Naivety World Productions

A few days ago, I received some amazing news. By the Book, a short romantic comedy I wrote, directed and produced under Naivety World Productions, had been officially selected for screening at the Kilifi Creek Festival.

There were 260 submissions from more than 50 countries, and 92 films made the selection. Ours was one of them.

To understand why this means so much to me, I have to take you back to February this year, when By the Book was still just an idea I had pitched to the African Female Filmmakers Collective.

The pitch won, and suddenly, I had a film to make. Except, my team and I had about five days to shoot, edit and submit the finished film.

Five days!

I remember still working on the script on the morning of the shoot. We had a story, a cast, a crew, and a tight deadline. And as filmmaking would have it, something unforeseen happened during production that forced us to change our original ending.

I often think about that experience because it captures so much of what independent filmmaking has been for me. You start with an idea, you plan as best as you can, you bring together people who believe in what you’re trying to create, and then you work with the circumstances you have.

Sometimes those circumstances force you to make decisions you hadn’t anticipated. Sometimes you discover solutions you might never have considered if everything had gone according to plan.

And eventually, you have a film.

But finishing a film is not the end of the work. There’s still the question of how to get it seen.

As filmmakers, we want our stories to find audiences. We want people to experience them. And we hope that as our films find their place in the world, they help us build credibility alongside the experience we’ve gained making them.

This is why film festivals matter.

They provide opportunities for our work to travel beyond the people who already know us. They introduce our stories to audiences we might never have reached on our own. They create spaces where filmmakers can meet, learn from one another, exchange ideas and, hopefully, find opportunities to make more films.

And when you’re an independent filmmaker, often financing your own projects and building your career one production at a time, those opportunities mean a great deal.

By the Book has already had a journey I couldn’t have fully imagined when I was rushing to finish that script in February. From that first pitch to its release on Safaricom BAZE, and now to its selection at Kilifi Creek Festival, the film continues to find its way into new spaces.

I’m also learning that building a career in filmmaking is not necessarily about one big breakthrough. Much of it happens through smaller, cumulative experiences. Every film teaches you something. Every production introduces you to people, challenges your abilities and gives you something to carry into the next project. And every opportunity for that work to be seen becomes part of the journey.

I know there’s still a great deal of work ahead. I have so much to learn about the craft and the business of filmmaking, and there are ambitions I haven’t even begun to realise.

But I also want to appreciate what is happening along the way.

I’m proud of By the Book, of the people who helped bring it to life, and of the fact that a story we worked so hard to make continues to find new audiences.

And I’m looking forward to seeing it live a little longer in Kilifi.

The Kilifi Creek Festival takes place from 23rd to 31st October 2026.

92 films. 9 days. 17 venues along the water.

Here’s to more stories finding their audiences.