Kenya’s Shandra Apondi shines at Mobile Film Festival Africa Awards
Shandra Apondi emerged as one of nine winners in the Mobile Film Festival Africa Awards held in Rabat in Morocco on June 8.
Shandra was one of four Kenyans who made it to the finals out of 54 finalists competing for nine awards with scholarships and creative grants worth Sh6.3 million (US$46,000).
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Shandra won the ACP-EU Culture Award which came with a creative grant of Sh690,000 (US$5,000).
The 25-year-old with a civil engineering degree started her filmmaking journey last year. Her first short film won her the Best Director in a Student Film Award at the Women and Films Awards held last year.
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Her comedic film PAASWAAAD (Password) was one of 886 films received from 40 African countries. The short film follows a man as he races through a thick forest panting, only to fall and be approached by his girlfriend who asks him to unlock his phone hence the title ‘password’.
The filmmakers were tasked with recording a one-minute film on a mobile phone. The format was expected to promote equal access by removing financial barriers through the use of mobile phones and free registration to the festival while valuing the creativity of filmmakers who are challenged to tell a compelling story in one minute.
smuia@ke.nationmedia.com