House of Lungula, Strength of a Woman dominate Kalasha list

Actor Ian Mbugua, a cast member of the film House of Lungula which has been nominated in eight categories at the 2014 Kalasha TV & Film Awards. [PHOTO: FILE]

Nairobi, Kenya: Kenyan feature films Strength of a Woman and House of Lungula are the most outstanding nominees of the 2014 Kalasha TV & Film Awards.

The Kenya Film Commission on Wednesday announced the nominees for the awards which are in their fifth edition.

The films were nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Scriptwriter in Original Screenplay, Best Director of Photography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Editing, Best Lighting, Best Art Direction and Best Original Score.

House of Lungula is a comedy touching on the sexual habits of Kenyans and is was created and directed by Alexandros Konstantaras. Among the cast are Ian Mbugua, Lizz Njagah, Sarah Hassan, Helena Waithera and Nice Githinji.

Strength of a Woman

Other films featuring prominently on the list include The Marshall of Finland and Burnt Forest.

In the TV category, nominees will battle for Best TV Drama, Best TV Show, Best TV Documentary, Best Stand Up Comedy, Best Performance in a Comedy, Best Host in a TV Show and Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama.

The list was unveiled by the Kenya Film Commission's 2014 Nomination Academy which comprises the chairman Eston Munyi of Kenya National Film Association (KNFA), Simon Mwaura of Riverwood Ensemble (formerly Third Force), Patrick Serro of Actors Guild and Dr Simon Peter Otieno of Association of Film Producing Education Institutions of Kenya (AFPEIK). The others are Fauziah Hussein of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), Edward Irura of the Kenya film and Television Professionals Association (KFTPA) and Victoria Goro of the Department of Film Services (DFS).

“The process involved watching each film as entered frame by frame and took the nomination academy two weeks to complete; obviously the high numbers mean that more and more Kenyans are discerning of local content and I can comfortably say that we have talent”, notes Eston Munyi, the Chairman of the Nomination Academy.

According to a statement sent to newsrooms by the Kenya Film Commission, a report on recommendations as observed by the nomination academy will be presented to the commission during the 2014 Gala event and thereafter will be available at the commission offices for public viewing.

“Going forward, as is per the norm 30 per cent of the awards nomination will be through public voting. The above will be screened between June 10 to July 11 giving people a month of voting,” said Ag. CEO Caroline Kittur.

Fans can vote for their favourite picks on the Kalasha Awards website www.kalashaawards.co.ke. There will be screenings in various venues around the country including Nairobi- Alliance Francaise, USIU, Kibera Youth; Kisumu - Alliance Francaise; Mombasa - Alliance Francaise; Kericho among other county towns.

The date of the Kalasha Gala Night gala shall be announced within the week, according to the Kenya Film Commission.