For most Kenyan filmmakers, getting a film into local cinemas is considered a victory. But with barely a handful of functioning cinemas in Kenya, producing a feature film can feel like investing in a business with almost no market.
For producer and screenwriter Jinna Mutune Odede, that reality forced her to rethink everything she knew about distribution.
Instead of making films solely for Kenyan audiences, she began imagining stories that could travel across Africa and eventually around the world.
After years of painstakingly building relationships across continents, she is taking her latest project, Cocoa Dreams, on a multi-city international tour—a journey she says reflects a conviction that African stories should never be confined by Africa's limited cinema infrastructure.
What makes Cocoa Dreams stand out?
Cocoa Dreams exists as both a TV series and a feature film. What we're premiering in cinemas is the film version because we're targeting two markets—the cinema audience and television viewers. It's already difficult getting African content out there, so you have to maximise every opportunity.
What makes producing African films so challenging?
The biggest challenge is funding, finding people who believe in African stories. Then there's distribution. Kenya has only about 14 cinemas and perhaps, five are consistently operational. Recovering your investment through theatrical release alone is almost impossible. That's why I always say you can't just make a Kenyan film. You have to think of it as an African film.
Film is a game of numbers. Bollywood serves more than a billion people. Hollywood's domestic market alone is over 300 million people.
African filmmakers have to think similarly by building Pan-African audiences.
‘Cocoa Dreams’ received support from African No Filter. How did that come about?
We went through a competitive pitching process. This was actually my second pitch because I always develop multiple ideas. I'm also interested in migration and the African diaspora because I have lived abroad. That curiosity inspired Cocoa Dreams.
After I got married, my husband and I lived in Kisumu for two years.
I realised most Kenyans have little understanding of the city and its dynamics. At the same time, I became fascinated by the Sugar Belt around Muhoroni and the untapped agricultural potential beyond colonial crop systems.
As a storyteller, I asked myself: How do I package this in a way that people will actually engage with?
Chocolate became the entry point. Everybody is interested in chocolate. So we use cocoa as the hook while exploring bigger conversations around agricultural diversification and indigenous crops. Many people don't realise cocoa can actually grow in Kenya.
There are farmers already growing it in Meru, Thika and Kilifi, often intercropping it with bananas under an existing government initiative.
Was agriculture already an area you were working in?
No. It came from research. As a storyteller, I enjoy exploring different African stories shaped by my experiences. Cocoa Dreams asks whether African farmers should continue relying on traditional "cash crops" that no longer generate the returns they once did, or diversify into crops that are better suited to local realities.
Is cocoa farming profitable?
Very much so. It's becoming even more lucrative as West African countries increasingly negotiate together. When Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon negotiate as a bloc, as with the deal they made with United Arab Emirates in July, they strengthen their bargaining power and secure better prices.
That reflects something I strongly believe: we all have our tribal and national identities, but for certain challenges we also need a Pan-African identity. Some solutions cannot be achieved through a purely national mindset.
Who wrote the film?
I co-wrote it with Oyunga Pala, who also served as our cultural consultant.
How long did the project take to develop?
After submitting the proposal, we were greenlit in October. By November, I knew I needed a writer who deeply understood Luo culture and human relationships.
I came across one of Oyunga Pala's podcast interviews and immediately felt he understood grief and human emotion in a profound way. I reached out, and we wrote the screenplay between December and January before shooting the film this year.
How is the project structured?
The feature film runs for one hour and 37 minutes. We have also developed it into a four-part limited television series.
Tell us about your lead actress.
I first noticed Kitt Kiarie Nyang'aya during the Covid period after listening to a podcast she appeared on. I didn't have a project for her then, but I remembered her.
When Cocoa Dreams came along, I felt she embodied exactly the kind of woman I wanted—an empowered African woman with authentic Luo features.
I deliberately wanted to move away from conventional beauty stereotypes (light skinned and skinny). She still auditioned for the role and had previous stage acting experience.
How has your experience as an immigrant influenced your filmmaking?
I lived in the US for four years and studied in South Africa for two. While in America I staged theatre productions within immigrant communities, in places like Houston and Massachusetts. I also screened my first feature film, Leo, there. Leo follows a Maasai boy who believes he's a superhero. We shot it in Kenya in 2010 and 2011 before releasing it in 2012.
It then took eight years to market internationally across 16 cities. Eventually, it reached Amazon, screened on airlines including Emirates and Kenya Airways, and was shown at institutions such as Harvard, the University of Southern California, and Berlin University. That experience taught me just how difficult it is to market African stories globally.
There are still significant gatekeepers, especially when Black African filmmakers are telling their own stories.
Has that changed today?
Not significantly. Unless you already have an established international profile, the barriers remain. That's why I believe Africa must build stronger regional film markets.
Imagine if every major film automatically opened in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Add audiences in Brazil and the African diaspora and suddenly your commercial prospects improve. Those audiences immediately understand our humour, family dynamics and cultural references. They don't need everything explained.
Tell us about the international tour.
We are planning screenings in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as Massachusetts, Houston and Seattle, between late August and early September. Some of those screenings come through relationships I built while promoting Leo.
Others have come through referrals. African No Filter also helped facilitate promotional opportunities through its partnership with Trace TV.
How can filmmakers access African No Filter opportunities?
The easiest way is to follow African No Filter's social media channels because that's where they announce new grant opportunities. One thing I appreciated about working with them is that I was able to tell the story I wanted to tell.
What's fascinating about Cocoa Dreams is that it is also inspired by the story of a Kenyan female nuclear physicist based in Vienna, showing how African stories can connect science, agriculture and identity in unexpected ways.
