Jinna Mutune
Kenyan film producer and director
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jinna Mutune is a Kenyan film producer, screenwriter and director.
Jinna Mutune | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Nairobi |
| Citizenship | Kenyan |
| Occupations | Film producer Director Screenwriter |
| Known for | Leo (2012 film) |
| Notable work | Leo AVoice4Peace |
Biography
Mutune grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, in a middle-class family[1] in Eastland's Kimathi Estate.[2] She studied at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance and also studied film in the United States.[3][4] After film school in South Africa, she went back to Kenya for a while and then moved to the U.S., living in Boston, Houston and California.[2] Mutune states that she knew she wanted to be a filmmaker at age sixteen and by that time had also been directing plays at church and at her school.[2]
Mutune is the director of Leo, a story told through the eyes of a Maasai boy who wants to live out his dreams.[5] Leo was her first feature film and it was also funded by her own production company, Pegg Entertainment, with cinematography by Abraham Martinez.[3] Leo premiered in Nairobi in April 2011, but only to small venues: the film debuted on the "big screen" in Kenya in November 2012.[6] The U.S. premiere of Leo was well received by Kenyans and Americans,[6] and Mutune appeared on Kenya TV to discuss the film.[7] Mutune also organized a business deal with the airlines Kenya Airways and Emirates, to show Leo in-flight.[8] She also directed the film Chep, which was also produced by Pegg Entertainment.[9] Chep, a movie about a female marathon runner, set in the 1970s and celebrating women and the men who support them, will be released in 2016.[10] In addition to her feature films, she has also produced the music video for the Kenyan Official Olympic score (2012) and worked with Graça Machel on a public service announcement.[11]