The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has rolled out a literacy program targeting creatives in arts and film to promote production of clean content.
Through the initiative, the state agency seeks to empower creatives to generate content that upholds Kenya’s cultural and moral values while safeguarding children from exposure to inappropriate media content.
This comes amidst a rise in production of local content across all digital platforms with various stakeholders raising concerns about the quality and content of the productions.
KFCB Acting Manager in charge of Licensing Marcus Alexander said the initiative targets to create awareness of the legal framework and licensing procedures to ensure production of clean content and ensure sustainable growth of the sector.
Lack of knowledge amongst creatives, he said, was the biggest challenge adding that through the stakeholder engagement, KFCB aims to create awareness on the licensing regime and other factors to consider before venturing out to film to ensure that creatives take advantage of the digital space to empower themselves economically.
Besides the film license issued by KFCB, he said creatives must be aware of other factors, among them seeking consent where necessary and securing the relevant permits from other government agencies.
The local film industry, he said, has registered tremendous growth, with the number of local productions licensed outnumbering foreign productions.
“In 2018 the number of foreign productions was higher than local productions. However, in 2024, three quarters of the productions licensed by KFCB in the country are local,” he said.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement forum in Kisumu, Alexander disclosed that KFCB was developing a number of policies to create a friendly regulatory environment for film makers and creatives.
These, he said, include user generated content policy and self-classification policy which once passed will make the licensing and regulation processes faster and friendlier.
KFCB Acting Chief Manager in Charge of Communications Nelly Muluka said the forums target creatives in all genres in the audio visual space to build their capacity and understanding of the regulatory environment.
This, he said, was in line with the government’s agenda to exploit the digital economy with the creatives and film makers expected to play a big role.
The sector, she added, has a lot of potential in addressing unemployment among the youth, calling on all creatives to take advantage of the high internet connectivity and mobile phone technology penetration in the country to generate content.
“For us to regulate, we need people to create content. If they don’t, then we shall not have anything to regulate,” she said.
KFCB, she added, has organised similar engagements in Nakuru, Embu and Mombasa to reach out to more creatives and content creators.
Kisumu County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Sports, Youth, Culture and Heritage Beatrice Adongo said the forums were critical to support upcoming content creators to operate within the confines of the law while exploiting their talents.
“We appreciate the efforts KFCB is making to build capacity for our artistes. This will go a long way in ensuring they monetise their content and earn a living from it,” she said.
The County Government, he said will continue to partner with KFCB and other organisations to ensure that creative maximise on the existing opportunities within the digital space.
She added that the devolved unit has developed a culture policy and was working with partners to develop a culture bill which once passed will open up opportunities for artists and creatives in the area.
By Chris Mahandara
