Kenya’s best on screen feted at Kalasha Awards

PHOTO | CHARLES KAMAU Nairobi Half Life actors after they won Best Feature Film. The film led with five awards.

What you need to know:

  • As predicted, Nairobi Half Life braved a tight race from credible contenders Shattered, Senior Pastor and Lost in Africa, to emerge the Best Feature Film, the night’s most prestigious award
  • Simiyu Samurai won in four categories, namely Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Short Film and Best Supporting Actress in a Film, won by Eclay Wangira
  • In the TV awards, it was a memorable night for the troubled national broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation which won the highest award for a TV station, The Kituo Halisi TV Station Award for promoting local talent

It was a night of unending surprises and stiff competition as old gems prevailed over young blood in the TV and film industry to win various awards during the Fourth Kalasha Film and Television Awards.

Eclay Wangira of Simuyu Samurai, who described herself as a woman who has grown old acting, and 67-year-old grey-haired David Ng’ang’a who broke into a youthful dance, beat stiff competition from much younger actors to win Best Support Actress and Actor in film, respectively.

As predicted, Nairobi Half Life, the first Kenyan film to be nominated for the Oscars, braved a tight race from credible contenders Shattered, Senior Pastor and Lost in Africa, to emerge the Best Feature Film, the night’s most prestigious award.

In all, Nairobi Half Life bagged the highest number of awards with five — Best Feature Film, Best Director In A Film (Tosh Gitonga), Best Actor In A Film (Joseph Wairimu), Best Cinematography and Best Scriptwriter In An Original Screenplay Award.

It was followed by the impressive short film Simiyu Samurai, a story about a young man who returns home after 12 years and meets challenges that he never imagined, forcing him to defend himself using his martial arts skills.

Best editing

Simiyu Samurai won in four categories, namely Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Short Film and Best Supporting Actress in a Film, won by Eclay Wangira.

There was some controversy when Nigerian Rita Dominic won in the Best Actress category despite feelings by some actresses that the award should have gone to a Kenyan.

In the TV awards, it was a memorable night for the troubled national broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation which won the highest award for a TV station, The Kituo Halisi TV Station Award for promoting local talent.

KBC’s triumph was made much sweeter after its actors Hiram Mungai of Vioja Mahakamani won Best Actor and Peter Sankale alias Alexander Josephat of Vioja Mahakamani took home the Best Performance in a TV Comedy Award.

Popular actress Nyasuguta of Vitimbi, whose real name is Eunice Wangui, took home the Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama.

Despite the fanfare, the event was marred by confusion, with various awards being delayed due to what the organisers said was a confusion of envelopes.

At times, there were sound hitches that interfered with the smooth flow of the programme.

The Kalasha Awards were held on Saturday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

This year, fewer entries by 32 were received compared to last year. A total of 97 films and television features were submitted for Kalasha 2012.