The First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto, has urged upcoming filmmakers in Kenya to tell local stories through productions that meet the standards required by global film distribution channels.
She encouraged youth with an interest in film to take advantage of government programs such as Talanta Hela to convert our local memoirs and life stories into films.
The First Lady was speaking during the closing ceremony for the NGO International Film Festival conference that took place in Nairobi. The theme of the 2023 edition was focused on the role of film in amplifying messages in education, equality, and climate change, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The First Lady noted that the film sector is covered in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda by the Kenyan Government under the digital superhighway and creative economy pillars.
The Government is committed to working with stakeholders to expand space for creativity, protect intellectual property rights, and identify incentives required from the state to scale up production within the creative economy.
Mama Rachel Ruto urged the organisers of the festival to build a platform where professionals in the industry can pass skills on to the younger budding filmmakers as a way of giving back.
Collaborations between the NGO International Film Festival and the Kenya Film Commission will develop the Kenyan film industry to global standards.
The First Lady underscored the role played by filmmakers in bringing important human-interest stories, issues in society, and destinations to our attention.
By packaging content in an entertaining and captivating way, films bring to our attention conversations and concerns that we would have missed if it had been done differently.
