Octopizzo Brings The House Down At The FilmAid Film Festival

This post might be a couple of weeks too late, but I think its the right post to bounce back with. Having moved to this neck of the woods, Turkana country to be precise, a lot of the posts will now focus on the entertainment scene around these sides. And yes, Turkana has a vibrant entertainment scene.

[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="621"] Octopizzo (Photo: courtesy FilmAid International)[/caption]

FilmAid International had their annual film festival in August running from the 12th to 16th. One of the fastest rising and arguably top hip hop artist in the Kenyan entertainment scene right now, Octopizzo, was the main highlight of the closing gala. The closing gala held at the Kakuma Refugee Camp drew in crowds in their scores, humbling the already down to earth hip hopper who is set to return in October to record and mentor the youth at the camp.

[caption id="attachment_505" align="aligncenter" width="632"] This photo doesn't even capture the large turnout for the event (Photo: courtesy FilmAid International)[/caption]

FilmAid International is a non profit organization which operates in East Africa, Asia and Haiti. The organization uses film to pass critical messages to refugee and other marginalized communities with the aim of informing them and giving them a source of psychological relief. The organization has been operating in the Kakuma Refugee Camp from 2001 and in the Daadab Refugee camp in 2004. They run comprehensive programs within the camps including youth film training programs, video based trainings and evening screenings. The FilmAid Film Festival is a popular annual event in the camps as well as in Nairobi where they also run their programs in Kibera and Mathare.

Following the successful show at the film festival, Octopizzo has got in talks with the organization and was recruited as the kenyan ambassador for the organization.