Toni Kamau (born 1980s) is a Kenyan documentary producer and fiction writer. She is known for producing the feature documentaries Softie, I Am Samuel and The Battle for Laikipia. Her work has been showcased at international film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival. In 2024, she received the Sundance Amazon MGM Studios Nonfiction Producer Award for The Battle for Laikipia.
Kamau is a member of the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the Producers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of Kenya. She also serves on the board of the International Documentary Association.
Early life and education Kamau was born and raised in Kenya. She has described her early exposure to media as limited, with access primarily to international programming such as BBC News, CNN, Cheers, and Monty Python. This early experience influenced her perspective on storytelling, driving her focus toward producing narratives that accurately reflect African societies, identities, and lived experiences.
Career Kamau began her career in television production as a series producer for Hatua, a human rights-focused talk show supported by the Open Society Initiative.
She later co-founded On Screen Productions Ltd alongside Wanzilu Mangi and Christine Kinyanjui. The company operated between 2009 and 2018 and produced content for clients including Safaricom and the M-Pesa Foundation. It also provided production services for international media and fashion projects, including the 2016 Vogue cover shoot featuring Lupita Nyong’o. During her time with On Screen Productions, Kamau also directed and produced factual television content, including the documentary short Silicon Savannah for the BBC and TVE.
In 2017, Kamau founded the production company We Are Not the Machine, a Kenya-based company focused on storytelling about African communities and global social issues. Through the company, she has collaborated with international organizations and media outlets. Her commissioned and service-produced documentary content has aired on major international networks, including Al Jazeera, MTV Europe, Bloomberg, Voice of America, BBC Africa, and ARTE Digital.
Her independent feature producing credits include several internationally recognized documentaries. Softie , directed by Sam Soko, followed the political campaign of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award. I Am Samuel, directed by Peter Murimi, premiered at Hot Docs. In 2024, The Battle for Laikipia, an exploration of land conflicts in Kenya co-directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, premiered at Sundance and received international critical attention.
In recognition of her work, Kamau has been nominated for Peabody and News Emmy Awards. In 2020, she was invited to join the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, becoming the youngest female African documentary producer to be admitted to the branch at the time. Her influence in the global film community was further recognized in January 2026 when she was appointed as a juror for the Sundance Film Festival.
In addition to documentary work, Kamau has been involved in the development of fiction and episodic projects, including Money Town and Tithes and Offerings.
Filmography
Film and television YearTitleRoleNotes2025–presentTithes and OfferingsProducerFeature film (in development)2025–presentMoney TownProducerSeries (in development)2025–presentConstant BloomProducerFeature film (in development)2024The Battle for LaikipiaProducerDocumentary feature2018Earn a LivingProducer, writerInteractive documentary series2020I Am SamuelProducerDocumentary feature—HatuaSeries producerTelevision talk show2006Kibera KidProduction assistantShort film2020SoftieProducerDocumentary feature
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work ResultRef 2026 Women in Film Awards Kenya Best Documentary Producer The Battle for Laikipia 2024 Sundance Institute Amazon MGM Nonfiction Producer Prize The Battle for Laikipia 2022 duPont-Columbia Awards Silver Baton Softie 2021 Women in Film Awards Kenya Best Documentary Producer The Battle for Laikipia 2021PGA AwardsOutstanding Producer of Documentary Motion PicturesSoftie2021International Documentary AssociationBest FeatureSoftie2021African Movie Academy AwardsBest DocumentarySoftie
References
External links
Toni Kamau at International Documentary Association