Phoebe Ruguru (born 1997) is a Kenyan

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

producer known for producing the film

18 Hours ''18 Hours'' is a 2017 Kenyan drama film written and directed by Njue Kevin on his directorial debut. The cast includes Nick Ndeda, Sue Wanjiru, Brian Ogola, Isaya Evans and Shirleen Wangari. The film "follows a rookie paramedic who survives 18 ...

which won the Best Overall Movie in Africa, at the 2018

AMVCA The ''Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards'' (AMVCA) are a set of accolades presented by MultiChoice recognizing outstanding achievement in television and film across Africa,, through an annual ceremony hosted in the Exhibition Center of the Eko ...

. This category had never seen a

Kenyan film The cinema of Kenya refers to the film industry of Kenya. Although a very small industry by western comparison, Kenya has produced or been a location for film since the early 1950s when ''Men Against the Sun'' was filmed in 1952. Although, in t ...

be nominated, and so marked history as the first Kenyan film to be nominated and win in the history of the awards.

Early life

Phoebe Ruguru was born in Kenya and lived with her parents in

Nakuru Nakuru (nicknamed Nax) is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and it is the fourth largest city in Kenya and the largest in the Rift Valley region. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban population of 570, ...

before moving to

Limuru Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It serves as both a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. As of 2004, the town's population was approximately 4,800, which significantly increased to 159,314 by the 2019 census. Location Li ...

with her mother when her parents divorced. Phoebe attended nursery school at a small school called Sunflower and then went to Gramabe Academy in Kabuku, Limuru. She moved to St. Peter's Girls Boarding School in Elburgon, Molo, in her fourth year then to Brook Hill Academy before moving to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

age 11. In her A-Levels, Phoebe studied at the King’s School (The Cathedral), Peterborough, UK and joined

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

to study BA International Relations and Anthropology (Combined degree). She was drawn to the degree course in an effort to develop an understanding of different cultures and concepts she is drawn to, such as equality through female empowerment, education, film and development. Phoebe graduated in July 2018.

Film Making Career

As a young achiever her breakout came through when she became the first Kenyan to win an international award in 2014 at the Unchosen Modern Day Slavery Competition which was held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Her film ‘Saidia’ won in the category of ‘The Best Young Filmmaker’. The short film Saidia revolved around a case study of human trafficking. What’s even more interesting is that the award winning low budget film was shot purely by an

iphone 4s The is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fifth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4 and preceding the iPhone 5. It was announced on October 4, 2011, at Apple's Cupertino ...

International Relations Achievements

In October 2015, at just 18 years old, Phoebe was honored as a guest speaker at the House of Lords to deliver a speech on Female Leadership during International Girl Child Day celebrations. * Winner of `Young Achiever’s Award’ at Women4Africa Award London, 2016. * Winner of `Young Achiever’s Award’ at African Women in Europe Conference in Geneva, 2015. * “The Nostalgic Mind of a Young Diaspora Woman’ a book chapter authored by Phoebe is among other chapters in a published book echoing the diaspora experience for African Women in Europe

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruguru, Phoebe 1997 births Living people Kenyan film directors Kenyan women film directors Kenyan film producers