{{Short description|Kenyan film director}} {{Infobox person | name = Judy Kibinge | image = File:SOAS Africa Conference 2017 - Judy Kibinge.jpg | caption = Judy Kibinge in 2017 | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1967}} | birth_place = Nairobi, Kenya | citizenship = Kenyan | alma_mater = Manchester Polytechnic | occupation = Filmmaker <br>Writer <br>Producer | years_active = 1999-till present | known_for = Establishing DocuBox | notable_works = Something Necessary }} '''Judy Kibinge''' (born 1967) is a Kenyan filmmaker, writer and producer. She has produced, written and directed a number of films, best known are ''Something Necessary'' (2013), ''Dangerous Affair'' (2002), and ''Project Daddy'' (2004). She is also known for establishing Docubox, a documentary film fund for African filmmakers to help them produce and distribute their film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-05 |title=The first Kenyan behind the Oscars |url=https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/saturday-magazine/the-first-kenyan-behind-the-oscars-430448 |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=Daily Nation |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Judy Kibinge feted with film on her life: 'Out of the Box' |url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2024-03-09-judy-kibinge-feted-with-film-on-her-life-out-of-the-box |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref> She released her first film, ''The Aftermath'', in 2002 and critics have said that she uses her films to impart stories about Kenya, particularly those about women and others that are typically not told in mainstream Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Companion to African Cinema|last=Steedman|first=Robin|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|year=2018|editor-last=Harrow|editor-first=Kenneth W.|pages=317|chapter=Nairobi-Based Female Filmmakers: Screen Media Production Between the Local and the Transnational|editor-last2=Garritano|editor-first2=Carmela}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal|last=Diang’a|first=Rachael|date=2017|title=Themes in Kenyan cinema: Seasons and reasons|journal=Cogent Arts & Humanities|volume=4|pages=1–11|doi=10.1080/23311983.2017.1334375|s2cid=148713315|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Kibinge has been described as a trailblazer for other female Kenyan filmmakers by scholar Clara Giruzzi, to which she has stated that she is just one of the many women who are at the forefront of the rebirth of film in Kenya.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Giruzzi |first=Clara |date=2015 |title=A Feminist Approach to Contemporary Female Kenyan Cinema: Women and Nation in From a Whisper (Kahiu, 2008) and Something Necessary (Kibinge, 2013) |journal=Journal of African Cinemas |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=79–96 |doi=10.1386/jac.7.2.79_1}}</ref> She has directed both fiction and non-fiction and Kibinge has been commissioned to make various documentaries, specifically corporate documentaries.<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Steedman |first=Robin |title=A Companion to African Cinema |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |year=2018 |editor-last=Harrow |editor-first=Kenneth W. |pages=321 |chapter=Nairobi-Based Female Filmmakers: Screen Media Production Between the Local and the Transnational |editor-last2=Garritano |editor-first2=Carmela}}</ref>
In 2023 Lindiwe Dovey directed a documentary film, ''Out of the Box: The Screen Worlds of Judy Kibinge'', to document the work and impact of Kibinge in the film industry.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bisschoff |first=Lizelle |date=2025-08-15 |title=Lindiwe Dovey, Out of the Box: The Screen Worlds of Judy Kibinge. 2023. 81 minutes. English. Produced by Circle & Square Productions, Screen World Collective, Chouette Films. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/lindiwe-dovey-out-of-the-box-the-screen-worlds-of-judy-kibinge-2023-81-minutes-english-produced-by-circle-square-productions-screen-world-collective-chouette-films/73AE83CFE65C3CC96CBEE82658F94257 |journal=African Studies Review |language=en |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1017/asr.2025.10071 |issn=0002-0206|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Early life and education== Kibinge was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1967. Her family moved to Washington DC in America in 1969 when she was two{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}. Her family stayed in the US for five years. At the age of 7, she won a children's writing competition in America{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}. She attended The Kenya High School before she moved to UK for her post-secondary education.Kibinge moved to the United Kingdom after growing up in the United States<!-- and Kenya? -->.
