Nairobi News

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Kenyan company, Insignia Productions, goes global


A decade after they established Insignia Productions, the duo of Philippe Bresson and Grace Kahaki have now gone global.

Last month Bresson and Kahaki, the directors of the video production in Kenya, had their show premier on Cartoon Network.

BREAKTHROUGH

Insignia was selected from a group of East African production houses based on experience quality, creativity, and innovation.

Bresson and Kahaki said their breakthrough has comes at a time when the industry in Kenya is experiencing changes.

In 2006, when Insignia Production was established, Bresson says all he wanted was to change the industry with creative and good quality local shows.

Aside from a few documentary and short film jobs, they also managed to produce Changing Times, a series that was an instant hit and made young people to start watching local TV series.

“It was such a success that we ended up winning a Kalasha Award four months after being aired,” Bresson recalls.

‘LET’S DANCE’

Insignia Production, which is now one of the top production companies in Kenya, later produced Mheshimiwa in 2008.

Currently Insignia Productions has one of the largest libraries of content in the country with shows such as My Two Wives, Junior and Socialites which airs on ShowMax.

The video production company has since ventured into ads and documentaries working with some big companies such as VITA 500, Airtel, Safaricom and Mandela fellows through DAI.

In their latest production, the duo partnered with Cartoon Network to produce a pop-up party which is a part of a unique cartoon network dance-themed stunt called Let’s Dance.

They partnered with some key stakeholders to train children from Dandora under the tutelage of Bruz Newton, Jack on the Beat and Director Alphy.

GLOBAL BRAND

Bruz Newton is from the area and believes that children should be encouraged to utilize dance as an artistic expression.

“It was amazing to be chosen to bring to light this project. It’s a global brand and works with only the best, I’m happy because this opportunity opens doors for the company on an international level,” Bresson said.

“It has been an exciting project, we wanted to make sure it’s memorable and because it was previously done in South Africa, we wanted to leave a bigger mark from a creative and execution point. It’s turning out pretty amazing,” Kahaki added.

Ariane Suveg, the Programming Director and Head of Kids Content for Africa complemented Insignia Production for the impressive footprint they have left in Kenya’s film industry.

Kahaki, who is a filmmaker by profession, has previously been nominated for Best Director and Best Film gongs at the Kalasha Award and was nominated as a Best Director in a TV series for the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards 2016. She also won Best Production Designer at the 2016 Riverwood Awards.