Jinna Mutune

Jinna Mutune
Born
Nairobi
CitizenshipKenyan
OccupationsFilm producer
Director
Screenwriter
Known forLeo (2012 film)
Notable workLeo
AVoice4Peace

Jinna Mutune is a Kenyan film producer, screenwriter and director.

Early life and education

Mutune grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, in a middle-class family[1] in Eastland's Kimathi Estate.[2] She studied at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance and also studied film in the United States.[3][4] After film school in South Africa, she went back to Kenya for a while and then moved to the U.S., living in Boston, Houston and California.[2] Mutune stated that she knew she wanted to be a filmmaker at age sixteen and by that time had also been directing plays at church and at her school.[2]

Career

Mutune is the director of Leo, a story told through the eyes of a Maasai boy who wants to live out his dreams.[5] Leo was her first feature film and it was also funded by her own production company, Pegg Entertainment, with cinematography by Abraham Martinez.[3] Leo premiered in Nairobi in April 2011, but only to small venues: the film debuted on the "big screen" in Kenya in November 2012.[6] The U.S. premiere of Leo was well received by Kenyans and Americans,[6] and Mutune appeared on Kenya TV to discuss the film.[7] Mutune also organized a business deal with the airlines Kenya Airways and Emirates, to show Leo in-flight.[8] She also directed the film Chep, which was also produced by Pegg Entertainment.[9] Chep, a movie about a female marathon runner, set in the 1970s and celebrating women and the men who support them, was released in 2016.[10] In addition to her feature films, she also produced the music video for the Kenyan Official Olympic score (2012) and worked with Graça Machel on a public service announcement.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Category Ref.
2012 Leo Writer

Producer Director

Adventure

Drama

[12]
2017 AVoice4Voice Co-Producer Documentary [13]

References

  1. ^ Lyons, Julie (3 June 2014). "How Kenyan director Jinna Mutune fought stereotypes and failure to bring her feature film to life". Biz Women. Biz Journals. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Genga, Shirley (25 January 2013). "The Reel Jinna". Standard Media Kenya. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b Opar, Josephine (8 August 2013). "Kenya's Top 6 Filmmakers/Producers to Watch: Jinna Mutune". Up Nairobi. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Launch of Leo the Movie". Standard Media Kenya. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  5. ^ Crawfurd, Jacob. "Meet Jinna Mutune, The Kenyan Director of 'Leo'". The Crawfurd Homepage. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b Karanja, Antony (26 March 2014). "Kenyan movie "Leo" airs in US". Daily Nation. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Capital Talk". Kenya TV. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Changing Fortune for Kenya's Film-Makers". Daily Nation. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  9. ^ Muchura, Jeri (23 September 2015). "'Chep' Film Press Score Cocktail". The Star. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  10. ^ Owoko, Anyiko (24 October 2015). "New Kenyan Movie on Plight of Female Athletes in the Works". Daily Nation. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Jinna Mutune". South Planet. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  12. ^ Mutune, Jinna, Leo (Adventure, Drama, Fantasy), Trevor Gitonga, David Morrin, Paddy Mwangi, retrieved 26 August 2025
  13. ^ Simpson, Bud, AVoice4Peace (Documentary), Kevin Fenton, Robert F. Godec, Raouf Mazou, Bud Simpson and Co., Nairobi U.S. Embassy, retrieved 26 August 2025


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