For post-secondary education, she attended Malvern Girls College, after which she attended art college in Birmingham.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/probably-didnt-know-renowned-kenyan-filmmaker-judy-kibinge-oscars-academys-new-member|title=Judy Kibinge|website=Face2Face Africa}}</ref> She moved to Manchester, where she attended Manchester Polytechnic and graduated with a Design for Communication Media degree; she never attended a film school.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Steedman |first=Robin |title=A Companion to African Cinema |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |year=2018 |editor-last=Harrow |editor-first=Kenneth W. |pages=319 |chapter=Nairobi-Based Female Filmmakers: Screen Media Production Between the Local and the Transnational |editor-last2=Garritano |editor-first2=Carmela}}</ref>
Before becoming a filmmaker, Kibinge worked in the advertising industry. In 1999 she left the advertising industry to pursue a filmmaking career and began directing commercial documentaries about Monsanto.<ref name=":03" />
==Film career== Her films are known as depicting social taboos, violence in developing countries, and romantic comedy. Her film ''Something Necessary'' (2013), screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, is about a woman's struggle of living in Kenya after the elections unrest in 2007. This movie does not only focus on the character's mental states but also helps the world to realize the collapsed situation of Kenya, which started from colonization. She is also known for her documentary film called ''Coming of Age'' (2008) which won an award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009 for Best Short Documentary category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/06/africa/female-african-directors/index.html|title=7 reasons African female directors rock|first=Lauren |last=Said-Moorhouse|website=CNN|access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref> ''Dangerous Affair'' (2002) won an award at the Zanzibar Film Festival.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMyU8n_fXXsC&dq=judy+kibinge&pg=PA270|title=Kwani? 01|last=Wainaina|first=Binyavanga|date=2005-11-01|publisher=Kwani Archive Online|isbn=9789966983602|language=en}}</ref> Her film often provides real life problems as opposed to fantasy and magical imaginations. However real-life problems she focuses on have a wide range. Her movies can be about personal issues between a couple which audiences can easily relate to,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Marriage and Sexuality in Indigenous Kenyan Film|last=Diang'a|first=Rachael|publisher=Kenyatta University|year=2005|location=Nairobi|pages=3}}</ref> and also they can be about social problems occurring in Africa such as colonialism, war, and hunger. As being known for documentary movies, her film style usually contains many establishing shots, which depict the entire city and people who live there, rather than keep focusing on one person's life. She is a founding member of Kwani Trust, which is an African magazine based in Kenya.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYqYAAAAQBAJ&dq=judy+kibinge&pg=PT100|title=African Literary NGOs: Power, Politics, and Participation|last=Strauhs|first=D.|date=2013-08-20|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781137330901|language=en}}</ref>
Kibinge began her career at McCann Erickson Kenya for eight years, where she was responsible for numerous award-winning adverts. She was the first black creative director at the company in Kenya. She left McCann Erickson in October 1999 to pursue her career in film. She has written and directed a short film for MNET, and she also produced corporate documentaries for IPPF, Monsanto, and Technoserve. Recently{{When|date=September 2020}} she has been writing a book.<ref name=":0" /> She founded DocuBox with funding from the Ford Foundation in order to develop the skills of filmmaking for African filmmakers, as well as provide funding, distribution and production support for documentary filmmakers.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4QPBgAAQBAJ&dq=judy+kibinge&pg=PA105|title=Gender equality, heritage and creativity|last=UNESCO|date=2014-10-13|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231000508|language=en}}</ref>
Kibinge runs her own production company titled ''Seven Productions'', through which she has made multiple films such as the 40 minute horror film short ''Killer Necklace.''<ref name=":42"/>
In 2017, Kibinge was chosen to be an Oscar judge by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the categories of documentary, international features and animation.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/24/africa/kenyan-woman-oscars-voter-judy-kibinge-cnntv/index.html|title=Kenyan Filmmaker Joins Ranks of Oscar Voters|last=Mahtani|first=Melissa|date=6 October 2017|website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mochama |first=Tony |title=Two more Kenyan producers join elite Oscars vetting team |url=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/standard-entertainment/article/2001377513/two-more-kenyan-producers-join-elite-oscars-vetting-team |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref>
