Machakos governor Dr Alfred Mutua and president Uhuru Kenyatta's son Jomo Kenyatta Tuesday officially launched the 2016 edition of Machakos Fest a short film festival.
The first edition was held in 2015 and the overall winner bagged a million shillings, runners-up - Sh 500,000, 3rd prize Sh 250,000 and the 4th prize was Sh 100,000.
The Top ten films were also awarded. According to governor Mutua, the festival seeks to provide a platform for new talents in the film industry to showcase their work and interact with experienced filmmakers and related professionals in the industry.
This helps nurture and promote the film industry and ultimately raise the production value in Kenya and beyond. The Films should be a maximum of 7 minutes long, shot specifically for this year’s edition and have at least a scene or location shot within Machakos County.
The grand prize will win Sh1 Million. The governor promised to top that up with a personal contribution of Sh 200,000 to the overall winner.
This year’s edition has additional categories such as Documentary films, Schools category and Tertiary institutions.