Betty Kathungu Furet
Betty Kathungu Furret is a Kenyan Director, film and documentary producer[1]and the founder of Furet Films, a film and documentary production company in Kenya.[2]
She has produced films and documentaries such as Unveiling The Colony, Family Meeting, Wangai's Cross, Medicine Man, Kizingo, Mazagazaga (Mnet), Magerio. [3]
Kizingo, a comic film airing on Showmax won Best feature film and Best Cinematography at the 2017 Riverwood awards[4][5].
Early life
She was born in 1977 in Embu County to her parents Cosmas N.E Kathungu Lillian Wanjagi Kathungu. She is married to Sebastian Furret and they have two children; Morris Munene Kathungu Alexia Mukami Furet.
Education
St. Michael’s Primary School in Embu Town Class 1-4 (1983-1986)
Sacred Heart Kyeni Boarding Primary School Class 5-8 (1987-1990)
Kyeni Girls Secondary School Form1-4 (1991-1994).
Andrew Crawford (2005).
Career
Betty Kathungu started out her acting career in 1995 as a stage actress at Miujiza Players. She was featured in supporting roles in films like Babu’s Babies by Judy Kibinge and Naliaka is Going by Albert Wandago.
Her journey as a film producer started in 2005 when she produced her first feature film ‘Wangai’s Cross’[6] which, is written by Nash Nderitu and directed by Gitura Kamau. The film was one of the first films to be aired on Mnet Kenya’s local film channel. It has since aired on Maisha Magic, K24, Showmax and Zuku.
Her second film Kizingo (2015), was written and directed by Simiyu Barasa[7]. Kizingo screened in India at the Bodhisattva International Film Festival and at the CMS International Children’s Film Festival in Lucknow. The film also screened in Nigeria at the Lakecity Film Festival, the Lake International Pan African Film Festival (LIPFF) in Kenya and at the Coast Film Festival in Kenya. Kizingo has so far been nominated for over 20 local and international awards and has won the following awards[8];
- Best Kenyan Film - Coast Film Festival
- Best Director -Lake International Pan African Film Festival (LIPFF)
- Best Feature Film - Riverwood Academy Awards Kenya
Kizingo also received mentions in several film forums for excellence in scripting and children's entertainment content.
Betty Kathungu's third and fourth films are Marafiki (2016) and ARATA (2016), written by Allan Kariuki. They screened in Kameme TV and K24 TV in Kenya.
In 2019, she came to the public limelight after she went public to crowdfund filming of her film 'Medicine Man'.[9]
In July 2020, her film Medicine Man became one of the first 12 films in Kenya to be funded by the government after Furet films received Sh 3 million to fund the film under the Film Empowerment Programme,[10] which followed President Uhuru Kenyatta's Covid-19 stimulus package that saw Sh100 million set aside for local artists, actors and musicians.[11] The film industry got Sh8.9 million of the Sh 100 million Covid-19 stimulus package for artists.
References
- ^ "One on One With Veteran Filmmaker Betty Kathungu Furet". KenyanVibe. 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: Filmmaker Betty Kathungu". Showmax Stories. 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ Muriuki, Karen (2020-09-28). "Kenya: KFC to the Rescue of 'Medicine Man' as Filmmakers Receive Covid-19 Funds". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ Mwangi, Vanessa (2017-03-14). "Full list of winners in the Riverwood Awards 2017". HapaKenya. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "Riverwood Awards". Nation. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "Wangai's Cross (Kenya, 2008) | UC Berkeley Library". www.lib.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "Simiyu Baraza in big quest to raise profile of Kenyan movies | Kenya". nation.africa. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "Swahili comedy is Kenya's best film | Kenya". nation.africa. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "Online harambee: How we're raising money to shoot expensive movie". Nation. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "whats new Article – Kenya Film Commission". kenyafilmcommission.com. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ "Uhuru gives Ksh.100 million in coronavirus funds to musicians, actors". Citizentv.co.ke. Retrieved 2020-11-04.