After more than a decade, Kibinge returned to the director's chair with the narrative short ''GOAT'', which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sexton |first=Kayla |date=2025-09-23 |title=The Woodstock Film Festival Premieres World-Class Talent |url=https://hvmag.com/things-to-do/woodstock-film-festival/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Hudson Valley Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" ! colspan="3" |Filmography<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1834196/|title=Judy Kibinge|website=IMDb|access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref> |- |2002 |''Dangerous Affair'' |Writer/director |- |2002 |''The Aftermath'' |Director |- |2004 |''Project Daddy'' |Director |- |2005 |''Bless This Land'' |Director |- |2005 |''A Voice in the Dark'' |Producer |- |2008 |''Coming of Age'' |Director |- |2009 |''Peace Wanted Alive'' |Director |- |2009 |''Killer Necklace'' |Director |- |2011 |''Tinga Tinga Tales'' |Writer |- |2013 |''Something Necessary'' |Director |- |2015 |''Scarred: The Anatomy of a Massacre'' |Executive Producer |- |2019 |''The Letter'' |Executive Producer |- |2020 |''I Am Samuel'' |Executive Producer |- |2021 |''Joy's Garden'' |Executive Producer |- |2025 |''How to Build a Library'' |Executive Producer |- |2025 |''Khartoum'' |Executive Producer |- |2025 |''GOAT'' |Director & Executive Producer |- |2026 |''Searching for Amani'' |Consulting Producer |}
===Dangerous Affair=== Kibinge made her directorial debut when a producer who has worked in Hollywood, Njeri Karago asked her to direct a film titled ''Dangerous Affair''. Finance for the film were raised and gained press attention in Kenya as very few films were made there at the time. Kibinge shot the film on a professional video cassette camera and it was distributed by Karago's film company.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=A Companion to African Cinema|last=Steedman|first=Robin|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|year=2018|editor-last=Harrow|editor-first=Kenneth W.|pages=320|chapter=Nairobi-Based Female Filmmakers: Screen Media Production Between the Local and the Transnational|editor-last2=Garritano|editor-first2=Carmela}}</ref>''Dangerous Affair'' is a love story that tells the life of a young women named Kui who is trained as a New York banker and moves to Kenya and the man she meets in Kenya.<ref name=":32"/> It is a romantic comedy about loves, marriages and affairs.<ref name=":1" /> The film was shown at one of East Africa's biggest and longest-running film festival, Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), where it was both well-received and recognized.<ref name=":32" />
===Scarred: The Anatomy of Massacre=== ''Scarred: The Anatomy of Massacre'' was released in 2015. She uses her advertising background for a "visual hook" within the film. She photographed Wagalla survivors and their scars in a style that resembled a fashion shoot which led to a more dignified shoot for the survivors.<ref name=":42"/> She used black and white portraits to establish a human connection between the survivors in the film and the audience watching.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Companion to African Cinema|last=Steedman|first=Robin|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|year=2018|editor-last=Harrow|editor-first=Kenneth W.|pages=322|chapter=Nairobi-Based Female Filmmakers: Screen Media Production Between the Local and the Transnation|editor-last2=Garritano|editor-first2=Carmela}}</ref>
==Awards== * 2003: Zanzibar Film Festival – Best East African Production Award: ''A Dangerous Affair'' (2002) * 2007: Kenya International Film Festival – Best Documentary Award: ''Coming of Age'' (2008) * 2009: Kalasha Awards – Best Director: ''Killer Necklace'' (2008) * 2021: Kalasha Awards Lifetime Achiever<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muendo |first=Stevens |title=Kibinge crowned Lifetime Achiever at Kalasha |url=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/counties/article/2001431570/kibinge-crowned-lifetime-achiever-at-kalasha |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Judy Kibinge surprised but proud people see her value |url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-12-21-judy-kibinge-surprised-but-proud-people-see-her-value |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref> * 2021: Kenya Head of State's Commendation Award (HSC)<ref name=":3" />
==References== {{Reflist |2}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|1834196}}
{{Authority control}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibinge, Judy}} Category:Kenyan women film directors Category:Kenyan women screenwriters Category:1967 births Category:Film people from Nairobi Category:Living people Category:Kenyan film directors Category:Alumni of Kenya High School Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Category:Kalasha Awards winners