Toni Kamau

Kamau was born and raised in Kenya. She has described her early exposure to media as limited, with access primarily to international programming such as BBC News, CNN, Cheers, and Monty Python.^[3] This early experience influenced her perspective on storytelling, driving her focus toward producing narratives that accurately reflect African societies, identities, and lived experiences.^[6]

Kamau began her career in television production as a series producer for Hatua, a human rights-focused talk show supported by the Open Society Initiative.^[7]

She later co-founded On Screen Productions Ltd alongside Wanzilu Mangi and Christine Kinyanjui.^[8] The company operated between 2009 and 2018 and produced content for clients including Safaricom and the M-Pesa Foundation.^[9] It also provided production services for international media and fashion projects, including the 2016 Vogue cover shoot featuring Lupita Nyong’o.^[10] During her time with On Screen Productions, Kamau also directed and produced factual television content, including the documentary short Silicon Savannah for the BBC and TVE.^[11]

In 2017, Kamau founded the production company We Are Not the Machine, a Kenya-based company focused on storytelling about African communities and global social issues.^[12] Through the company, she has collaborated with international organizations and media outlets. Her commissioned and service-produced documentary content has aired on major international networks, including Al Jazeera, MTV Europe, Bloomberg, Voice of America, BBC Africa, and ARTE Digital.^[13]

Her independent feature producing credits include several internationally recognized documentaries. Softie ^[14], directed by Sam Soko, followed the political campaign of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival,^[15] where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award.^[16] I Am Samuel, directed by Peter Murimi, premiered at Hot Docs.^[17] In 2024, The Battle for Laikipia, an exploration of land conflicts in Kenya co-directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, premiered at Sundance and received international critical attention.^[18][19]

In recognition of her work, Kamau has been nominated for Peabody and News Emmy Awards.^[3] In 2020, she was invited to join the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, becoming the youngest female African documentary producer to be admitted to the branch at the time.^[20] Her influence in the global film community was further recognized in January 2026 when she was appointed as a juror for the Sundance Film Festival.^[3]

In addition to documentary work, Kamau has been involved in the development of fiction and episodic projects, including Money Town and Tithes and Offerings.^[21][22]