September 06, 2023

#47: Ceci and Clementina on Kanairo, Filmmaking and Mental fortitude

1 hour 3 minutes

In this episode the host duo is joined by a filmmaking duo for an exciting conversation! Ceci Wanza and Clementina Kabutha are award winning filmmakers in pre-production for their latest feature film (at the time of recording). Their film ‘Kanairo’ follows the story of Jonte, a young Kenyan man navigating life in the big city with all its demands, expectations and excitement. The quartet go on to review their ‘Kanairo’ experiences; from the ladies’ inspiration to writing the film, to suitors, to the hustle of the city life, even to Kamande’s street bully nightmares. They look at the mental fortitude required to make it in Nairobi, the wit, the chaos, culture and character development that the city comes with and testify of a couple ‘I am Johnte’ realizations. The episode spotlights the process of making films and on a deeper level - mental health. The headspace of men in their youth, societal pressures, their counterpart’s demands, surprises and challenges are examined, as the four in the studio also make sure to explore possible interventions, platforms and solutions. The episode also tackles themes around leadership, masculinity, emotional expression, balance and art.

The episode is brought to you by Kanairo, A film directed and written by Ceci Wanza and produced and co-written by Clementina Kabutha.

About the Guests

Cecimercy Wanza is a Kenyan film and TV director, producer and screenwriter whose resume includes working on productions such as ToBA (2016), Get Some Money – the parable of Judas (2017) and short films such as The Editor (2018), Shiru (2017) among others. With efforts in Television on shows such as the 2018 Kalasha nominated show Sanaa Talks on KU TV, The Metropol Debrief and The Boss Lady both on Metropol TV (2021), Silver Screen (KUTV) among others. She won the 2022 Annual Journalistic Excellence Awards (AJEA) in the Environmental documentary category for her E-waste documentary, which she produced and directed. The proud double season producer of the first licensed Showmax Series “A Better Life” (2023) is currently an Indie filmmaker with multi - award nominated and award winning short film “Kanairo”. Nominations that include recognition from the Rwanda International movie awards ( RIMA) and an honorable award from Student International Film Festival amongst others - to winning a Sondeka Award (2023) for the film. She is currently working on the feature length development of “KANAIRO”.

Clementina Kabutha is a Kenyan producer, director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and video editor. Her journey has most recently seen her serve as the writer, director, and producer of the film "Vamp," which was officially selected for the esteemed Festival del Cinema di Cefalù (Best Short Film) and seen her work as an assistant producer on the TV series "A Better Life," available on Showmax. She’s also written, directed, and produced projects such as "My Story" and "Dogged," and gone on to produce "Still Waters," a sci-fi film that received acclaim by winning the Best Sci-Fi award at the Varsity Film Expo and an honorable mention at Eldoret Film Festival. Her latest project ‘Kanairo’ short film - won the Judges' Award at the Sondeka Awards and received an honorable mention from the Student World Impact Film Festival. It was nominated for at the Rwanda International Movie Awards ‘Rima’ (Best Short Film EA and Best Short Film International Category). It got officially selected at FilmJoint (Best Short Film), Golden Short Film Festival (Producer Category), NGO International Film Festival (Best Short Film), F5 FPP Financial Focus FilmFest (Best Short Film), Festival del Cinema di Cefalù (Best Short Film), Lumiere International Film Festival and Awards (Best Short Film), Lift-off Film Festival (Best Short Film), and Soleil Space (Best Short Film).

Show notes