The annual Udada Festival Trust has rebranded it’s festival to Mama Afrika Film Festival, and is set to run from November 7-11, 2017, in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Festival has been the first and only women’s film festival in the East African region. For the past three years, it has showcased over 300
films from more than 30 countries. The festival has offered women filmmakers like Ngendo Mukii, a female animator featured in the second Udada Edition 2015, a platform to reach audiences and interact with them.
This year’s theme, “Gender: Provoke, Debate and Evolve” is influenced by the need to highlight the role Gender plays in film, as well as in real life. Gender roles, stereotypes are issues that have been gaining importance in the public space. Through film, the theme will be explored and highlighted in professional and personal lives, and also how different genders experience and view the world.
Thereafter, the Film Festival will be held at three main universities which teach film-making: Multimedia University of Kenya, Kenyatta University and the Kenya Institute of Mass Communications.
This year’s Festival hopes to inspire and engage young, aspiring filmmakers and promote collaborations between universities and industry stakeholders.