Shirleen Wangari, through her production company Blackwell Films, is gearing up for the release of her first feature film, Cards on the Table: A Christmas Movie, in November. Set in Nairobi in 1992, the romantic comedy-drama follows an ex-couple who team up to rob the gate collections at a Christmas event but their layers of unresolved issues land them in police custody.
The official synopsis reads: The largest Christmas eve bash is held in Nairobi. Jackso and Beth, a desperate ex-couple, arrive with a mission to rob the gate collections to meet their pressing needs for money in a tough economy. When they arrive at the event, they break into an argument due to layers upon layers of unresolved issues, this attracts the attention of the police and they end up as ‘state guests’ at a police station under a relentless Inspector Kip.
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Cards on the Table: A Christmas Movie is an extension of Wangari’s 2024 short film 1992 (directed by Gilbert Lukalia), which was also adapted into a play earlier in February titled Cards on the Table. “After we made the short film, I felt there was more story in there, so I got to writing,” says Wangari who writes and produces the feature. “And being a drama-comedy and a romantic movie, it felt like a perfect fit for Christmas.”
Beyond the short and this Christmas-themed feature, Wangari plans to expand this 1992 universe to explore more stories set in this era. “We have a few storylines we are workshopping in the 1992 universe, we can’t wait share,” she adds.
Director Victor Gatonye (40 Sticks) describes Cards on the Table as a character-driven heist dramedy that reflects the realities of survival in a challenging economy. “At its core, the film isn’t just about two desperate ex-lovers trying to pull off a petty robbery – there is something deeper: the state of their lives. It’s a possible reflection of the current state of affairs,” he says.
Nyakundi Isaboke (Click Click Bang) and Wangari reprise their roles as Jackso and Beth from the short 1992, and are joined by Mufasa Kibet (Lulu) and Duncan Murunyu (Boda Love).
Cards on the Table joins a growing but small list of Kenyan Christmas films that began with the short Christmas Love (2021), followed by the country’s first Christmas feature A Familiar Christmas (2022) and A Merry X-Mess (2023).
Cards on the Table: A Christmas Movie is set to premiere at Century Cinemax, Garden City Mall, Nairobi on 29 November 2025, and will also release online globally.
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