Film festivals are highly popular events that celebrate the art of cinema. These festivals provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work to a diverse audience. They bring together industry professionals, critics, and film enthusiasts from all over the world. Film festivals often showcase a wide range of films, including feature films, documentaries, and short films, offering something for everyone. These events not only promote emerging talent but also provide an opportunity for established filmmakers to gain recognition and exposure. Attending a film festival allows individuals to discover new voices, explore different genres, and engage in thought-provoking discussions. With their vibrant atmosphere and captivating screenings, film festivals have become an integral part of the film industry, fostering creativity and encouraging artistic expression.
The Kitale Film Week is an 8-day film festival that aims to position film as a strategic factor for sustainable development in Trans Nzoia. The festival organisers include a mixture of young men and women mostly born and bred in Kitale, some of whom have worked at the top of the film industry in Kenya and abroad. The main reason for this is the need for knowledge transfer from the higher to the mid and low cadre of filmmaking in the region and even across the border.
After a successful first edition in February 2023, we are now working to present the second edition in February 2024.
The main events in the festival include film screenings which have been integrated with conversations on filmmaking and some key community issues and are moderated by local filmmakers, media personalities and students from Kitale; school film events geared towards developing filmmakers and film critics from primary and secondary school level; filmmaking workshops with top industry professionals seeking to develop socially engaged filmmakers locally; and an ambitious short film fund which the festival hopes can help two projects by upcoming local talent to get produced in Trans Nzoia.
The film week also involves a competition for top awards open to Kenyan and Ugandan filmmakers, to enhance artistic collaboration between western Kenya and Kampala. Future plans include extending the festival to South Sudan filmmakers, further integrating community development issues in the film spaces, and a push to get Kitale to become a UNESCO creative city for film.
The Kitale Film Week is also positioning itself to be a premier tourism attraction in the coming years, to spur a ripple effect on the growth of other local industries.
