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The 5^th edition of the Kenya International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from the 21^st to 30^th October 2010 in Nairobi Kenya.

The festival, whose theme is ‘creating linkages and connecting people’, will be celebrating its 5^th anniversary this year.The aim of the festival is to challenge local filmmakers to contribute products which are indeed truly African and can transverse international borders.

Our objective is to promote a cinema culture in the Eastern Africa region by showing locally made films alongside international ones.

The previous editions have created forums for networking and sharing ideas on:

• The technological and artistic development of the industry
• Identifying distribution networks both locally and internationally for regional filmmakers
• Building capacity for young filmmakers through mentorship and practical skills training
• Introducing regional films to international markets
• Creating forums for audiovisual practioners to engage their current governments to support film development.

The fifth edition of KIFF will be a combination of film screening, capacity building workshops, theme nights and a celebration of the 5^th anniversary.  The festival has attracted over 250 films from all over the world among them are world classics and new releases.

 THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE: 

• Official opening ceremony: A black tie event at the National Museums auditorium will bring together filmmakers and film enthusiasts from the region. The opening film is the ‘First Grader’
• Regular screenings: Films in competition and other selected films among them Kenyan classics, films using Kenya as a location, world classics and African Diaspora films. Screenings will be done at the following venue: Alliance Francaise de Nairobi, National Museums, Silver Bird Cinemas, Indian High Commission Residence and The National Theatre.
• The Kenya Film Week: KIFF in collaboration with the Department of Film Services will carry out screening across the country to popularise and promote a cinema culture. This will be the first edition of the Kenya Film Week.
• Student Forum:  The student fraternity contributes a large audience of film lovers and the festival has organized a special program for film students, where they will get a chance to interact with film professionals through workshops and Q&A sessions. To boost the creative effort of students, student films from different institutions locally and globally will be selected and put up for competition.5. Artist’s cafeteria: Once again the festival will create a forum for artists to interact and discuss pertinent issues affecting the performing artists in the region. The participants will include actors/actresses, film professionals, academicians and research fellows.
• Women in film: Kenya takes pride in having many women in filmmaking. A round table discussion with women in filmmaking has been planned to bring together regional women filmmakers
• Special Screening: A slot for special screening of Kenyan classics alongside the world classics has been allocated. The best Kenyan films, Diaspora classics, location Kenya films and world classics will be screened.
• American documentary showcase: A selection of recently produced American documentaries will be screened during the festival. Some of the directors will attend the screening sessions and hold a Q&A session.
• Special recognition: This year the Kenya International Film Festival will acknowledge and recognise the contribution of the following persons:  ( 1)The Late Sydney Pallock, for his support in promoting Kenya as a choice filming location hence encouraging tourism to flourish.
• Mr.  Oliver Litondo, for his contribution in the creative arts as a broadcaster, actor and writer.
• Theme Nights: Excellent forums for filmmakers to interact and share ideas on both cultural issues and cinematography. Different cultures meet through cinema. The night includes screening films and a light cocktail by the host Embassy.
• The East African Filmmakers Forum: The forum encourages interaction between film professionals, government officials and legal practioners in Eastern Africa and allows for lobbying for more government support. The agenda will also include deliberations on the creation of an association of filmmakers to spearhead the development of a more vibrant film industry in Eastern Africa. The role of the Kenya Film Commission will also be discussed.  
• Capacity Building Workshops: The training workshops are scheduled  to take place in different places around the country through established film clubs. KIFF in collaboration with the American Embassy, The Department of Film Services and regional film clubs will carry out training workshops in Kisumu, Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa. The program will include script development, actor’s lab, directing (especially for documentaries) and cinematography workshops.
• Intellectual Property Workshop: The Kenya Copyright Board will facilitate a workshop on intellectual property and related rights. The forum will discuss among others: regional integration, fighting piracy, patenting. Expected participants will be government officials, enforcing officers and filmmakers from the region.
• The Role of Film Classification and how it affects production: a presentation by the Kenya Film Classification Board on the challenges of classifying African films.
• Local content development: the Kenya Film Commission in collaboration with KBC and The Communication Commission of Kenya will give a presentation on ‘encouraging local productions.’
• Community Outreach Program: The Festival, in collaboration with the cinema clubs in Kibera, Mathare and Kayole will take cinema to the people. The project targets the urban informal settlement areas. The screening will be in the social halls and outdoor open grounds.
• Schools awareness campaigns: To encourage early appreciation of films and develop a cinema going culture, the festival has designed a package for schools. A special screening will be held from 9:00AM to 1:00 PM targeting drama clubs.
• Cinema Mondial Tour: KIFF will participate in a special tour by Cinema Mondial, which will be taking 12 films supported by Hubert Bais Fund and Jan Vrijman Fund to 10 film festivals in Africa. Two Kenyan films Soul boy and Santos  are in this tour. Other films are: Una Semana Solos,Un Matin Bonne Heure, le Jardin de papa, Love conquers all, Congo in Four Acts, Glimpse, Sea Point Days, Shungu, the resilence of a people, Tehran Has no more pomegranates!, Tishe!
• Closing Ceremony: African Gala Night and Award Giving Ceremony: The ceremony will be held at the Alliance Francaise de Nairobi on the 30^th October

More details are on the website: www.kifftrust.org