About
Mugambi Nthiga is a storyteller and filmmaker based in Nairobi; most well-known for his acting, writing and directing for the stage and screen.
He landed his first acting gig at age 5, as the little drummer boy in his nursery school Nativity. The reviews were excellent. His career would really begin decades later, with appearances in plays and musicals in different stages in Nairobi. It's when he found himself jobless in America in the middle of the 2008 recession that things got exciting. He joined Philadelphia’s acting scene, appearing in independent stage plays and short films, and telling stories about American history to tourists in the summer.
On returning to Nairobi, he landed principal roles in M-Net’s pan-African TV drama 'Changes', and the celebrated Kenyan films 'Nairobi Half Life' and 'Stories Of Our Lives'. After gaining some writing experience on the 'Village Series' of comedy musicals, he created, co-wrote and co-directed 'Groove Theory', a musical drama TV series that ran for two seasons on regional cable TV.
In 2014, Mugambi curated and directed 'Stories From The Mall', a theatre tribute to the events of the 2013 Westgate terrorist attack. In 2015, he co-wrote 'Kati Kati' a feature film co-written and directed by Mbithi Masya. Kati Kati premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016 where it was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize. It went on to win the award for Best Film at Sweden's CinemAfrica Festival, a New Voices/New Visions Special Mention at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the award for Best East African Film at the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards.
In 2017, he co-wrote 'Supa Modo', a family film directed by Likarion Wainaina, which premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival 2018. Supa Modo was awarded a Special Mention from the Generation Kplus Jury at Berlinale, and later won the ECFA Award for Best Children’s Film, the Artistic Bravery Prize at the Durban International Fim Festival, and the Golden Dhow (Best Feature Film Award) at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
After a 5-month stint at the Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, Mugambi returned to Kenya to work on his directorial debut, Lusala, the final film from the One Fine Day Films/Ginger Ink Films Africa programme. Lusala premiered at the NBO Film Festival in June 2019, and then had its international premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in February 2020. It won the audience prize at the 2021 Festival di Cinema Africano in 2021 and won the Rimbaud Award at the Les Rimbaud du Cinéma festival. He continues to hone his skills by directing commercials and short films.
Mugambi also performs and directs for the stage; conceptualising and directing stage productions for the theatre and for live events. His memorable work includes performing of Duncan Macmillan’s globally celebrated solo play ‘Every Brilliant Thing’, and directing ‘Too Early For Birds - Mboya Edition’, a biographic play on the life of Kenya’s most prolific trade unionist and politician, which had two sold out runs and a combined audience of 6,000 people. He has also directed The Manic Monologues (a play made to erase stigma around mental illness), co-devised Story Sosa, a storytelling and visual animation hybrid event, and directed renowned comedian Crazy Kennar’s theatre show, Happy Country, which holds the record as Kenya’s single largest theatre event with over 3,000 audience attendees.
Mugambi is also part of 'Because You Said So', an eight-person improv comedy group which hosts sold-out live shows every other month. He uses his improv and storytelling skills for corporate training events and actors’ and writers’ workshops. He emcees corporate and family functions, hosts weekly movie nights and monthly film quiz nights, and is developing ‘Disko Matanga’ his next feature film. He is also always available for a reading or an audition. Acting will remain his first love.