How Mbuvi Muthama’s Kenyan Night is Building a New Home for Local Cinema

After working in film distribution, Kenyan filmmaker and distributor, Mbuvi Muthama realized that Kenyan stories don’t consistently fill the cinemas. With fewer than 50 commercial screens concentrated in affluent urban malls, high ticket prices, and transport costs that have made movie-going an elite luxury, there’s a paucity of Kenyan audiences watching Kenyan films. Preference is dedicated towards highly visible Hollywood blockbusters favored by theater chains over local productions. Thus, much like every part of the continent, save for Nollywood in recent years, Hollywood productions have monopolized the exhibition and distribution, leaving Kenyan and African titles to struggle for space and audience. The summary: it’s hard getting Kenyans to watch Kenyan films. Muthama’s observation is true in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and across Africa, save for Nigeria where the local film industry has been seen outpacing Hollywood productions at the box office and slowly gaining the trust of its local audience. 

African cinemas have for decades become platforms for foreign storytelling. Bugged by this, Muthama created the Kenyan Night, a free monthly screening platform aimed at exposing Kenyan audiences to existing Kenyan films while proving they are time and finance-worthy. The goal was to help build audiences while re-igniting the concept of watching films together. In June 2025, the debut screening was hosted featuring an anthology of five short films under Beneath The Tides by LBx Africa and post-screening conversations with engaged audiences and enthused filmmakers. After that first screening, the platform has consistently hosted screenings of Kenyan films across form, length, and genre to a growing community of Kenyan cinephiles and everyday audiences. 

Two months ago, the platform celebrated its one year of curating and centering Kenyan films for Kenyan audiences. According to the organizers, the anniversary edition was to celebrate a year of building a community around Kenyan cinema. “From the moment the doors opened, the room was filled with excitement, laughter, and a shared love for local storytelling,” it reads. For the founder, the intent is to, through Kenyan Night, build interest for Kenyan Cinema. This will ensure that audiences are always keen and ready for what’s dropping next. Also, once we get enough people hooked, then word of mouth kicks in. “Friends tell their friends who tell their friends and the chain keeps on going,” he concludes. 

The curation is focused. From Daminen Hauser’s Memories of Princess Mumbi, John Jumbi’s It’s A Free Country, and the curation of four Docubox’s Follow the Leader project(Rocky’s Triumph, The Last Mango Tree, What Shall I Wear to my Funeral?, and Chess Not Checkers), Eloise King’s Shadow Scholars, and others, the attention is on Kenyan films. “Our curation criteria is simple: It has to be Kenyan and it has to be good. There are a lot of Kenyan Films that have not been seen by the general public and that is what we are going for.” This national thinking also influenced the platform’s social media strategy. Weekly, through its Filmmaker Spotlight, it centers  a Kenyan actor, producer, industry builder, directors operating in the country. The intent is awareness that morphs into familiarity. Its Access Granted, is a guide of where to legally watch Kenyan films. For Kenyan and African cinephiles, this serves as a repository of information. As Culture Custodian stated in its Why are Africans not Watching African Cinema?, distribution and accessibility remains a major hurdle. Solving distribution will take governmental effort but for Kenyan Night, they are solving the accessibility hurdle by curating Access Granted for enthused Kenyan audiences. 

The monthly screening is a year old, and what has surprised Muthama is how shocked the audiences are by the nationality of the filmmakers behind the curated films. There’s always a genuine shock and questions (“Wow!! That was a Kenyan Film!!, How come I did not know of it!!, Where can I get more of these?”) when the credits start rolling and they see familiar Kenyan names appear on the screen. This persistent disbelief highlights a cultural disconnect: many Kenyans have been conditioned by the dominance of foreign media to  associate high production value exclusively with Hollywood or international studios. 

Over the first year of screenings, Muthama and his team have observed this bias shatter on a monthly basis, as viewers mistake the conscious cinematography, compelling storytelling, and professional execution of their own local cinema for overseas imports. As I presumed, the collective gasp that fills the room when the credits roll is both a triumph and a wake-up call. It proves that Kenyan filmmakers are producing world-class art, but it also reveals how deeply local audiences have underestimated the talent, sophistication, and technical capability thriving right within their own borders. For Muthama, the astonishment proves a point. “I knew exposure to our stories was not as much, but I was not aware of the extent.”

For the curated filmmakers, it’s always a refreshing experience to hear and see the audience’s live reactions to their work during the post-screening conversations. As Muthama shared, it has opened their hearts and served as an opportunity to mentally map what audiences like and respond to. “Having them also talk about the filmmaking process resonates with the audience in a way that attracts higher appreciation for the work.”

On monetization, the attention isn’t on that. “As of now, our focus is more on audience building rather than on monetization. The filmmakers we work with also understand that the audience we are building today will be their paying customers for their next films. So the value they get is insights on what type, genre, and stories work with the general public to advise what they make in the days to come,” Muthama shared. 

Kenyan Night is focused on building an engaged and educated film audience. The gospel of Kenyan cinema being heralded by Kenyan Night can convince more Kenyans to  watch local productions. This audience can, in years to come, become a willing paying and engaged audience. “What we are building compliments the cinemas in that our goal is to drive as many people as possible to the cinemas. Also, not many towns in Kenya have cinemas, so this would be a good alternative for people yearning for the cinema experience.”

In one of their social media posts, it’s written: “But we’re not just about watching films. We’re about conversations. We’re about culture. We’re about connection. We’re about building love for Kenyan art.” The Kenyan Night is a film screening community dedicated to celebrating and amplifying local cinema. A year from now, Muthama visualizes multiple screenings in a month across different parts of the country. “If I am able to expose as many people as possible to Kenyan works, then our goal will be well underway.”