FESTIVAL JURY
Paul Ogola
Paul Ogola has co-starred in 2 Netflix original series : 'Sense 8' season 1&2 as "Jela", 'Sacred Games' Season 2. Also, co-starred in the FIPRESCI award winning film 'Kati Kati', the African Union Foundation award winning film 'stories of our lives', co-starred in the Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards 'Nairobi Half Life'. Paul received Best Actor award in the Kenyan Theatre Awards 'Sanaa awards', two nominations in the Kalasha Tv and film international awards East Africa.He has also wrote, directed and edited two short films "Kisasi" (revenge) & "Hurt Heart".
Dr Susan Gitimu
Dr. Susan Gitimu is a lecturer at Kenyatta University . She received her BA in communication from Daystar university and Her MA Film and PhD Film from Kenyatta university. Before joining KU she worked as an independent filmmaker/editor. Susan is also the founder Women in Film awards, an awards that celebrates women filmmakers in Kenya. She has also been a juror for The lake international Pan-African film festival LIPFF and Filamu Dada.
Edwin Namutali
Edwin Kutima Namutali is a Film maker and Trainer with 10+ years of experience making and training film studies. He is currently the Dean of Studies at Talanta Institute, a college of cinema based in Nairobi, Kenya. Edwin is also a Kalasha Awards winner, (Best feature film) for My Son's Salvation, Editing award, and Best Documentary, Oborogi.
Danielle Stamoulos
Danielle is an actor and writer working across Film/TV and Theatre. Danielle stars in the internationally multi award-winning web series Sydney Sleuthers, short doc Shading (Diversity Arts Australia), To Be Honest, EI8HT at 2015 Sydney Fringe Festival and The Canterbury Tales. Danielle also received a Best Ensemble cast 2016 Sydney Theatre Award nomination at WITS Festival Fatale, five-star media reviews and several Broadway World Australia nominations for Patricia Cornelius’ play SLUT. She is also a graduate from ACA (Actors Centre Australia) with an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts (Acting) and recently completed a Masters of Screenwriting at AFTRS (2021).
Fifteen years of marketing planning experience and ten years of experience in screenwriting and planning. More than three years of production preparation experience. United States MFSA Studio distribution partner co-producer.
Director of Film and Television Department of Canadian Federation of Performing Arts. Co-partner with several companies in Chinese film industry.
Esther Kamba
Esther Kamba is an award winning Kenyan-Canadian creative based in Kenya, who operates on multilayered platform as a director, a dramaturge, a cultural agitator, a feminist provocateur, a mentor and a mother. She is a co-founder of the Kenyan experimental multidisciplinary artistic company Falme Arts founded in 2016. Esther Kamba is passionate about digital storytelling, especially with the use of XR technologies. Through this interest, she got an opportunity to be part of the initiative " Women in VR" by Dada Trust supported by Goethe institute Kenya and facilitated by Blackrhino XR. Here Esther together with other women were trained on VR, AR and 360 degrees film making. She and her group created a special VR film titled "Ndani" that highlights the experience of someone with Agoraphobia.
Auudi Rowa
Auudi Rowa is an award winning actress with 9 years of industry experience. Currently based in Nairobi, she has racked up a formidable body of work in TV, theatre and film. After building a solid foundation as a theatre actor, in 2018, she starred in her first screen project, the popular web series 'This is Life'. This propelled her onto bigger stages, featuring in award winning plays like 'Man Moments' and 'Decompress' in 2019. Films include, Multi award films 'Sungura' and 'Leaving Isiolo' -where she plays the lead, 'cash cow' and 'Salem'.
Dennis Mbuthia
Dennis Mbuthia is a professional motion graphics and game designer, who was mentored by some of the animators behind the TV series Tinga Tinga Tales. He is currently pursuing his masters in Game Development, lead game designer, animator at Adala Studios and an Ambassador for the Africa Game Developers. He pioneered the Rubika Video Game Development at ADMI as the Head of Department. He has developed multimedia animations for the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Studies, motion graphic animations for Naswa (TV show), Jambopay, Data-Fintech, FilmAid, WHO and AMREF. He holds qualifications from JKUAT, Homeboyz Animation school, Africa Nazarene University and the Gesci-AKE programme.
Yojing Wu is A young independent film producer based in Paris, with 8 years of professional experience, with her unique aesthetic and good taste， she produced several short films and an independent feature film.
She also promoted many works to different countries as a distributor.