By Alex Matu

I was part of a gang of four assigned to cover the 2014 Kalasha Awards by Spielworks Media. It took us two hours stuck in traffic to arrive at our venue The Nairobi National Museum coming from our Westlands offices. The magnificent Museum Hill interchange revealed its one disadvantage. We could see the venue right across the freeway, a mere thirty meters across from our cab, but the only way to get there was to make a forty minute roundtrip to the intersection then ascend the slope. That’s a distance of less than half a kilometre. It being the last Friday of the month might have had something to do with the stifling traffic. I will restrain from further complaints because the remaining hours of Friday 26th July 2014 accommodated an event that marked another milestone for the Kenya TV & Film Industry.

We signed in at 7PM, unpacked our gear and began to set up behind the velvet rope. Major media houses were also just prepping at the entrance of the red carpet. To my left, Larry Madowo was being groomed by his team. Later on I’d wonder why The Trend was absent from the nominees list. It is a popular show after all. Larry one would expect to appear in the nominees list of Best Host in a TV Show.

By 7:30PM, the guests, VIPs, nominees and their dates were striding in from the parking lot. Security pointed them onto the red carpet where a line into the Museum building was forming. As the celebs walked in, Larry and the other reporters interviewed them. Catherine Kamau (Selina on Citizen TV’s Mother in Law) and Mwaniki Mageria (former chairman of The Kenya Film Commission) were the official ushers. They made a great team complementing each other. Catherine would ask who dressed a celebrity, Mwaniki would follow up with a joke. They were on the public address system so you couId hear guests bellowing with laughter.

Lyne Jumba and her hubby Gerald Langiri

By the time Gerald Langiri rocked the red carpet in a red suit, which my friend vehemently argued was pink, I knew this would be a good vibe night. Other notables were Nice Githinji from the TV show Saints and the movie House of Lungula, Veronicah Waceke who acted in Higher Learning and Janet Kirina who starred in Block D and Higher Learning.

Lizz Njagah joined Alex Konstantaras on the red carpet hoping for a big win for their movie House of Lungula which had ten nominations. And win they did. The sex comedy writers garnered Best Screenwriter in Original Screenplay.

Pictured here is Lizz Njagah, Alex Konstantaras and Sarah Hassan

Rose Njoroge was the surprise winner of the night. She scooped Best Lead Actress for the soon to be released film Strength of a Woman. Ms Njoroge cracked up the audience when she made an audacious jab at a high school teacher who had called her ‘pathetic’ then proceeded to advice her to quit acting. Rose thrust the award up in the air, said to him, “Bouyaaaa!!!” Catch her on the upcoming drama Jane & Abel.

The fashion police unanimously voted Jackie Vike as the best dressed celebrity. Jackie stars as the popular Awinja on Papa Shirandula. She showed off her sexy back in a blue-floor length dress with pendulum details. For the men, Nick Mutuma looked sharp in a spinoff of the classic black tie look with a black shirt and a light colored suit.

Pictured above are Janet Kirina in orange, Veronicah Waceke in yellow, Lyne Jumba in red and Nice Githinji in print

Then there were the socialites, upcoming socialites to be precise, who ran after photographers and demanded snaps. Most of the photographers were quick to oblige. One socialite got angered at a guest who’d mistakenly called her Vera Sidika. Her voice shot up for all to hear, “Vera had to pay millions to get a body like mine!” Of course we had no way to ascertain her claims. Over the course of the night I’d bump into her every often, mostly in the bar section.

The ceremony was hosted by Jeff Koinange and Patricia Amira. Jeff was as cool as Jeff Koinange can get on a drizzly chilled out night. He knows how to draw laughs and when to do it. For instance when it came time to announce the winner for Best Short Film, Jeff asked Kenya Film Commission Board Chairman Chris Foot up on stage proclaiming Mr.Foot should do the honour of presenting because he can relate with the Best Short Film category.

Even funnier was the Best Mobile Film announcement. The winning film had no accompanying trailer, the winners had the shortest speech ever made for an award and there was no actual trophy handed to them. The film is titled ‘Ghost’.

And that is how it went down at the Kalasha 2014. A detailed coverage on the glamour and fashion stars is coming straight up.

The Spielworks Media family would also like to commiserate with the family of Nancy Nyambura ‘Jastorina’ who passed on hours after being honoured for Best Performance in a Comedy. Our hearts go out to them in their time of sorrow.

Here’s the full list of the winners

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Feature Film

Strength of a Woman

Best Short Film

Simiyu Samurai 2

Best Scriptwriter in original screenplay

House of Lungula

Best Director of Photography

Kenji-Robinson Ndung’u

Best Sound Mixing

Ni Sisi

Best Editing

Simiyu Samurai 2

Best Lighting

Strength of a Woman

Best Art Direction

Something Necessary

Best Special Effects

Simiyu Samurai 2

Best Original Score

Strength of a Woman

Best Documentary

Silent Killer

Best Local Language

Ithe wa Mwana

Best Diaspora Production

Haunted Souls

Best Mobile Film

Ghost Town

Best Animation

Faiba

Best Lead Actor

Telly Savalas - The Marshall ofFinland

Best Supporting Actor

Claude Judah - Distant Boat

Best Lead Actress

Rose Njoroge - Strength of a Woman

Best Supporting Actress

Jacky Kaboi – Tamed

TELEVISION CATEGORY

Best TV Drama

Saida

Best TV Show

Tales from the Bush Larder

Best TV Documentary

Shamba Shape Up

Best Stand Up Comedy

Churchill Raw

Best Performance in a comedy

Nancy Nyambura

Best Host in a TV Show

Naomi Kamau and Tony Njuguna –Shamba Shape Up

Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama

George Mbuto- Bebabeba

Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama

Gerald Langiri - Stay

Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama

Mkamzee Mwatela – Mali

Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama

Amalie Chopeta – Saida

Special Awards

Kituo Halisi – Citizen TV

Lifetime Achievement – Lenny Juma

Best Watershed Compliant Station – GBS