EXCLUSIVE: Straight Off Locarno, Giza Visuals Unveils 2025-2026 Slate With Sci-Fi, Spy Thriller, Somali Co-Production and More

Kenyan production house Giza Visuals has unveiled a slate of four projects scheduled for release between 2025 and 2026. The lineup, which spans a range of genres, includes the spy thriller Itifaki, sci-fi short Nje, coming-of-age drama Jua na Mwezi, and Qahar, a Kenyan-Somali co-production described as a film-mini-series hybrid.

“Different genres allow us to explore fresh angles. Sci-fi allows us to give an African take on global issues like climate change and technologies, while family dramas ground us in human emotions that everyone on the continent can immediately recognise,” says Omar Hamza, Giza’s founder and film director.

Hamza finds this experimentation with genres both exciting and challenging. “Writing a sci-fi in Swahili, for instance, proved a bit challenging because many high-concept technological terms don’t yet have widespread Swahili equivalents but the process is still super exciting,” he says.

With the new slate, Hamza hopes to transfer that excitement to audiences. “African audiences deserve the same range and excitement in cinemas as global audiences. We want people to enjoy watching our films first and the layered social commentary that comes with that is just icing on the cake.”

Giza Visuals co-founder and producer June Wairegi echoes this vision. In an earlier interview with Sinema Focus, she said their aim has always been to tell stories rooted in Kenyan joy and colour.

Wairegi recently represented Giza Visuals in the inaugural Africa-focused Open Doors cycle at the 2025 Locarno Film Festival, where she joined five other African producers selected for the Open Doors Producers program. She won the MECAS Award, which grants participation in the International Market for Almost-Finished Films in Gran Canaria in April 2026.

For Hamza, the timing couldn’t be better, coming just after their Locarno participation. “Our slate remains dedicated to genre films as we now look to develop more ambitious projects through international co-productions,” he says. With this announcement, he also opens the slate to collaborations with other producers in the region.

Founded in 2018, Giza Visuals has produced award-nominated films including Rishai (2021), a dramedy about a soft-hearted gangster who tries to save a suicidal woman, and Gacal (2023), a romance thriller about a jealous husband who kidnaps his wife’s lover’s brother. Their most recent release, Sayari (April 2025), follows the quiet life of a struggling BnB manager disrupted by a runaway groom.

The company is also developing Manjano, a $400,000 romance-action film about a young man who recruits a team of misfits to pull off a heist to fund his elopement with a girl promised to another. The project was selected for development at the 2024 Red Sea Lodge and later served as Giza Visual’s entry for Open Doors.

Giza Visuals 2025-2026 slate:

Itifaki (Spy Thriller)
Set to begin filming in May 2026, Itifaki is Giza’s first espionage project. The story follows a reluctant ex-KDF soldier forced into a dangerous race against time, torn between loyalty and justice. A proof-of-concept short for the film won two Kalasha Awards in 2024 and received an AMVCA nomination the same year.

Nje (Sci-Fi Short)
Filming in February 2026 with release slated for late 2026, Nje is an atmospheric short set in a dystopian Kenya where corporations rule walled-off cities. Funded by Docubox, the film explores corporate greed, loyalty and technology.

Jua Na Mwezi (Coming-of-Age / Family Drama)
A tender coming-of-age story, Jua na Mwezi follows 16-year-old Hawi as she navigates an identity crisis in the Kenyan highlands. Produced with support from Africa No Filter, filming begins in November 2025 ahead of an August 2026 theatrical release.

Qahar (Film–Mini-Series Hybrid, Somali Co-Production)
Currently in development, Qahar is a collaborative project between Giza Visuals and Somali’s Aro’or Films. Blending the cinematic power of film with the scope of a mini-series, the project explores how far people will go to survive. Filming begins later this year, with a tentative release date of July 2026.

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