Night of firsts for many at this year’s Kalasha awards

It seems the second time was the lucky charm for the movie VEVE that got nominated at last year’s Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA) but failed to bring home any award because, at

this year’s new face of the Kalasha International Film and TV Awards, it bagged four awards.

The crime-thriller won the biggest award of the night; Best Feature Film. It had previously gotten three nominations at the prestigious AMVCA. The film also won in the Best Director, Best Production Designer and Best Lighting Technician categories.

Anxiety and anticipation was rife at the 6th annual Kalasha International Film and TV Awards - the first of its kind - as top filmmakers and producers battled it out for the top honours in the small and big screen.

It was a night of firsts for many actors as new faces dominated the winners’ lists in the major categories, becoming entrants into the highly competitive industry and finally basking in their glory.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

The biggest surprise of the night perhaps, was Vivian Wambui, a 17-year-old form three student at the Moi Girls High School, Nairobi who emerged victorious and scooped the highly coveted Best Lead Actress in a Film award edging out seasoned actresses.

Wambui managed to beat actresses Nice Githinji, Sandra Dache, Nancy Salim and Elizabeth Sande.

“I feel great, I feel blessed, I didn’t expect it, but here it is. I’m so happy,” said a flustered Wambui.

The film in which she stars in, No Behaviour, was shot in her school and also competed in the national drama festivals.

For now, the active drama club member is only focused on her education and says that she will “most probably pursue film production after high school”.

Riziki Ambrose, a first time actress on television won the Best Lead Actress in a TV drama for NTV’s Pendo while Sarah Hassan and Charles Ouda were declared winners as the Best hosts in their television show Discovery 254 also on NTV.

After partnering with the French Embassy in Kenya, the newly re-branded Kalasha International Film and TV Festival and Market will seek to impress players in the film and TV industry both locally and internationally with what Kenya has to offer.

With the creation of the festival, actors, scriptwriters, producers, filmmakers and other key industry players will be able to pitch ideas to investors in the hopes of bringing ideas to life in both television and film hence increasing much needed local content in the country.

The partnership has also been lauded as a tool that will steer social, cultural and economic development in the East African Region. It will also contribute to collaborations between, French, Kenyan and worldwide media players.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Kenya Film Commission Chairman Chris Foot said the joint venture would go a long way in marketing Kenya’s creative film industry.

“This is the first ever regional market, and we can do better than South Africa. We want Kenya to be the hub for buying and selling content because there’s amazing talent and we can definitely take South Africa and Morocco,” he said.

The KFCB Award for Best Watershed Compliant station was however withheld on the basis that no station complied with the terms, meaning, inappropriate content is still aired on local broadcasting channels.