KIJIWENI MEANS THE CORNER STONE IN SWAHILI.

We are a production house based in Dar es Salaam and like its namesake, we create a platform for all kinds of stories that do justice to a culture of resistance and resilience. To tell our tales from the continent; those that are either unheard of, only whispered about and/or are told from ‘a single story’. The struggle is strong and we are beginning to bear its fruits. We, as Africans, have been struggling for some time now, to tell these tales and to represent ourselves. As a production house that believes in using cinema to restructure society out of its dark and individualistic nature we also believe in using cinema to critique our spaces as a forum for advocating change.

“KIJIWENI PRODUCTIONS MAKES FILMS TO TELL A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORY; ONE FROM AND FOR THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST A SINGLE ONE.”

Amil Shivji founded Kijiweni productions after completing a Bachelors degree in Film Production in Toronto. Story-telling was always a hobby but it was only after a scholarship opportunity came his way, that he ventured into the art of creating images. Works from filmmakers like Sembene, Mambety, Sissako, Eisenstein, Vittorio De Sica cemented his belief in using the camera for social change and it’s also what founded the conceptual principles of Kijiweni Productions.