Kenya Film Commission received 103 submissions from 29 Counties in the recently concluded Reel County Film Festival. Out of these, 19 were showcased during the 4 days of the virtual festival that ran from 23rd to 26th June 2021. This comprised: 5 feature films, 10 short films, 2 documentaries and 2 Animation projects.
Producers of the showcased projects received screening fees of Ksh 100,000 each for feature films and Ksh 70,000 each for the short films, animation and documentaries.
Each day of the Festival comprised virtual screenings via the KFC YouTube Channel, Panel Discussions by the Jury Members and Virtual Workshops by industry professionals. The Jury comprised Mr. John Allan Namu (Investigative Journalist), Dr. Zippy Okoth (Lecturer, School of Creative Arts, Film & Media Studies, Kenyatta University), Mr. King Muriuki (Animator) and Ms. Lilly Joan (Scriptwriter)
In his remarks at the start of the Festival, KFC CEO Mr. Timothy Owase noted that: “Filmmakers are not shying off from telling stories in vernacular languages, as witnessed in some of the submissions from Turkana in the North to Mombasa down South. I call upon filmmakers to factor in authenticity in storytelling. Infact, using our vernacular creates job opportunities in post – production areas of dubbing and sub-titling, which in turn enables the films to reach a wider audience”.
The Reel County Film Festival called on filmmakers from various Counties to produce and submit content that promotes the cultural, social and economic activities of their Counties, while showcasing Kenya’s diverse locations. This approach seeks to establish a harmonized framework of collaborations to sustainably increase the development of audio-visual production at County level.
