Kenya Film Commission – Historical 2025 Film Empowerment Programme Co-production Call

Kenya Film Commission – Historical 2025 Film Empowerment Programme Co-production Call

This page is a historical reference, not an open application listing. The Kenya Film Commission’s latest published co-production funding call closed on 20 November 2025, and the Commission later reported the selected projects. No newer open deadline is stated on the official programme pages reviewed for this update.

The call was run by the Kenya Film Commission (KFC) in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the Kenyan-German cooperation project Strengthening the Film Industry in Kenya. It was a focused funding window for Kenyan producers who had already formed an international co-production partnership. It was not a general grant for any creative business, an idea-stage pitch competition, or a continuation of the broad category list on the older Film Empowerment Programme page.

At a glance

What the 2025 call funded

The official notice described partial funding for an international co-production that had already been assembled in practical terms. KFC was looking for a Kenyan producer with an identified international producer partner and a specific film project, not an applicant who was still searching for a foreign collaborator. The grant was intended to help close a financing or production gap, improve production value, secure important resources, or support the cross-border work already required by the partnership.

The call’s central aims were clear:

• strengthen collaboration between Kenyan and international production teams;
• support film projects that could move toward late development or production;
• improve the quality and readiness of the supported productions; and
• increase the international visibility of Kenyan stories.

KFC said it intended to select two projects. The award was therefore competitive and limited: up to KES 1.7 million was available for each selected film project, rather than a guaranteed amount for every eligible submission. The notice also stated that KFC and the organising parties would not claim rights in the supported projects. Applicants still needed to understand their own production, copyright, financing, and contractual responsibilities; the no-rights statement does not replace those checks.

This structure matters when assessing fit. A producer with a strong script but no international partner would not meet the defining condition of this window. A foreign company approaching KFC without an established Kenyan production company also would not match the stated applicant profile. The fund was designed around an existing co-production relationship, with the KFC contribution sitting alongside the partners’ wider financing and production plan.

Who was eligible

The call was aimed at established Kenyan production companies with a credible track record. The Kenyan company needed to have already forged a partnership with an international producer for a specific film project. The international producer could be registered in any country outside Kenya and was expected to bring its own funding to the project.

The official notice also encouraged proposals that promoted gender equity and represented diverse voices and perspectives, both on screen and behind the camera. That language was an encouragement in the call, not a promise that every project meeting it would receive funding. A strong application still needed to show a credible production partnership and a project that could use partial support effectively.

The opportunity was therefore a poor fit for:

• an individual filmmaker applying without an established Kenyan production company;
• a company proposing a general slate rather than one identified film project;
• a project whose international partner had not committed to the collaboration;
• a partnership where the international producer could not bring its own funding; or
• an early idea with no credible route into late development or production.

The older Film Empowerment Programme page included development, production, marketing and distribution, and emerging-filmmaker categories. Those details should not be copied into a 2025 co-production application. The 2025 call had its own narrower eligibility rules. The same is true of the 2025 Screenwriters Residency, another Film Empowerment Programme strand with different applicants, activities, and award levels. This page records the co-production window only.

Amount and what “partial funding” means

The official call promised up to KES 1.7 million for each of two selected film projects. It described the support as partial funding, so the award was not presented as the full budget for a feature, documentary, or other film. The applicant’s production package needed to make sense with the KFC contribution alongside the Kenyan company’s plan, the international partner’s funding, and any other confirmed or proposed financing.

The official results provide useful confirmation of how the award was used. KFC reported that the two selected co-production projects, Wash Wash by D&R Studios Limited and Heirs of No Regret by Baruu Collective Ltd, received up to KES 1.7 million each. The Commission described the projects as ready-to-shoot international co-productions and said the support was intended to bridge financing gaps and move them toward production.

Do not read the KES 1.7 million figure as a current standing award ceiling for every future Film Empowerment Programme round. It is the amount published for this specific 2025 co-production call. A future notice may change the amount, number of awards, project stage, or partnership conditions.

