Maisha Film Lab

"If we don't tell our stories, no one else will."

Maisha (meaning "life" in Kiswahili) is a non-profit training initiative for filmmakers in East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania). Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!, The Namesake) founded Maisha in 2004 as a response to the nascent film industry in the region. Since then, Maisha has emerged as East Africa’s premier resource for visual artists, having offered full scholarships to over 300 students in the disciplines of directing, screenwriting, editing, sound recording and mixing, cinematography, producing, and acting.

Maisha's Vision is to:

Empower visionary artists from East Africa by giving them the tools, the knowledge, and the confidence they need to tell their stories through film;

Enrich world cinema by providing a platform through which new and yet-unheard voices can participate in the global discourse;

Establish a self-sustaining film industry in East Africa that will support and represent the interests of local audiences.

Please check out our website for a full description of who we are and what we do.