Wanuri Kahiu

EARLY LIFE

Wanuri Kahiu was born on 21 June 1980 in Nairobi, Kenya. She grew up in an extended family that included creative members, though she has described herself as a “black sheep” relative to her more traditional parents—her father a businessman and her mother one of the first female paediatricians in the Nairobi region. She first became passionate about filmmaking at age 16 after visiting an editing suite, which combined her loves of television and books. She completed part of her secondary education in the UK before attending the University of Warwick, where she earned a BSc in Management Science. She then obtained an MFA in production and directing from the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television in 2001.

CAREER

Kahiu began her professional career interning for director F. Gary Gray on The Italian Job (2003). Her early work includes the short Ras Star (2006/2007) and the behind-the-scenes documentary The Spark that Unites (2006). Her debut feature, From a Whisper (2008), fictionalises the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi. It received 12 nominations and won five awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture. Her Afrofuturist short Pumzi (2009) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won Best Short Film at Cannes Independent Film Festival, among other honours. It has been widely exhibited in art institutions and is regarded as a landmark of African science fiction. Rafiki (2018), adapted from Monica Arac de Nyeko’s short story “Jambula Tree,” tells the story of two young Kenyan women falling in love. It became the first Kenyan feature selected for the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard), where it received a standing ovation and a Queer Palm nomination. The film was initially banned in Kenya for its “homosexual theme” and “hopeful” ending; Kahiu refused to alter it and later successfully challenged the ban. Subsequent international work includes directing the Netflix romantic dramedy Look Both Ways (2022) starring Lili Reinhart, and serving as producing director and executive producer on the Hulu series Washington Black (2025), which achieved a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. She is attached to direct Disney’s live-action adaptation of the musical Once on This Island and has been involved in adaptations of The Thing About Jellyfish and Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed. Kahiu is the co-founder of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a collective and philosophy dedicated to fun, fierce, and frivolous African art that prioritises joy and imagination. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Directors Branch). She has served as a juror at the Sundance Film Festival (2025) and other international bodies, and is a TED Fellow and World Economic Forum cultural leader.

PERSONAL LIFE

Kahiu has kept much of her private life out of the public eye. She has spoken of being a mother and has resided primarily in Kenya (including Nairobi) while working internationally. She is known for her advocacy of creative freedom, African joy, and inclusive storytelling.

Wanuri Kahiu is celebrated for advancing African cinema on the global stage while insisting on stories of hope, romance, and creative freedom rather than solely trauma or poverty narratives. Her work spans fiction, documentary, children’s literature (The Wooden Camel), and short fiction (including collaborations with Nnedi Okorafor). She continues to influence both African and international filmmaking through her distinctive Afrofuturist and “Afrobubblegum” vision.