Africa No Filter, Backer of ‘Anam’s Wake’, Selects Daudi Anguka for New Storytellers Cohort with Next Film ‘Utata’

Kenyan filmmaker Daudi Anguka is among storytellers from Kenya and Nigeria selected for the 2026 cohort of the Entertainment and Media Hubs Program, run by Africa No Filter in partnership with CcHub Creative Economy Practice.

According to Africa No Filter, the selected filmmakers and content creators will “produce gender-equitable, Christian and Muslim faith-focused entertainment media that improves the health and livelihood outcomes for adolescent girls and young women in their countries.”

Anguka’s project, Utata, is a feature film about a young female Muslim bodyguard who thwarts a governor’s assassination attempt, pulling her into a conspiracy that tests her faith, loyalty and conscience. Set in Mombasa, the film is inspired by the legacy of Nusaybah bint Ka’ab, one of the earliest women to convert to Islam.

“The film directly challenges the belief that protection, physical courage and security work belong only to men. Utata places a Muslim woman in one of the most demanding and high-risk professions while allowing her to remain fully grounded in faith, femininity and personal conviction,” Anguka told Sinema Focus. He also confirmed that production is set to begin in September.

Utata marks Anguka’s second feature, following Mvera (2023), Kenya’s submission for the 2024 Oscars, a story about a young woman who uncovers an organ-trafficking ring disguised as a work-abroad programme.

Joining Anguka in the 2026 cohort from Kenya are producer Sylvia Mundia, content creator Wanja Githaiga and podcasters Althea Wamiru and Ciku Mutahi.

Nigerian filmmaker Korede Azeez, whose credits include Netflix and UNESCO anthology short Halima’s Choice (African Folktales Reimagined, 2023) and With Difficulty Comes Ease, is also among the selected storytellers. Her project, Daddy Bear, is a contemporary Nigerian family drama exploring the intersection of grief, masculinity and caregiving. Azeez is developing the project with producer Fulfilment Fuchi Nwaturuocha and screenwriter Hajarat Alli.

Anguka’s Utata and Azeez’s Daddy Bear expand Africa No Filter and CcHub Creative Economy Practice’s growing slate of film projects across Kenya and Nigeria. Previously supported Nigerian titles include The Other Side of the Bridge, EVI and Onobiren, as well as the TIFF-bound short film The Spectacular Death of Prisca.

In Kenya, the initiative has backed projects including Omar Hamza’s yet-to-be-released coming-of-age family drama Jua Na Mwezi and Likarion Wainaina’s recently released psychological thriller Anam’s Wake. The latter, which premiered to a sold-out audience at Prestige Cinema, explores grief, memory and the lingering consequences of loss through a professional mourner trained to summon death and negotiate the passage of souls.

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