You cannot have a conversation about the Kenyan film industry without throwing Grace Kahaki’s name around.
Other words in that thesaurus include TV, film producer and director. It is not far from the truth, but it is not the entire truth.
The scriptwriters of her life seem to skip the part where she is a storyteller, the protagonist of her own franchise, following her own hero’s path, no matter the supervillains. That’s how she got the widely acclaimed Single Kiasi on Showmax, which catapulted her through the curtain and out onto stardom’s stage.
But the spotlight runs on fuel. “It takes hard work,” she says. “Coming up with shows and ideas and thinking about what the Kenyan audience wants to see, but also what resonates with me—that’s how I get through the door.”
"I believe there is an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Cannes award with my name on it in the future."
Before Single Kiasi, she was Socialites on NTV, which became her Damascus moment. But through Single Kiasi, she got to do a show on Netflix, Kash Money, a six-part Kenyan dramatic dark comedy and crime-thriller series. That show also bagged her a Best TV director at the 2026 Kalasha Awards. “It was a big validation for me, all those unseen hours of sacrifice getting seen.”
She namechecks her late mother and older sister for support. “For somebody who studied psychology and pharmacy in a family that is science-oriented I come from a long line of STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics]-leaning members, and negotiating a different path takes support.” In other words, they gave her the grace, if you can get past the pun.
“Everything I have learned about the Kenyan film industry, from producing to directing, I learned from my business partner, Philippe Bresson.”
Success, she says, is waking up without an alarm. Seeing trees outside the window. “Peace, love, and health,” she adds. Professionally, she is looking toward getting more films done, especially on an international stage, having had her first taste whet her appetite.
“I got to work with the International Emmys this year as one of the jurors,” she says. “I believe there is an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Cannes award with my name on it in the future.”
–Eddy Ashioya