TAKE 5: Cherie Lindiwe

Cherie Lindiwe is a digital content creator with more than five years in the sector, writing, producing, directing and editing for various print and digital media. Her greatest passion is creating bold, creative, disruptive and relevant digital content for women, by women, She is currently the creative director of Kenya's biggest digital lifestyle magazine for women, ZUMI Kenya.

1. You started off doing production and films during your undergraduate. Tell us about Usoni, the first imaginative film you did, which garnered lots of attention.

I did my undergraduate degree at USIU-Kenya – I am grateful for the freedom and opportunities that were extended to journalism students.

Yes, our curriculum was primarily focused on teaching us journalistic principles, but we had access to production equipment, state of the art editing labs, and most important, the power to think freely. At the time I was an assistant to the school Head of Film Production, Dr Marc Rigaudis - he had this awesome idea to create an afro-futuristic series imagining Africa in 2053.

Together with a team of brilliant creators at the school's journalism program, we came up with a script, went to Diani, (Mombasa) shot it, uploaded it on YouTube, and within two weeks, every major media house in the world was booking us for interviews.

I was the director and head of production for this project, so you can imagine how exhilarating this was. We were tired of the way things were, we hated the way the rest of the world looked at us Africans, so we chose to do something about it, and the world responded.

2. How did you get started at ZUMI and what is the feminist angle you've decided to take with the video production over there?

I started out as a junior editor and writer sometime around November 2016, before that, I was a freelance lifestyle writer. The digital revolution had just started to hit and I wanted to be a part of it, just not as a writer any more.

I needed more excitement and I wanted to start producing video content again, just a little differently this time, and so I did.

ZUMI, being a woman-focused magazine, was predominantly made up of women. I derived a lot of inspiration for our content profile from the earnest, crazy, raw conversations we had on money, love, men, sex and other topics.

All I needed to do was point a camera in the right direction to see the true potential of the conversations we could spark among millennial Kenyan women.

The magazine did have a feminist agenda, of course, but it was made stronger and more outspoken by its staff and community. We became more confident in our messaging because we were being our truest selves as women and therefore producing content that reflected that.

3. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Many misunderstand this term, particularly men, why do you think this is so?

Yes I am a feminist, and very proudly so. I think we should all be, male or female. I also think most men are just afraid of what it sounds like without really knowing what it means.

Feminism is about equal rights and opportunities accorded to both men and women, it does not mean that we want to be men. We are making strides though - we are seeing a number of millennial Kenyan fathers embracing feminism by wanting the best for their daughters.

4. What kind of movies do you enjoy?

The digital age has brought forth a wave of creativity like never before. I join many others in echoing that Nairobi is going through a creative and cultural revolution, it's a renaissance.

Visual and motion art producers such as Jim Chuchu from the Nest, Blinky Bill, Muthoni The Drummer Queen, Wanuri Kahiu and Ng'endo Mukiii have set the trend for exquisite futuristic creations, while internet stars such as Njugush, Seth Gor, Joanna Kinuthia and Faiza Hemed are hilariously reflecting our today. I enjoy both sides tremendously.

5. What are you planning to produce next, as a passion/personal project and what do you think you would like to see a Kenyan producing on film?

Right now I am working on a small project that has a lot to do with the remarkable bravery of the women in my lineage.

If I start to explain what I would like a Kenyan to make on film, we might be here for a while, but I would like a future when Kenyan creatives are not bound by restrictive laws that limit the levels of their storytelling.