'Nawi'

Courtesy of Atlas International Film

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The 14th Kalasha International Film and TV Awards in Kenya celebrated the best of Kenyan film and TV this weekend, with Nawi: Dear Future Me emerging as the big winner with five honors, including for best film and best lead actress.

The best film honor went to the producers Lydia Wrensch, Caroline Heim, and Brizan Were, and the best actress award went to Michelle Lemuya Ikeny. Nawi also won the best costume design and best production design awards, as well as the audience award.

The Kenyan-German coming-of-age drama film, which was Kenya’s entry for the best international feature film race at the 2025 Oscars, tells the story of a young, gifted girl, portrayed by Lemuya, battling child marriage in hopes of an education and self-determination. Lemuya also won the African Movie Academy Award for best promising actor for her role. Set in the remote Turkana region of Kenya, the film’s ensemble cast also features Joel Liwan, Ochungo Benson, Ben Tekee, Michelle Chebet Tiren, Patrick Oketch, Nungo Marrianne Akinyi, and Nyokabi Macharia.

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Nawi centers on a girl who is the best student in her region, whose aspirations of attending high school are shattered when she learns that her father plans to marry her off to a stranger to ensure the family gets a substantial amount of livestock. Nawi‘s father is entrenched in tribal traditions, while her three mothers are limited by their traditional roles. So, Nawi flees on her wedding night.

Michelle Lemuya accepts the best lead actress for her role in ‘Nawi,’ courtesy of Kalasha Kenya

Directed by the brothers Toby and Kevin Schmutzler, as well as Apuu Mourine and Vallentine Chelluget, from a script by Milcah Cherotich, the movie was released in the U.S. by New Mountain Films on March 6, just ahead of World Womens’ Day on March 8. Produced as a collaboration between FilmCrew Media and Baobab Pictures with the Turkana-based NGO Learning Lions, which focuses on educational opportunities and social empowerment for young people, the film is based on a script that was the result of a national writing contest.

A political impact campaign related to Nawi, focused on educational opportunities for girls in Kenya and education surrounding child marriage, has raised more than $1.75 million.

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