Kenya Film Commission visits the DedanKimathi Film and Animation Hub to interview the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ndirangu Kioni, together with some of the students, on some of the hub's success stories since it was launched in 2020

The Kenya Film Commission visited the DedanKimathi Film and Animation Hub to interview the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ndirangu Kioni, together with some of the students, on some of the hub's success stories since it was launched in 2020. The visit included media representatives from My Gov, People's Daily, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Standard and Nation Media, HabariKibra, and three officers from the Commission.

Speaking during the interview, the Vice Chancellor stated that the hub has created jobs in the fields of videography, video editing, animation, graphic design, script writing and game development. He also noted that the hub has directly employed 20 people besides providing over 100 freelance jobs to the youth, students and local people.

The hub has also created satisfactory publicity for DeKUT both locally and internationally. For instance, in 2021, it was featured in a University Souvenir Magazine, which was shared with the general public during the graduation ceremony. It has also been featured on several websites and social media platforms of some critical stakeholders with a global following, like the Kenya Film Commission and the County Government of Nyeri, among others.

The Vice Chancellor also stated that the hub has created room for developing new academic programmes, such as the postgraduate diploma in animation, which is scheduled to commence next month. The hub is open to the public under regulated terms like acting and capacity building. The facility currently serves 100 people per week including students, interns and staff members.

The Vice Chancellor added that the hub has so far produced six 2D animations, four 3D animations, three video games in the category of calphabet, money game and a maths book, three documentaries and short films, scripts, illustrations, soundtracks and a website. Aside from that, the facility acts as an incubation space for film projects in Nyeri County and helps transform the country into a shooting destination for local and international filmmakers. He concluded by noting that the facility has graduated 15 scriptwriters, 23 PSC interns, and 60 work-study programme students and offered capacity-building training for 95 learners and 50 actors and actresses.

Speaking during the interview was Gilbert Munywoki, a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The student stated that the hub has improved his animation skills, which he has been learning part-time and hopes to start a YouTube channel with animation.