Njue Kevin

Njué Kevin (born 19 February 1992) is a Kenyan film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing the short film intellectual scum which has been met with widespread critical acclaim as being the most successful short film in the history of Kenya.

Early life

Njue was born in Nyeri, central Kenya. His father David Koru is a telecommunications engineer while his mother Esther Koru is a psychologist. His childhood was in the coastal town of Mombasa after his dad, then working for the leading telecommunications provider in Kenya, Telecom Kenya, was transferred. Njue is the first born to his parents and has a younger sister Sharon and brother Micheal.

At the age of 8, Njue was actively involved in drawing and thought he would become an artist. This changed abruptly when a mobile cinema visited his estate and his love for cinema grew from then. During the time, popular films included stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li and were mostly action packed films. For elementary school, Njue studied a St. Claret, an independent school in Mombasa where he wrote his first stage play for the school. The play went on to participate at the National Drama and Film Festivals; however, it did not win the competition.

At the age of 12, Njue had exposure to other genres of films and he cites the science fiction film The Matrix as being the first film that sealed his love for cinema. He recalls the moment, "It was mind blowing to watch. It was so damn cool."

Career

After joining college at Kenyatta University, Njue met childhood friend Bill Jones Afwani and the two have since then collaborated in all their projects. In his college life, Njue has directed two short films and produced two other shorts, all of which have won awards in international festivals outside Kenya.

2013

The first was titled Sticking Ribbons (2013), which Njue wrote from his Kenyatta University dormitory. He produced the film while his friend Bill directed it. The film starred Maureen Koech, a popular Kenyan actress known for winning the award for Best Supporting Actress in the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in 2013. The film was a success, as it went on to win the SIGNIS award for best East African talent

at the 2014 Zanzibar International Film Festival. Sticking Ribbons is a story about Kimberley, a former sex addict, who addresses a group of recovering addicts as to why after being released from rehab, she enrolls right back.

2014

Impressed by the previous short, Phoebe Ruguru, a Kenyan filmmaker based in London, contacted Njue on Facebook and they teamed up to make the second short film titled Saidia/Help, which was penned by Njue.

Ruguru directed the film, which was shot entirely on an IPhone 4S and edited on the same day, as the filmmakers were in a rush to beat a festival deadline. The film was shot at Kenyatta University grounds and Njue's dormitory. It went on to win the 2014 Best Young Director award at the Unchosen modern day slavery short film festival in London.

Saidia is a story about Jurgis, an African man sold into slavery on a Lithuanian farm. He first has to learn the culture and language before he can find his way back home.

2015

In 2015, after acquiring the rights to the article "You Lazy Intellectual African Scum" by Field Ruwe, Njue wrote and directed the film Intellectual Scum, released the same year. This was the film that sealed Njue's place as one of the brightest young minds in Kenyan film when it went ahead to screen on three continents, Africa, Europe and North America, at 10 different international film festivals. Some of the festivals included Zanzibar International Film Festival, Africa International Film Festival, Cork African Film Festival, Silicon Valley African Film Festival and Film Africa in London.

Critics across the East African region praised Intellectual Scum as being the most successful short film in the history of Kenyan cinema.

Influences

Njue has cited Woody Allen, Christopher Nolan, Luc Besson, the Coen brothers, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Biyi Bandele and Abderrahmane Sissako as influences. Njue's personal favorite films include The Matrix, Léon: The Professional, Chinatown, The Tree of Life, Inception, Children of Men, and Fargo.

Views on the film industry in Kenya

Njue is a vocal proponent for African films. In Kenya especially, they are very few established filmmakers and Njue is always vocal about the support from both the government of Kenya and private investors. "Film is a business like any other. Billions are made annually in other regions. Why not Kenya?" he said at an interview with the magazine Nairobi News.

Njue is also an advocate for the importance of films being shown in large screened cinema theaters as opposed to home video formats as he believes a film should be seen the way the filmmaker intended it to be seen. Hoping to help the local film business and restore movie-going culture, he is among the filmmakers rallying to end the foreign distribution of illegally copied films.

Personal life

Njue likes to keep his personal life private. In an interview done in April, 2015 for NTV Kenya when asked about whether he is seeing someone he said, "I am not blind. I see everyone." While filming, Njue prohibits the use of cell phones on set.

Njue is a practicing catholic and when he was asked about his view on the LGTB community in Kenya, he responded, "Who am I to judge? Who are you to judge?". It is believed Njue will release a film sometime in 2016 that tackles the topic after completion of filming in December 2015.

Filmography