Kilifi Creek Festival: New Wave of Cinema, Culture Rises on Kenya’s Coast

By Mbungu Harrison

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

A tidal wave of creativity is about to wash over Kenya’s coastal Kilifi town as it prepares to host the inaugural Kilifi Creek Festival, an artist-led celebration of cinema, arts, fashion, and community.

Set against the enchanting backdrop of the creek’s shimmering waters and ancient mangroves, the festival will run from October 11 to 18, 2025, transforming the coastal haven into a vibrant stage for African storytelling and global cultural exchange.

This week-long festival marks a bold new chapter in Kenya’s creative landscape, offering a platform that is not only deeply rooted in the local community but also ambitious in its international outlook.

Curated by The Terrace Consortium

A collective of Kilifi-based filmmakers Zippy Kimundu, Mumo Liku, and Saitabao Kaiyarein partnership with YORA (Year of Return Africa), the Kilifi Creek Festival embodies the spirit of artistic collaboration, cultural reclamation, and communal joy.

With the theme “Water is Memory, Movement and Magic,” the festival pays homage to Kilifi Creek-a lifeline and muse for generations. The creek’s ebb and flow, its reflections of history and culture, and its power to connect diverse communities serve as a metaphor and a canvas for the week’s events.

“Kilifi is more than just a beautiful place; it’s a living, breathing space of stories and spirit. This festival is a tribute to that magic,” says filmmaker and co-founder Zippy Kimundu, whose own passion project, Afrofilms International, champions African stories and filmmakers.

Over 47 screenings, including 33 films from 15 African countries, will be showcased in intimate waterfront venues and bustling community spaces, turning the entire creek into an immersive cinema and art corridor.

Highlights from Kenyan filmmakers include, “Sukari” by Mombasa-based director Omar Hamza, “Float” by Lydia Matata, “Mawimbi” by Mark Wambui, “Enkai”, the award-winning Disney animation by Ng’endo Mukii.

International star power comes in the form of “Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine,” the American-Ugandan actor, director, and producer, whose documentary Memories of Love Returned winner of the Audience Award at the 2024 Pan African Film Festival will also be screened.

“I’m proud and honoured to co-found this festival in my adopted hometown.This is more than just filmit’s about identity, legacy, and creating space for our stories to be told on our own terms,” Kimundu said.

But Kilifi Creek Festival is not just about film. It’s a holistic celebration of creativity with art exhibitions, fashion showcases, public conversations, workshops, and masterclasses that invite local residents, emerging artists, and visitors into a shared space of learning, reflection, and celebration.

The festival is eco-conscious and community-first, reflecting a commitment to sustainability, inclusion, and long-term impact. Artist residences, school outreach, and capacity-building sessions will ensure that the festival’s legacy continues long after the final screening.

“This is an act of reimagination.We’re taking world-class storytelling out of traditional urban spaces and into nature where memory lives, where culture breathes,” Kimundu said.

The global significance of the Kilifi Creek Festival hasn’t gone unnoticed. Tribeca Film Festival Co-Founder, Craig Hatkoff, praised the initiative, saying festival offers stories that change the world.

“The Kilifi Creek Festival offers stories that change the world. It’s also a real opportunity to spur local economic development and build more than just a grassroots community,” said Hatkoff.

At its heart, the Kilifi Creek Festival is a vibrant call to decentralise the arts, ensuring that the magic of cinema and culture isn’t confined to capital cities or elite venues, but is shared, celebrated, and co-created in the very places that have long nurtured Africa’s spirit of storytelling.