Kahawa Productions is the movie-making arm of Kahawa Media. Taking the strengths of visual storytelling we are working to produce new movies that communicate to the children and youth of East Africa.

In 2005 we created our first animated children’s movie called Yoeli. Yoeli is about a young boy with a very active imagination. This twenty minute animation is his journey as he learns the important lesson of battling fear with faith.

Children are the most neglected demographic in the world, and yet study after study has shown that when people get saved as children, their whole lives are dedicated to God. We believe that media gives us a brand new way to reach children and influence their worldview during their formative years. In Africa, this takes on extra significance since a very high percentage of the population is young. In Tanzania, for example, over half the population is under 21. In Uganda, the youngest country in the world, over half the population is under eighteen.

Kahawa Productions is committed to speaking to this demographic using music and story delivered through two key channels—Sunday school and television. These two channels share key attributes: they are freely accessible to children and they exist everywhere. Televisions are becoming more and more common in homes and shops, and more and more kids tune in regularly. It is estimated that in Kenya, more than half of all children now watch some television on a regular basis. Given the cost of producing media for children and the low purchasing power of children in Africa, there is very little being produced for them.

In 2008 we began filming our first full feature film, a Swahili musical called Nipe Jibu. The story is about an orphan girl living in modern Africa. Torn between a grandma who wants to please the spirits of the ancestors and friends who encourage her to trust in the true God, Ndoto becomes more and more wrapped up in fear as her friendships slip away. Battling the belief that she doesn’t have a choice, Ndoto learns that she has the opportunity to make good decisions every day. As she struggles with fear and the freedom that her friends say is found in Jesus Christ, Ndoto must choose what she believes. Nipe Jibu premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in 2010 and has also premiered in festivals in the USA and Uganda. Stay tuned for news of the dvd release in 2011.

Together with you, we can be the ones to create the images and stories that will live forever in the minds of the next generation of Africans.