You are the most important part of the creative economy. Creative professionals show up every day to produce for the audience, not themselves.
The moment you stop showing up is the moment we end up with a creative economy where all we do is complain. Where all the news coming out only cover the negative, stuck in a loop of over-analysing the state rather than celebrating what we already have.
I want to start by letting you know when and where all the films I am going to be talking about will be showing, so nobody can claim it appeared as an afterthought at the end of the article and therefore it was missed.
Anam's Wake comes out on July 31, 2026, you can get your tickets online. Tides hits the big screen during the first week of August, premiering at Century Cinemax on the August 8, 2026, followed by additional screenings across their locations in Nairobi.
Memory of Princess Mumbi will August to September 2026 with an special homecoming screening on August 7, 2026 after a strong run on the festival circuit. Now you know the exact dates, all tickets by the way are available online.
I am really looking forward to these particular films coming in August.
But why, I hear you ask, aren’t all Kenyan movies the same, drama or crime? Well, these are movies that are attempting to or are doing something different. Will they be perfect? I have no idea, but what is on offer looks promising, starting with
Anam's Wake
This psychological thriller takes a much darker, more interesting approach. The trailer looks great, first of all the cinematography, then the concept.
The story follows Anam, a professional mourner in Kenya trained to summon Death and negotiate passage for the dead. But she has a secret: since her mother's death sixteen years ago, she has been unable to feel true grief. Her first solo ritual with a wealthy family spirals out of control when Death arrives early.
What begins as a negotiation becomes an interrogation, forcing the family to confront hidden truths and compelling Anam to face her own past. Awesome, right?
Director and writer Likarion Wainaina was inspired by his personal experiences with loss in 2024, exploring the delayed waves of grief and the fear of unprocessed sorrow.
Through Anam, he examines grief as ritual, labour, and inheritance, making Death feel intimate rather than abstract. In his own words, set within the communal world of mourning and ritual, the film explores the uneasy relationship between death and grief, and the terrifying possibility that what we postpone emotionally never truly leaves us it waits.
The cast features a very interesting mix of familiar and fresh faces. You have younger people alongside established talent, including Marima Wanjiru as "Anam", Sam Omondi as the "Negotiator", Peter Kawa as Mason Ebale, Vanessa Okeyo as Amani Ebale, Ruth Apondi as Aunt Kavata, and Pras Jadi as Kwame Ebale.
Promotional poster for the Kenyan movie, Anam's Wake.
Photo credit: Pool
Behind the camera, the professional crew includes Wanjiru Njoroge as producer, Enos Olik as cinematographer (which explains the striking look of the film), El Magondu as costume designer, Sheldon Mutei as art director, and Serah Wangui managing makeup and hair.
The look of the film feels authentically African, and the visual style accurately captures the tone. As mentioned in the opening, the movie comes out on the 31st of July 2026, and you can get your tickets online.
Tides
Can Sarah Hassan sing? Tides is a music romance drama written and directed by Reuben Odanga, known for his work on Mo-Faya and Nafsi.
Produced by Winnie Adisa under Multan Production, with Odanga and Jaqueline Kalekye serving as executive producers, the film tackles the realities of relationships between tourists and locals at the Kenyan coast, exploring the uncomfortable intersection of poverty, desire, power, and survival.
Odanga notes that in a world where poverty can strip people of dignity and opportunity, moral choices are rarely black and white, and he wanted the film to invite audiences to engage with uncomfortable truths. But what is the catch here? What is different? Well, this is a music-driven (not musical) film basically, you get to see and listen to Sarah Hassan sing.
The narrative follows Salma and Biko, a musician couple pushed to their limits as dwindling gig opportunities collide with mounting financial pressure brought on by their daughter's serious medical condition.
As survival becomes increasingly uncertain, their choices threaten to change their relationship forever. It stars Sarah Hassan from Crime and Justice, Brian Kabugi from MTV Shuga Mashariki, Minne Kariuki in her feature film debut from Single Kiasi, and South African actor Dumisani Mbebe from Savage Beauty. Sikukuu Hamisi Jumaa, Zippy Okoth, Andrew Muthure, and Muthoni Gathecha.
What makes this project fascinating is how music drives the story as an absolute necessity rather than a passive addition. So much so that they got a music director: award-winning singer-songwriter Silayio serves as the music director and composer.
Promotional poster for the Kenyan movie, Tides.
Photo credit: Pool
The director of photography is Jim Bishop and, unlike Anam’s Wake, this is a much brighter and more vibrant film. The film also has Nice Githinji as intimacy coordinator, Shiko Daisy as production designer, and Angela Ciruma on wardrobe.
Personally, I just can’t wait to see Sarah Hassan sing.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
The third film, which I have actually watched, is Damien Hauser's Memory of Princess Mumbi, hitting the big screens first on August 7, 2026 before it's cinema run.
When I mention festivals, then you have an idea of what kind of film it is and it’s exactly that but with a twist.
This is what I have been waiting to see Kenyan filmmakers do, but in relation to what we are talking about today, we have a sci-fi film that manages to remain grounded and has a completely different look and feel from the two movies mentioned before.
At its core, this is a sci-fi romance shot in a mockumentary style in a resurrected African kingdom in the year 2093.
Directed by 25-year-old Swiss-Kenyan filmmaker Damien Hauser, the story follows a filmmaker named Kuve who travels to Umata to document the aftermath of the War of the 2070s. There, he meets Mumbi, who challenges him to make his film without using artificial intelligence.
What did I love about this film? In a neat piece of real-world irony, the director embraces AI tools to digitally extend his physical sets and build spectacular futuristic backgrounds on a tight budget.
Promotional poster for the Kenyan movie, Memory of Princess Mumbi.
Photo credit: Pool
Shot completely unscripted to let actors use organic improvisation, the film stars Ibrahim Joseph as the 21-year-old sceptic Kuve, Shandra Apondi as the vibrant free-spirited Mumbi, and Samson Waithaka as the Prince, alongside Michael Garama, Damien Hauser, and Newton Ronnoh. It is ambitious, imaginative, and a vibrant reminder of what a little creative effort can lead to.
It is one of those films that I would recommend just for how imaginative it is, a visual treat on a budget.
My review of the film is still in the kitchen, and there is a lot that I discuss there around the concept of filmmakers tapping into technology and allowing their imagination to just flow. I also question whether it's technically a Keny film anyway that’s a story for another day.
With these three releases, we have a genuinely unique and different visual experience on our hands this coming August.
Now, am I asking you to show up to support the Kenyan film economy? Well, yes and no. I can’t even promise you that they are going to be good, but what we have here are stories that do something different, something that most of us have been asking for for a very long time.
