Makena – Kenyans are a hard audience to please

You probably know her as Makena in the popular TV show Tahidi High but did you also know that Christine Njeri, is also the producer and director of the top youth show Teen Republik which airs on NTV every Saturday. She talked to ActScene about her journey in the film industry.

Who is Njeri?

I’m a TV producer and director by profession; I produce the show Teen Republik on NTV. I’m an on screen personality and actress. It has been two years since I have been on screen on an acting role.

Why did you choose acting?

Acting has been something I loved and wanted to do since I was a child as it runs in the family. My mother was an actress and a drama teacher so I got it from her. I used to accompany her to rehearsals. I started acting from preschool, won awards and kept going through my primary school and high school and from there I landed into Tahidi which opened doors for me to feature in two international movies one in South Africa and another in the United States. It was exciting as I was only 19 when I got into the international scene.

Why didn’t you just concentrate on acting?

In Kenya being an actor is not something one can fully survive on. You have to indulge in different activities in order to keep up, so in university I studied film production and got into producing and directing.

Has it paid of?

It has given me the opportunity to grow other people in the process. Being a producer and director, you easily have a mandate to control how someone does something in front of the camera and this has helped me nurture upcoming TV personalities.

What is the most exciting thing that has happened to you as a TV personality on screen or behind the scenes?

Doing my first international movie in South Africa. I must say that was very exciting, I was young, very green, had never been out of the country and then after that the US gig happened. It is a fun world, makes you a fun loving person. The funniest part though had to be when I acted a Kikuyu short movie where I was a Kamba village girl who had just come to the city... I’ll not share the name of this movie. Laughs.

Challenges?

Kenyans in general are a hard audience to please; they could watch something in a day and literally get bored with it. Every day you have to use your wits and be smart enough to change and give good and different content. Also, as a producer and director, you do not only focus on shows but also on news bulletins which means you spend a lot of time at work under a lot of pressure so losing friends and not having a normal social life becomes the norm.

What do you think Kenya Film Commission needs to do to improve the Kenyan film industry?

They first and foremost need to show respect to the guys who have been in the industry for a long time, bearing in mind that these people were the pioneers of the film industry.

They need to be consulted and treated well and also appreciated in terms of pay and appearances so as to encourage people getting to the field that there is room for growth and appreciation.