The first ever Film Festival Kenya was inaugurated in Nairobi on 15th August to coincide with India’s Independence Day. Indian high commissioner Rahul Chhabra did the honours. Arjun Rampal, producers Raju Chadha and Rahul Mittra and director Umesh Shukla were given awards at the Festival.
Minister for information, communication & technology Joe Mucheru pledged to review the decades-old Films And Stage Plays Act to make it friendlier to film producers and said that the government would line up a tax holiday scheme and rebates to lure Indian film producers to invest and shoot in Kenya. Rahul Mittra’s speech at the round-table discussion got a round of applause. He explained the way forward for the Kenyan government in order to attract producers from India and the rest of the world.
The five-day Festival is curated by Captain Rahul Sudesh Bali and organised by the Indian Film Festival Worldwide (IIFW) under the aegis of the High Commission of India in Kenya, and was supported by Kenya Film Commission. The Bollywood contingent was taken on a tour of spectacular locations.