International Women’s Day Feature
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Creative careers rarely unfold in the clean, upward arcs that success stories later suggest. From a distance, the life of a filmmaker can appear like a steady accumulation of credits and opportunities, each project building neatly upon the last. Yet those who live inside the industry know that storytelling careers move less like ladders and more like tides. Periods of intense activity are often followed by stretches of quiet uncertainty where the work feels suspended between possibility and waiting.
For Kenyan filmmaker Audrey Tanya, understanding this rhythm has become central to both her personal resilience and her philosophy of storytelling. Her journey through television and film has been shaped not only by the visible projects that audiences encounter, but also by the quieter seasons where patience, humility, and faith become essential tools for survival in a demanding creative field.
Tanya’s introduction to the world of storytelling did not begin with cinema but within the structured urgency of broadcast television. As a young professional she entered the industry through internships at television stations, working as a TV producer intern at a time when the pace of newsroom production could feel overwhelming to newcomers.
The environment demanded quick thinking and constant movement. Scripts had to be prepared, segments coordinated, and broadcasts delivered under strict time constraints. For someone drawn instinctively to narrative, the experience was both exhilarating and instructive. “The newsroom energy, the urgency of production, the rhythm of live programming—it all fascinated me,” she recalls. What might appear chaotic to an outsider gradually revealed itself as a carefully coordinated process where dozens of individuals worked in synchrony to deliver a single coherent story to viewers.
Alongside this work she also served as a production assistant within a reality television production company, a space where storytelling operated under a completely different set of rules. Reality television relies on capturing moments as they unfold, requiring producers and assistants to remain constantly alert to narrative possibilities emerging in real time. For Tanya, the experience offered a deeper appreciation for the collaborative nature of production.
No film or broadcast emerges from a single mind alone. It is built through the contributions of many individuals whose expertise often remains invisible to audiences. Looking back on those formative years, she describes them as an extended apprenticeship. “Every set, every edit room, every production meeting became a classroom,” she explains. Observing how experienced crew members navigated challenges allowed her to absorb lessons about storytelling, professionalism, and the discipline required to sustain a career in media.
A defining turning point in her professional journey arrived when she joined the MultiChoice Talent Factory, a training initiative designed to cultivate emerging filmmakers across Africa. The program expanded her perspective dramatically, exposing her to the craft of filmmaking in ways that television production alone had not offered. Working within that environment introduced her to the emotional and cultural potential of cinema as a storytelling medium. “That experience expanded my world completely,” she says. “It opened doors to filmmaking in a way that felt both thrilling and deeply purposeful.” Within the collaborative environment of the program she began to recognize filmmaking not simply as a profession but as a calling capable of shaping public conversations and cultural memory.
Despite the excitement of this new direction, the early years of Tanya’s film career demanded significant personal sacrifice. Entry-level roles within the industry rarely come with immediate stability or recognition. Instead they offer something less visible but equally valuable: proximity to knowledge. When asked what she gave most generously during that period, her answer is immediate and reflective. “Early in my career, I gave time and humility,” she explains. Long hours on set and modest financial compensation were accepted as part of a larger learning process.
Working alongside experienced producers and crew members allowed her to develop instincts that cannot be taught through theory alone. She approached each production environment with attentiveness, aware that every project carried lessons that would shape her growth as a filmmaker.
Her first formal role in the film industry as an assistant producer reinforced this perspective. Production days stretched long into the night, and the demands of the work often tested her endurance. Yet she viewed the experience not as hardship but as preparation. “I understood that I was tilling the land,” she reflects. The metaphor captures the patient labour required in creative professions. Just as a farmer must prepare soil long before the harvest arrives, filmmakers invest years cultivating skills, relationships, and opportunities before their work begins to flourish publicly.
Even with that dedication, the path forward was not without moments of uncertainty. At one point Tanya experienced a period that many artists quietly endure but rarely discuss openly. For nearly a year she found herself without work. In an industry where identity is often closely tied to ongoing projects, the absence of assignments can feel disorienting. “The industry moves in waves,” she says, reflecting on that season. During those months she was forced to confront a difficult question familiar to many creatives: whether the path she had chosen remained the right one.
The answer emerged through reflection rather than external validation. Tanya recognized that storytelling through film had become deeply aligned with her sense of purpose. “When I work on a story, when I watch a narrative come alive through images and people and emotion, something in me feels aligned and purposeful,” she explains. Understanding that alignment allowed her to reframe the quiet season not as failure but as part of the rhythm of creative life. Some periods produce visible results, while others cultivate the patience and clarity necessary for future work.
From the outside, the opportunities that eventually followed might appear effortless. Industry observers often notice the projects a filmmaker lands or the spaces they are invited into without seeing the years of preparation behind those moments. Tanya acknowledges this contrast with thoughtful honesty. “People often see the opportunities I land and the spaces I get to occupy,” she says, “but they don’t always see the years of preparation and persistence behind them.” The visible milestones of her career today are built upon a foundation of patience, discipline, and continued belief in the craft.
Faith also plays a central role in how Tanya understands her journey. While she recognizes the value of hard work and persistence, she attributes many of the doors that have opened in her career to grace beyond her own efforts. “At the heart of it all, I give God all the glory,” she says. The projects she has contributed to and the communities she has encountered within the film industry feel, to her, like gifts entrusted to her stewardship. That perspective shapes how she approaches each new production, grounding ambition within gratitude.
Being a woman in the film industry introduces its own set of complexities. One challenge that remains largely unspoken is the tension between professional demands and responsibilities within the home. Film production often requires long hours, travel, and sustained focus during intense shooting schedules. At the same time, many societies continue to expect women to carry primary responsibility for family care. Tanya describes this tension as a quiet negotiation many women navigate privately. “There are moments when giving one hundred percent on set and one hundred percent at home feels like an impossible equation,” she says. Over time she has learned that balance is less about perfection and more about creating harmony between different aspects of life.
Her sense of the impact storytelling can have became particularly clear during the production of Paa Season 4, a project that addressed the sensitive and often hidden issue of pedophilia within homes. The season was produced by a team largely composed of women who approached the story with a deep sense of responsibility.
As Tanya watched the narrative unfold and later observed the conversations it sparked among viewers, she recognized the broader significance of the work. “When the project reached audiences and I saw the conversations it sparked, that is when it truly settled in for me,” she explains. Film, she realized, can function not only as entertainment but also as a catalyst for dialogue around issues that communities often struggle to address openly.
Looking toward the future, Tanya hopes the next generation of women entering the film industry will encounter fewer barriers than those who came before them. One aspiration stands out clearly in her reflections. She hopes young women will not have to prove their competence simply because of their gender. She recalls an incident during a documentary shoot on Kenya’s coast where a boat owner questioned why negotiations were being conducted with a woman when men were present. Moments like that reveal how deeply certain assumptions remain embedded within professional spaces.
What she hopes for the next generation is therefore both simple and profound: confidence without apology. She hopes young women will enter the industry convinced that their voices belong in the room and that their leadership on set is natural rather than contested. When that confidence becomes widespread, the creative possibilities for African cinema will expand dramatically.
The journey of filmmaking continues for Tanya through seasons of work, reflection, and discovery. Each project deepens her understanding of storytelling and the responsibility that accompanies it. In an industry that often celebrates visible success, her story offers a quieter lesson. Sometimes the most important work happens during the seasons when the cameras are not yet rolling, when faith, patience, and preparation quietly shape the stories that will one day reach the screen.
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