Gender - first funding: Creative segregation masked as empowerment in Kenya film industry wrong way to go

On the other hand, the programme's sole criterion, exclusively based on gender, raises serious questions about creative segregation, meritocracy, and the core mandate of national institutions in an already struggling creative sector.

The fundamental flaw is that it puts identity over competence and skill. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of a young, passionate filmmaker.

He puts his head down, aggressively pursues the necessary education, and networks tirelessly to the point of offering his services for free to hone his craft. He has the drive, the skills, and great ideas, and is prepared to join an industry he knows is unstable.

Now imagine that person systematically locked out of critical lifeline opportunities, not because his portfolio is weak, but purely because of his gender.

In a discipline as creatively intensive as filmmaking, where the final work is ultimately judged on talent and vision, prioritising an external, immutable factor like gender over skill is negative. It sends a message that a national commission is willing to overlook potential and ignore those whose work could genuinely elevate the industry simply because they happen to be men.

This leads directly to the core institutional contradiction. KFC is explicitly mandated to be an inclusive public entity, meant to serve and support and stabilise the entirety of the national film industry, not just one demographic.

By approving and championing a programme that deliberately segregates opportunity based on gender, the KFC seems to embrace a form of identity politics that undermines its universal charter.

To highlight the injustice, imagine the outrage if this residency were exclusively for men. The silence regarding the exclusion of male filmmakers, rationalised by the perceived nobility of the cause, exposes a profound double standard regarding equal access to resources.

While the intent to uplift female voices is noble, the mechanism chosen is shortsighted. Sustainable growth for the African creative space will not come from deliberate segregation.

The better, more equitable approach would be for KFC to use its energy and resources to invest in system stabilisation, universal funding of essential infrastructure, creating lucrative distribution channels, and ensuring stability and transparency within the industry.

It is in strengthening this overall economic foundation of filmmaking that the industry will organically attract and retain talent from all demographics and make the mechanics of selling filmmaking as a viable career path from the grassroots up, irrespective of gender, that much easier.

The emphasis needs to shift from creating niche, gender-specific pipelines to fostering universal support and demonstrable excellence for all.

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