How the 2025 application worked

The public call gives enough information to reconstruct the decision sequence without inventing a document checklist that KFC did not publish in the notice:

1. Confirm the applicant structure. The applicant needed to be an established Kenyan production company with a credible track record. An informal team or an unincorporated individual should not assume that it qualified.
2. Confirm the international partnership. Before applying, the Kenyan producer needed an international producer for a specific project. That partner had to be registered outside Kenya and bring its own funding.
3. Select one concrete film project. The call was about a project that could benefit from partial support, not a general request for organisational funding. The project needed to be positioned for late development or production.
4. Show why the KFC contribution mattered. The notice described support for resources, production value, and cross-border collaboration. The application therefore needed to explain the financing gap or production need the grant would address and how the partners’ existing work would continue.
5. Present the Kenyan and international collaboration clearly. The call sought authentic Kenyan stories and encouraged gender equity and diverse representation. Those points belonged in the project and team presentation, alongside the practical evidence of the partnership.
6. Use the official submission link. The KFC notice included a “Click here to apply Co-production Funding” link. Applicants needed to use that official route and follow the form or instructions attached to it, rather than rely on a third-party listing.
7. Submit by 20 November 2025. The deadline was a fixed date, not rolling. The official notice separately listed 1 December 2025 for the announcement of selected projects.

Because the call is closed, these steps are preparation guidance for a possible future window, not an invitation to send a late application to the old form. KFC’s current announcement should control if and when another round is published.

What happened after submission

KFC’s later results notice said the co-production call attracted 34 applications between 20 November and 1 December 2025. Five projects were shortlisted for pitching, and two were selected for funding. The selected projects were Wash Wash and Heirs of No Regret, each receiving up to KES 1.7 million.

The results notice also covered the Screenwriters Residency, which was a separate strand under the fourth cycle. Ten writers took part in that residency, and five projects later received development grants of up to KES 1.5 million each. That result is relevant because it confirms that the Film Empowerment Programme continued beyond the old page, but it does not change the eligibility or amount of the co-production call archived here.

The co-production notice required agreed project milestones to be completed no later than 31 March 2026. That date has also passed. It is another reason this page must remain marked as historical rather than appearing as a live opportunity.

What applicants should prepare for a future round

There is no confirmed next deadline in the official material reviewed for this update. A producer planning for a future KFC and GIZ window can still use the 2025 notice as a preparation checklist, while treating every future rule as subject to the new call:

• keep the Kenyan production company’s registration and track-record evidence organised;
• document the international producer relationship for a named film project;
• record the partner’s country of registration and its own financing commitment;
• keep a current project package showing the stage of development or production;
• map the specific financing gap that a partial grant would address;
• explain how Kenyan creative participation and international collaboration work together; and
• prepare a realistic schedule that can be reconciled with the funder’s milestone requirements.

These are sensible readiness actions, not additional requirements claimed by the 2025 notice. The next official call may ask for different forms, budgets, rights documents, or delivery dates. Applicants should use the new KFC announcement as the controlling document when one appears.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply now?

Not to the 2025 co-production call. Its application deadline was 20 November 2025, and KFC later announced the selected projects. Wait for a new official call rather than submitting to an archived form.

Is this a general creative-industry grant?

No. The archived call was for film co-productions. It required an established Kenyan production company, a specific film project, and an international producer partner bringing its own funding.

Was KES 1.7 million guaranteed?

No. The notice stated “up to” KES 1.7 million for each of two selected projects. It was a competitive partial-funding award, not an automatic entitlement for every eligible applicant.

Can an individual filmmaker apply without a company?

The 2025 co-production notice named established Kenyan production companies as the applicant profile. Individual eligibility from older Film Empowerment Programme categories should not be carried over to this call.

Does the 2025 residency belong on this page?

Only as clearly labelled context. The residency had a different audience and a different award structure. It should not be used to describe the co-production call’s amount or eligibility.

Official source

• Kenya Film Commission: Call for Submissions – Co-production Funding
• Kenya Film Commission: Seven Film Projects Receive Major Funding Boost from KFC and GIZ
• Kenya Film Commission: Call for Submissions – Screenwriters Residency

Check the Kenya Film Commission website for any future announcement. Until KFC publishes a new cycle, this page should be read as an archive of the 2025 international co-production call, not as a live application opportunity.