While most film executives chase deals in big cities, film enthusiast Peter Pages Bwire is betting on the Kenyan countryside. Through Kitale Film Week and the Kitale Film Institute, he’s building a model where creative industries drive urban transformation and power a grassroots movement for African storytelling and education.
Seth Onyango, bird story agency
The morning sun falls gently over Kitale, a town where maize fields stretch beyond the horizon. Inside a modest studio, Peter Pages Bwire reviews schedules for the coming week, surrounded by cameras, scripts, and equipment stacked against the walls.
He has just returned from Lagos, where he secured a partnership that will bring Nollywood filmmakers to Kitale. Among those coming to Kitale is Dr. Inya Lawal, a renowned social entrepreneur and founder of the African Creative Market (ACM), who will bring her experience in bridging creative commerce and empowering African storytellers to join the programme.
They will train local film and TV professionals, collaborate with the Kitale Film Week, and work through the Kitale Film Institute to develop and distribute African stories that have so far remained largely untold. It’s a full-circle moment for Bwire, who still remembers the first time he picked a film for an audience back in 2009. Then, a student at a high school in Cherangany, in Kenya’s North Rift, stood before his classmates as they argued over what to watch for entertainment.
He picked Osuofia in London, a Nollywood classic whose humour filled the room with laughter and left an impression that never quite faded. “I’ve loved that film to this day,” he said. “And I still hope some of the Nollywood filmmakers who inspired us can now help train those who grew up watching them.”
That early fascination with storytelling followed him to Kenyatta University, on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, where he studied film and theatre. There, he began screening films for fellow students and charging 50 shillings (about $0.40) for entry, just enough to keep him and his friends going. What started as informal gatherings evolved into organised events, culminating in the inaugural Kitale Film Festival in 2023 at the town museum.
While studying film, Bwire initially imagined a career in movie-making, but soon realized that production alone did not suit him.
“I really did not find my space inside production,” he said. Instead, he gravitated toward distribution, exhibition, and organising festivals .
In 2016, he organised the Festival of Dots in Nairobi, an early effort to provide African filmmakers with a platform. The festival revealed gaps in the ecosystem, highlighting that many filmmakers lacked avenues to showcase their work, reach audiences, or earn a living from their craft. To address this, Bwire pursued further education in the film business at the University of Exeter and the London Film School.
But just as his career gained momentum, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the industry. Internships, shoots, and distribution deals disappeared. He spent a brief spell in Italy before returning to Kitale and began to figure out how film could help shape sustainable urban development.
His plan centred on embedding sustainability into every layer of growth—green spaces, food security, education reform, smart infrastructure, and employment opportunities—all aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Film would not only drive cultural production but also shape how people imagined and built their future.
“Kitale was a natural place for me,” he said. “I know the people, I know places, and I know where to begin.”
At the Manchester Creative Exchange conference in 2019, he presented an idea that merged culture with urban planning—using film as a tool for education, employment, and community building. The idea took root, and in 2023, Kitale hosted its first film festival at the county museum.
“The very first was an opening night moderated by Terryanne Chebet (a renowned Kenyan TV presenter),” he recalled. “We showed Run for Your Life, an action movie shot right here in Kitale and available on YouTube. We also screened Zuena, which was a major film that year. The theme was ‘Welcome Home,’ and there was this big mood of homecoming by people from Kitale who live in other towns.”
The first projects were modest. A large feature film proved too ambitious, so Bwire focused on small-scale productions, bringing together musicians, photographers, and aspiring filmmakers. From these early efforts, Kitale Film Week was born that same year. The festival now runs for eight days every February, combining public screenings with workshops, school visits, and panels to train filmmakers and build audiences.
Bwire is deliberate about adapting international models to African realities. Having studied European and Hollywood circuits, he insists the goal is not imitation but translation. “We are not Europeans, we are not Asians. We are people in Kitale. We are making this festival for people here,” he said. Audience habits, access, and payment preferences inform how the festival is structured.
Networking sits at its heart. Panels and informal meetups allow young filmmakers to meet mentors, government officials, and distributors. “The main thing we bring together is people,” he said. “People can watch films anywhere, but meeting, exchanging ideas, planning projects—that’s what grows an industry.”
Mentorship remains a central pillar. Bwire wants African storytellers to learn from one another rather than depend on validation from outside. His partnership with Nollywood professionals aims to pass on skills to younger filmmakers, echoing his teenage admiration for Osuofia in London.
“We want a generation of African storytellers who love their stories, love their homes, and love their people,” he said.
During his visit to Lagos, Bwire appealed to filmmakers and storytellers to embrace their roots and honour the places they come from.
“When we talk about building a global hub for African storytelling, it is the relationship we build with each other, everyone, wherever they are. So start building from there. The more local you go, the more global you become,” he urged.
Beyond Kitale, Bwire has contributed to film curricula at universities from London to Trinidad and Tobago, always centring African perspectives. He also organises mobile cinema screenings in rural areas, bringing films directly to people who rarely see African stories on screen.
But funding remains one of the biggest hurdles, with most African festivals still dependent on foreign donors. Kitale Film Week, however, is built on local ownership—supported by county governments, hotels, filmmakers, and volunteers who contribute time, skills, or money. “Because we are Africans, this festival is our business,” Bwire insisted. “The energy and momentum from our local community keep us going.”
As Kitale Film Week prepares for its fourth edition in 2026, its influence is beginning to spread. Training sessions are expanding, partnerships are deepening, and mobile cinema initiatives are drawing new audiences. Bwire’s dream is to build a continental network of filmmakers who tell African stories on their own terms.
bird story agency
