is currently a Director at CDI Gadgets – an organization that spreads professional knowledge in smart phone video making, film making and smart phone photography.
