The Top 10 Kenyan Movies of 2012

2012 was a good year for actors and movie makers as most of their productions were a huge success. However, there are those that were better than others. As such, Gerald Langiri ranked some of the top Kenyan productions that he watched in order of merit.

1. NAIROBI HALF LIFE

Produced One Fine day films and Ginger Ink and directed by Tosh Gitonga it goes it goes without saying that Nairobi Half Life (NHL) was the biggest movie Kenya witnessed in 2012. It went into history books for being the first ever Kenyan movie to be submitted to the Hollywood Oscars. Starring Joseph Babu Wairimu, the film revolves around an aspiring actor from upcountry Kenya dreams of becoming a success. In pursuit of this he makes his way to Nairobi: the city of opportunity.

2. LOST IN AFRICA

Starring Amos Odhiambo, Lost in Africa was directed by Vibeke Muasya. The movie is about an 11 year old boy with an immense love for soccer sets on a journey to Kenya, his country of birth for the very first time.  The boy is accompanied by his adopted Danish mother. He is a bit reluctant as he would rather be playing his favorite game back at home instead of traveling.  The boy looses his precious ball and decides to run after it, only for him to get lost in the biggest city slum in Africa, the Kibera slums.

3. SHATTERED

Shattered tells the story of a woman, Keziah Njema whose traumatic childhood in a seemingly ideal middle class family becomes a precursor to a life of turmoil, depression, and self-destructive behaviour. Keziah Njema is played by Nigerian screen goddess, Rita Dominic. It also features Mali’s actress, Mumbi Maina. Shattered was directed by Gilbert Lukalia and produced by Carol Nguta.

4. LEO

Starring Trevor Gitonga and directed by Jinna Mutune, LEO is a charming and beguiling adult fairy-tale set in Nairobi, the melting pot of East African culture, art, politics and commerce. It is a story about Maasai boy, raised in a low-income home, achieving his dream against all odds. The film is a simple story that captures the essence of a child’s heart still open to all the possibilities of achieving his dream in Kenya.

5. SIMIYU SAMURAI

If you are lover of Kung-fu/martial arts action flicks, Simiyu Samurai is the movie for you. Directed by Robby Bresson and starring Ryan Mbatia, Simiyu Samurai is about a Kenyan who goes to Samurai school in Japan and then has to return after that country suffers one of its many tsunamis. On returning home he gets into an altercation with goons who run a protection racket in his home village where his grandmother is a trader.  After an almighty fight he is given a choice by the goons; surrender or his grandma and his new love interest get “macheted”. In an interesting turn of events, the movie ends as the audience is asked to vote by SMS on how the movie should proceed. Simiyu Samurai was produced by Xmedia Kenya.

6. RETURN OF LAZARUS

Starring Lizz Njagah and directed by her husband Alex Konstantaras, Return of Lazarus revolves around two brothers, Lazarus (Alexandros Koch) and Kiriakos (Nelson Lucas), set for a road trip in Maronia, Northern Greece, in order to find the mythical cave of the Cyclops where King Maron used to hide his wine. According to the myth if you drink from this wine you gain the eternal youth. Kiriakos wants to become young again in order to rejoin the Boy Scouts after they expelled him recently for life. Lazarus is trying to find himself after losing his job, his house while he still hopes to bring back his divorced wife, whom he still loves. On their journey they meet different people including King’ora (Lizz Njagah), a Kenyan woman who works in a local hotel. Very soon sparks begin to fly between her and Kiriakos.
It was produced by Jitu Films.

7. CAPTAIN OF NAKARA

A criminal who has just been released from prison with his pal Sunday following a celebration of the president’s birthday, is afraid of losing the woman of his dreams and as such pretends to own a profitable market stall.  Wearing a stolen military uniform, he manages to succeed in defending his rights, his happiness – and ends up elected as Kwetu’s president. That’s Captain Nakara’s storyline. The film features Charles Bukeko and Lenny Juma with Bernard Safari starring. Captain of Nakara was produced by Jim Shamoon.

8. THIEF

For the lovers of thrillers, THIEF had a good script with a good flow of unexpected events. To top it up, it was also a student film and therefore all credits are due.
Based on a team building game with the same title, T.H.I.E.F revolves around the life of 10 first year students and their lecturer introduces first year students to the basic concept of acting V.O.T.E. With strict instructions not to share the assignment, the students leave the classroom for the weekend when they decide to go for camping. That is when the murders happen.
Starring Frank Abong’o and Biko Nyongesa T.H.I.E.F was directed by Esther Gicheha.

9. KEEPING IT TOGETHER
Keeping it together is a good movie with a very strong storyline judged from the synopsis and the preview you will watch below. It did not have any big budgets behind it and to top it all up, it was made by students and no one had heard of new comer director Mark Wambui till now and therefore a pat on the back is a must for the cast and crew who have still managed to have it aired in the Cinemas.
This thrilling Drama/Comedy takes the viewer into the lives of five friends: Mike, Terry, Ian, Lucy and Kate. KEEPING IT TOGETHER was produced by Mark Wambui and James Kihara and starred Brevick Ngereri and Audrey Choge.

10. SENIOR PASTOR

Starring Kangethe Mungai, this movie is about politics. It tells the story of this MP who wants to buy a plot for the church and be part of its decision making machinery but the senior pastor won’t have any of it. Due to the opposition, the pastor is framed for rape but he can’t get himself out of the crime because the lady who accuses him is killed in mysterious circumstances. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for the senior pastor.

Props: actors.co.ke